Workplace-based educational programs are not new. Recent perceptions of a national literacy crisis and the need for a competitive workforce, however, have resulted in the development of new programs across the country, many of which provide literacy and language training for nonnative English speakers. This digest focuses on the reasons for…

This digest discusses Language Across the Curriculum (LAC), an approach to teaching language that works with faculty in other content areas to identify the specific vocabulary and genres that students need in order to function effectively in another language in their respective disciplines. LAC also draws from the content-based approach to…

This digest focuses on foreign language instruction at the middle school level. In general, middle school foreign language programs have received relatively little attention. However, the increased emphasis within the field on longer sequences of instruction, combined with the conversion of junior high schools to middle schools has necessitated a…

Human beings have as great a capacity for losing or forgetting a language as they do for learning one. Many have lost language skills due to a lack of a linguistically appropriate environment in which to use a particular language. Millions of individuals who have studied a second language in high school or college for several years have lost the…

This ERIC digest discusses strategies for recognizing and nurturing giftedness in young children in the regular classroom. It begins by describing giftedness and providing a list of characteristics common in gifted four-, five-, and six-year-olds. The use of portfolios for identifying giftedness is discussed, along with the benefits of consulting…

Given the global significance of Soviet-U.S. relations, elementary and secondary school students should learn about the Soviet Union, but most students graduate from high school with little knowledge and many misconceptions about this country. It is important to teach about the Soviet Union because of: (1) its emphasis in the U.S. media; (2) its…

Labor unions have provided English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction in the workplace since the early 1900s, to serve a growing immigrant workforce. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, an increase in immigrant population, decline in manufacturing jobs, new technology, and work restructuring brought a new urgency to union-sponsored worker…

This digest discusses the scope of practice of the secondary school counselor in today's school, citing Norman Gysbers' Comprehensive Guidance Program Model as an approach to developmental counseling which empowers counselors to define their own scope of practice, and thereby effectively address the needs of their students. (TE)

Aesthetics, or the philosophy of art, is perhaps the most troublesome discipline advocated in a discipline-based approach to art education. It is troublesome for many reasons, including its largely verbal nature and the lack of experience of most art teachers with its content and modes of inquiry. Nevertheless, aesthetics can serve as a basis for…

Economics education in elementary and secondary schools is essential in order to prepare a responsible citizenry that can cope with economic problems and issues. This ERIC Digest examines: (1) the primary goal of economics education; (2) current economics curriculum patterns; and (3) methods of improving the economics curriculum. The basic…

Labor studies are often not included or underemphasized in the elementary and secondary school curricula. This ERIC Digest examines major themes of labor studies; inclusion of these themes in the curriculum; likely positive outcomes of labor studies in the curriculum; and available resources for teachers and students. Key historical events, the…

With the purpose of highlighting the lessons to be learned from immersion programs, this digest presents selected findings from research carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of immersion programs in Canada and the United States. These lessons are related to the importance of: (1) integrating language with content instruction (when second…

In describing reading proficiency--the relative difficulty or ease that an individual reader experiences reading a particular text--researchers have recognized the importance of both text- and reader-based factors. This digest focuses on the factor of purpose, as determined by the reader or the instructional context. Having a purpose means having…

Teaching about law-related education (LRE) in elementary and secondary schools is an important social studies trend. This ERIC Digest considers: (1) the meaning of law-related education; (2) reasons for including LRE in the curriculum; (3) methods of incorporating LRE into a curriculum; and (4) characteristics of effective LRE programs. Education…

Students with specialized health care needs require specialized technological health care procedures for life support and/or health support during the school day. They may or may not require special education. These children were previously unserved in educational settings. Estimation of their numbers is difficult, but as many as 100,000 infants…