Does the current drive to incorporate social and emotional learning (SEL) into the K-12 curriculum represent a positive reform that will lead schools to educate the "whole student" and ultimately boost young people's academic success? Or is it a distracting fad that comes with high opportunity costs? Common sense and considerable…

Education is important for all children, but even more so for children with disabilities, whose social and economic opportunities may be limited. In this article, Laudan Aron and Pamela Loprest assess how well the nation's education system is serving students with disabilities. Aron and Loprest trace the evolution of the special education system…

Although there is no single program or idea that will fix the entire American educational system, findings from the national demonstration project College and Career Transitions Initiative (CCTI) demonstrate considerable promise of the role pathways can play in helping students find their way through education to work and on to their careers.…

This newsletter includes vignettes about schools that are effectively integrating academic and career/technical (CT) studies to help more students find meaning in their learning and to motivate students to make great effort to achieve. This is part of a series of newsletters describing best practices for implementing the "High Schools That Work"…

Describes three programs successfully integrating vocational and academic education: (1) Dauphin County Technical School (Pennsylvania), which uses the cluster concept; (2) St. Mary's (Maryland) Technical Center's tech prep program; and (3) Frederick Vocational-Technical Center (Maryland), which offers core course mastery and a systems approach to…

A brief analysis of the reform movement in teacher education is presented, focusing upon the reports of the Carnegie Forum and the Holmes Group. Comparisons are made between the recommendations of the two reports, and it is pointed out that they are similar in terms of goals and directions, differing more in form than substance. Specific…

The Humanities Project was a 2-year collaboration between the Austin Independent School District (Texas) and the University of Texas at Austin. The primary goals of the project were, first, to provide selected teachers with an opportunity for intensive study in selected works of world literature, and second, to help teachers with the development…

Describes difficulties faced by faculty and administrators at Kentucky's Jefferson Community College in implementing the college's general education program. Highlights issues related to ensuring teaching competency, assessing the program's effects, and maintaining a balance between fidelity to the ideas of general education and accountability for…

Addresses the institutional context, goals, philosophy, external constraints, and assessment implications of the general education program at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Indicates that establishing faculty ownership of the program, anticipating faculty turf battles, making larger external connections, and appropriately restructuring the…

Misunderstandings and confusion surrounding the relevance and inclusion of foundations of education courses in teacher education curriculum are analyzed to identify the meaning and assess the validity of the term "foundations." An analytical survey made of 75 textbooks used in such courses examined texts with similar content or titles, e.g.,…

This document contains a performance report, a master plan, objectives, and an evaluation plan for a project in which Valencia Community College (Orlando, Florida) is to facilitate increasing cooperation between vocational and academic departments and move toward integrating vocational and academic courses in high schools and postsecondary…

During 1977-78, Ventura Unified School District (California) provided special education services to more than 785 Indian students. Elementary level offered special activities in speech therapy, reading and language instruction, cultural enrichment, and academic testing. Secondary level featured career and counseling support and a continuing…

This document contains supporting materials from five case studies illustrating the All Aspects of the Industry (AAI) approach. AAI provides a framework for redesigning programs around broadly conceived, interdisciplinary, industry-focused programs and integrating academic and vocational education. Materials from the Boston (Massachusetts) Public…

This report describes four programs identified as fitting the criteria of a program that bridges the worlds of learning, earning, and adulthood for all students. "Overview: Making School Work for All Students" (Linda Chion-Kenney) provides background and describes criteria to be met by schools serving needs of vocational students.…

The University of Victoria Program offers university-level courses mainly in the humanities and the social sciences to prisoners at Matsqui and Kent Institutions. Within this liberal arts approach there is a structural developmental thrust to promote cognitive and moral development and not simply to provide a general education or job skills.…