This newsletter reports on the status of biology education in the United States. It states that biology has entered its "golden age" because of the emergence of biotechnology, ecology, agricultural productivity, and human biology as major societal issues. This report discusses the status of the informal national curriculum of biology, involving…

Details investigation of characteristics of early childhood teacher preparation programs at 2- and 4-year institutions through a survey of program chairs or directors. Presents findings on faculty characteristics, including racial makeup; course and practica requirements; comparisons between early childhood programs and the institutions as whole…

Two major questions were raised in regard to four types of preschool programs. (1) Do programs differ in actual operation as well as descriptively? (2) Do programs have significantly different effects on children? Analysis of data obtained on samples of four classrooms in each of three programs (Bereiter-Engelmann, DARCEE, Traditional) and two…

Discusses the common characteristics of experiential education programs and administration in public and private elementary, secondary, and alternative high schools in Colorado and New Mexico. Also discusses the attributes of an effective outdoor education leader and how those attributes are acquired, based on interviews with Southwestern outdoor…

The second phase of a longitudinal project to describe and monitor speech communication programs at small colleges, expanded the data available on programs and provided an indication of program changes in the 3-year period since the first phase, which gathered initial data on the programs. The pilot study conducted in the first phase involved a…

A program plan was developed at Butler University (Indiana) which responds to the call for teacher education reform. The Butler response incorporates research of the professional educational community; reflects the direction of the university at large and the college of education in particular; addresses the needs of students at the university;…

Comments on Early and Winton's research on the characteristics of early childhood teacher preparation programs at 2- and 4-year institutions, noting that these programs need to expand the racial diversity of faculty, define issues in the needs of practitioners and the early childhood field when designing course content, and provide adequate…

This paper identifies issues which arose during the development of an ethnic studies curriculum project in Connecticut. It also defines the author's role as an educational anthropologist involved in the project. Initiated in 1974, the "Peoples of Connecticut" project involved research on ethnic groups in the state and promotion of curricula to…