Although most educators agree that the primary goal of education is student achievement, many believe that this goal has become incongruent with the way that educational institutions function. Community college professionals, in particular, have taken the lead in proposing a new paradigm of learning for the educational process. This digest will…

Studies have confirmed that middle school students must learn to do the following: think about the future; recognize their responsibility for educational planning; broaden their aspirations beyond the stereotypes of gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic level; develop and maintain self-esteem; develop complexity; understand how school relates to…

In recent years, social studies educators have given serious attention to the apparent crisis of citizenship and the improvement of civic education in the United States. Insufficient attention, however, has been given to the place of leadership in civic education. Yet, youth leadership is big business in the United States. Each year, over half a…

In global education programs, emphasis on commonalties shared by all peoples and the understanding and appreciation of differences within various cultures and subcultures may provide strong rationales for those who wish to teach art in a social context. Global education should not be viewed as a discipline with particular content or subject…

In recent years, educational leaders have joined forces with businesses and community members to prepare students for a new, challenging labor market and, in so doing, are making major contributions to economic development. As the transition to the information age continues, the adaptable, creative student may provide the force to direct economic…

While the Federal Government has been involved in the care of the elderly since the depression, a comprehensive and unified national retirement policy has never been established. Federal programs for the aged have avoided cutbacks, but adaptations in present retirement policy are required to meet the needs of young and old alike. Although public…

This ERIC digest summarizes recent studies on poverty in rural areas. In 1986, the poverty rate in rural areas was 50 percent higher than the urban rate. During the 1980s, rural poverty stayed higher, rising more rapidly during recession, and falling more slowly in the "recovery" period. Characteristics that distinguish the rural poor…

Place-based education is a relatively new term, but progressive educators have promoted the concept for over 100 years. Place-based education usually includes conventional outdoor education and experiential methodologies as advocated by John Dewey to help students connect with their particular corner of the world. Proponents of place-based…

This digest reviews the concepts of "culture" and "multicultural education" and advocates multicultural education for rural schools. Culture applies to any group with coherent norms and traditions that help members engage the world around them. Multicultural education seeks to create an environment in which students can…

The skills most often mentioned in definitions of critical thinking are the ability to think creatively, make decisions, solve problems, visualize, reason, analyze, interpret, and know how to learn. Vocational education should be involved in developing thinking skills for the following reasons: occupations are becoming more reliant on cognitive…

Collaborative efforts between vocational education, the military services, and defense-related industries have been reviewed to meet the defense preparedness needs of the Nation. The U.S. Department of Education has responded to these needs by establishing the Defense Preparedness Task Force, convening a Defense Preparedness Review Group, and…

A growing movement to ground school curriculum in locally relevant material--often called place-based education--is capturing the attention of many rural educators. Some see this approach as a way to address the decline of rural communities, including the outmigration of youth, by preparing students to live productive and fully engaged lives in…

The purpose of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) is to establish job training and employment assistance programs for economically disadvantaged youth and hard-to-hire, unskilled adults. Like the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), JTPA works through a locally based program delivery system. Unlike CETA, JTPA calls for equal…

This ERIC Digest asserts that the Japanese education system is one of the most influential agents molding Japanese youth. This influence is especially great due to the large amount of time students spend in schools. Six topics examine aspects of daily high school life: (1) Getting to School; (2) At School; (3) Extracurricular Activities; (4)…

This digest summarizes a full length report of the same title (HE 024 794) which discusses contemporary college students' apparent lack of understanding of citizenship and how it relates to positive career pursuits. A proposal is made to make students more aware of both the need for and the benefit of socially responsible citizens, and for…