Project-based learning (PBL) is an active student-centred form of instruction which is characterised by students' autonomy, constructive investigations, goal-setting, collaboration, communication and reflection within real-world practices. It has been explored in various contexts and in different phases of schooling, from primary to higher…

In June, 1985, New Zealand's Minister of Education established a working party to examine 3-year training for kindergarten teachers. The working party was asked to: (1) make recommendations to the Minister of Education on a 3-year course of initial training for kindergarten teachers; (2) review the training provisions for kindergarten teachers;…

Three examples of successful integration efforts in England are presented. Springfield Junior School in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, originally comprised three separate institutions--an ordinary junior school, a special unit for children with severe learning difficulties, and a special unit for children with moderate learning difficulties. The three…

These symposium papers report (1) collaboration between the University of Bath and the Preschool Playgroups Association to develop training materials for expanding parents' awareness of their preschool children's developmental needs and ways to meet them; and (2) the development and implementation of a community-based approach to early childhood…

A major project intended to improve education in the Latin American and the Caribbean countries is described. Representatives from the various countries participated in intergovernmental meetings and reached an agreement that there was a need for a project to meet unsatisfied basic educational needs by the year 2000. The specific project…

This paper describes Project TRAIN (Training Rural Area Interventionists to meet Needs), a federally-funded competency-based program that provides graduate-level preservice training for early intervention professionals interested in working with special-need infants, toddlers, and their families. In the third year of the program 19 trainees have…

This report presents strategies for implementing interdisciplinary personnel preparation programs for Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and discusses barriers to meeting the spirit and intent of the personnel preparation components of the law. Three models of personnel preparation were explored, including preservice,…

Directed to college of education faculty members, this paper provides practical advice for developing model education projects by means of interagency cooperation. The first section describes the numerous Macomb Projects that have received state and federal funding including Handicapped Children's Early Education Program funding. Projects focus on…

Options for expanding child care services to Eastern Michigan University students, staff, and faculty are presented by the special assistant to the university vice president for university marketing and student affairs. The university's policy statement concerning child care services is considered, along with the relationship of these services to…

This paper reports the results of a study of 40 student teachers and their cooperating teachers. The initiatives were implemented during one semester in various public school classrooms and sites. Most occurred with preschool and elementary students, with 10 of the student teachers in junior high or high school settings. The preservice teachers…

West Chester University (Pennsylvania) set up a project designed to meet the seemingly diverse yet very similar needs of teacher education students and inner city children. Prospective teachers must begin to value and effectively serve more diverse populations, and the relationship between campus and the real world needs to be strengthened.…

The implementation of the University of Northern Iowa's (UNI) Teaching Associates Cadre Model (TAC) Professional Development School (PDS) program is discussed within the context of Kagan's six stages of collaborative relationships: formation, conceptualization, development, implementation, evaluation, and termination or reformation. The TAC was…

The Preparation of Personnel To Provide Special Education and Related Service to Newborn and Infant Handicapped Children program of the University of Vermont offered interdisciplinary preservice programs to train Early Intervention Specialists at either the Master's level (36 credit hours) or the Certificate of Advanced Study level (30 credit…

This 23rd annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 (IDEA) discusses the progress of students with disabilities. It includes a number of modules reporting on the results of the National Assessment. Section 1 includes five modules that present statereported data on high school gradation…