The papers (from a symposium held at the Fern Universitat) included in this collection focus on distance education in theory and practice. Contributions are written in English or in German, with summaries available for each in the language not used for the paper concerned. Contributions are: (1) "Distance Education as Communication: The…

New York's "New Compact for Learning" in public elementary middle, and secondary schools is described in this booklet. Educational principles and strategic objectives are described, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the state, students, parents, teachers, support staff, principals, school district administrators, community,…

The Office of Educational Research and Improvement's new National Center for Research on Teacher Learning expects to include at least four elements: to accommodate public expectations for schools, to incorporate a theory of the teacher as a learner, to incorporate a theory of the teacher's task, and to build on a theory of the unique features of…

Acknowledging major reform reports that name reading, writing, speaking, and listening as the most essential skills in the work of any school, this brochure discusses important first steps for school boards pursuing excellence in the language arts. These concrete suggestions are grouped under five broad directives: (1) declare that the highly…

On the one hand, the social science tradition of imitating hard scientific methodology has led to a situation in which much research has little to offer the real and complex world of the practicing teacher. On the other hand, some educators measure education by the angle of students' heads and the quality of their graffiti in the washroom. Most…

On-line collaboration is becoming increasingly common in education and with organisations. It is believed that this can in itself cause stress for collaborators. We believe that in some ways stress can be designed out of on line collaborative exercises through management of the on-line working processes. This paper investigates methods of reducing…

This position statement for administrators, teachers, providers, and caregivers for young children discusses developmentally appropriate guidance techniques for children from birth to 8 years of age. The seven principles discussed are: (1) Children are in the process of learning acceptable behavior; (2) An effective guidance approach is preventive…

This review draws on research literature concerning preschool programs for at-risk children in the United States. Studies cited are those that meet relatively high standards of research quality. The term "at-risk" refers to children who are considered liable to develop behavioral problems and experience school failure because of their…

These inventories are designed to help faculty members, departments, colleges, and universities examine individual behaviors and institutional policies and practices for their consistency with seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. The Faculty Inventory has seven sections, one for each principle: student-faculty contact,…

In five sections, this paper explores dimensions of early childhood education: schooling generally construed as nonparental instruction in knowledge, values, and skills. Section 1 looks at some of the factors which have contributed to the rapid growth of early childhood education in modern times. Section 2 briefly highlights the contributions of…

This document contains collected materials and guidelines developed by the Yale Public Schools in Yale, Michigan, in an effort to standardize the process of writing and reviewing curricula. The document is based on the notions that the written curriculum should also be the taught curriculum, that the taught curriculum should also be the tested…

Seven principles that can help to improve undergraduate education are identified. Based on research on college teaching and learning, good practice in undergraduate education: (1) encourages contacts between students and faculty; (2) develops reciprocity and cooperation among students; (3) uses active learning techniques; (4) gives prompt…

This study was undertaken to determine the value and belief patterns of Catholic elementary school principals and teachers in the context of the school as a faith community. It was believed that some educators, particularly lay teachers, would value secular and noncommunitarian purposes and characteristics more than religious and communitarian…

This study investigated the instructional beliefs of 182 elementary classroom teachers to determine the degree to which teachers' assumptions about instructional practices influence their teaching behavior and the classroom perceptions of their students. It used data collected from a national research project, Goodlad's "A Study of…

It is the thesis of this discussion that outcome-based instructional systems (such as mastery learning, individually guided education, and competency-based education) represent a workable alternative to traditional approaches to instruction and are particularly suited to children in Head Start and Follow Through programs. This thesis is expanded…