Education & Pedagogy

Describes an experimental distance-education course aimed at both health care professionals and other librarians and graduate students, offered as continuing education and graduate education. Three modalities for delivering instruction are explained: satellite broadcast, an Internet-based portion, and an intensive seminar. Course evaluations are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Presents the results of a November 1995 survey of ALA-accredited library schools that was conducted to determine (1) whether computer literacy is either an admission prerequisite or graduation requirement for M.L.S. programs, (2) the definition of computer literacy used by each school, and (3) the options for satisfying any requirements. Contains 5 tables. (AEF)

Contrasts the rhetoric and implementation of common schools (tax-supported, free public education) in 19th-century Boston with some subsequent educational discrimination. The Boston Public School system established intermediate schools and ungraded classes as a means of instructing illiterate immigrant children. It rapidly became a system of exclusion and stigmatization. (MJP)

Describes the development and implementation of a collaborative effort between a college professor and K-12 art teachers. The teachers acted as art education researchers investigating how people understand and interpret art works in their historical context. Explains how the teachers became collaborators in planning further studies and teaching model lessons. (MJP)

Development of quality-assurance mechanisms for course and program offerings delivered internationally is lagging; only the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong have taken steps to regulate the quality of such imported or exported offerings. A nongovernmental organization, the Global Alliance for Transnational Education, created in 1995, will certify quality in such programs, including those delivered by electronic means. (Author/MSE)

Describes the work and educational approach of Theresa Santiago, a special education teacher and winner of the State Farm Good Neighbor Award in Brooklyn, New York. Emphasis is on ecologically-themed lessons in math, science, and language arts and field trips to enrich the learning of her disadvantaged students with a variety of disabilities. (DB)

The book "Marketizing Education and Health in Developing Countries," edited by Christopher Colclough, examines five salient aspects of education and health care (cost recovery, public versus private alternatives, cost shifting, improved efficiency, and fiscal reforms) useful for examining national privatization efforts. A marriage of market- and public-based initiatives allocates education and health services most effectively. (MLH)

Describes teacher professional groups being implemented in Chilean secondary schools to improve the quality and equity of public education, examining utilization of research and theory development on educational policy and changes in educational systems. Discusses implementation of the groups and examines what has been learned via case studies and a set of monitoring visits. (SM)

Analyzes teacher responses to changes in the structure and functioning of education and teacher education in England and Wales from 1876 to 1996. The paper identifies three generations of teachers and suggests broad patterns in terms of differential responses to change. At the core of the responses are accounts that teachers have constructed over time about the nature of their profession. (Author/SM)

Describes a set of structured experiences within a preservice teacher education program that helped construct, with the students, a critical perspective toward better understanding pupils' home, community, and school lives. The structured experiences occurred within a New Mexico school community research project combined with a course on families, schools, and communities. (SM)

Argues that textile arts, often created by women, provide a valuable, but frequently overlooked, resource for learning about a culture. Describes an effort to learn about Hmong culture and history through a study of textile arts and to teach preservice teachers in a social studies methods course about this culture. (DSK)

In a graduate program operated by Antioch University (Ohio), students design their own courses of study and hire their own instructors, paying them out-of-pocket. The program is fully accredited. Scholars who provide education in the traditional way are questioning whether their disciplines are being enhanced or undermined by this and other distance-education programs. (MSE)

Traces trends in health care, including growth of managed care, increased consumer choice, and changes in administration and funding of academic health centers, and examines the challenges they create for teaching, research, and practice. The Oregon Health Plan and its effect on Oregon Health Sciences University are used for illustration. (MSE)

The Clinton administration has placed equal, accessible education of immigrants at the top of its agenda for 21st-century American schools. This paper examines the initiative, discussing criticism it has already drawn. For example, there are doubts as to whether providing more money for bilingual education without proper monitoring and evaluation of projects will actually make a difference. (SM)

Examines some of the main institutional challenges impacting on the relevance and quality of teaching and learning in higher education in the United Kingdom. Selected concerns include underfunding; mass education and quality; the demand for enhancing student employability or key skills; and the relative status of teaching within research-intensive environments. Contains 59 references. (Author/LRW)