This digest focuses on international perspectives related to counseling supervision. It describes two strands in the history and understanding of supervision, one emerging from the United States and the other from Britain. The factor that distinguishes them is the location of counseling training. In the United States counselor training has largely…

This ERIC Digest discusses: (1) reasons for learning about Inner Asia; (2) how to include Inner Asia in the curriculum; and (3) strategies for teaching about Inner Asia. U.S. students have difficulties in interpreting current events that occur in this region, because they lack knowledge of the history, geography, and cultures of Inner Asia. This…

This ERIC Digest considers: (1) why U.S. students should learn about Canada; (2) where course content on Canada belongs in the curriculum; and (3) useful strategies and resources to improve the teaching of Canadian studies. The United States and Canada share the world's largest undefended border, and the United States trades more with Canada than…

This is an age of ascendency of the Pacific Rim area, especially the Asian sector. Recent decades have seen unprecedented economic growth throughout this area. By examining Japan, the region's pre-eminent nation and harbinger of future developments, the larger topic of the Pacific Rim can be explored. It is particularly important to teach about…

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…

Each year, thousands of men and women from English-speaking countries go abroad as English teachers through volunteer agencies such as the Peace Corps or Voluntary Service Overseas, or through myriad other church, government, business, and academic organizations. For these novice teachers, the challenge of learning what to do in the classroom is…

Although world history and global studies programs in U.S. public schools have expanded in recent years, teaching about India and South Asia has remained insufficient. As a result, students often develop cultural misunderstandings and false stereotypes. India, as a focus of study, provides students with the opportunity to examine an ancient…

This ERIC Digest discusses how, by studying Japan, the larger context of the Asia-Pacific region can be explored and students can be introduced to current realities. The top 5 competitive countries for 1994 were the United States, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Germany. Because of the increasing interdependence between the United States and…

This ERIC Digest considers the present state of teaching about Latin America in elementary and secondary schools in the United States, the need and rationale for Latin American studies, effective approaches to teaching Latin American studies, and resources to supplement textbooks that treat Latin America inadequately. Following an introductory…

The number of languages spoken throughout the world is estimated to be 6,000. Although a small number of languages serve as important link languages or languages of wider communication around the world, these are very often spoken as second, third, fourth, or later-acquired languages. Fewer than 25% of the world's approximately 200 countries…

Recognizing the need to strengthen education about Africa in United States schools and to enable teachers to present complex issues about apartheid, political stability, and cultural conflict, this digest addresses the issue of how teachers can improve their teaching about Africa. The article poses 3 questions: (1) Why is it important to teach…

In this digest, "career counseling" refers to activities intended to improve individuals' ability to make career decisions. Studies have shown that career counseling helps individuals as much as well-developed psychological, educational, or behavioral interventions. But more studies are needed to explain this phenomenon; this digest…

During the last decade, new efforts have aimed at improving foreign language education in the United States. A recent study concerned with the need to strengthen foreign language skills among U.S. students examined the successes of other countries. Conducted by the Center for Applied Linguistics, the study collected information from 22 educators…

This ERIC Digest reports on the origins, purposes, and methods of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study. In 1993, the General Assembly of the IEA decided to carry out a two phase study of civic education. The goal of the two phase study was to identify and examine in a comparative…

Recent historical events have made it increasingly important to strengthen the study of Western Europe in U.S. schools. With full integration of the European Community after 1992, with the unification of the two Germanys, and with the newly democratic states of the old Soviet bloc seeking some form of association with the European Economic…