The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) formulates standards that do not focus on the quality of teacher education graduates. Their "standards" also act as a prop for obsolete curricula and place too great an emphasis on regulating processes and procedures. (JN)

Presents an overview of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and then describes the UNESCO Recommendation on the Development of Adult Education, the first worldwide standard-setting instrument in this field, and suggests why the provisions of this document are important to adult educators in the United…

This paper examines the cultural traditions of South Asia, especially India and Pakistan, regarding the education of children with special needs. This valuable cultural heritage has been largely ignored in the inflow of western educational ideas and the professionalization of special education, especially in the late 19th century. Improved…

Examines changes in practices of two nurseries in East Berlin following reunification of Germany. Notes that after reunification, the extensive nursery school coverage for children under 3, and near universal coverage for children 3-6 was drastically reduced, and the ideological justification for coverage was systematically rejected. Discusses…

Provides personal perspectives, both from a teacher and her students, on issues of multiculturalism and diversity. Recounts a number of incidents that illustrate some of the trickier aspects of multicultural education ("How do you feel about arranged marriages?"). Concludes with a call for greater understanding and tolerance. (MJP)

Suggests that educators must address: (1) What should be learned? (2) When should it be learned? (3) How would it best be learned? and (4) How can we tell how well we have answered the first three? Addresses the first three questions by offering principles of practice for early childhood educators, ranging from curriculum to learning disposition…

Discusses the educational philosophy and the writings of James Comer, who argues that education clings to a model of teaching and learning that promises only failure for countless children and that teacher training fails to equip teachers for the realities and demands of contemporary classrooms. (SR)

Criticizes New Zealand's adoption of market-oriented higher education--universities as "knowledge businesses" and students as "consumers." Argues that the competitive capitalist economic model advocated by the state replicates societal structural inequalities and is wholly inappropriate for a university. Recommends a return to…

Explores reasons why teenage students who know how to read choose not to do so, and emphasizes the importance of reading as an enjoyable and valuable pastime. Discusses aspects of reading that reluctant readers may not know and lists 25 titles that may appeal to such students. Provides teachers and librarians with suggestions for helping reluctant…

Considers educational and philosophical responses to social and economic change. Offers an insightful review of four major educational philosophies that have emerged from within the North American teaching tradition: perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and reconstructivism. (MJP)

Literacy is discussed in the broadest sense. From an Aboriginal perspective, literacy is about sustaining a world view and culture, resymbolizing and reinterpreting past experience while honoring traditional values, living these values, and visioning a future in which an Aboriginal way of being will continue to thrive. Meaningful Aboriginal…

To expand online learning opportunities for K-12 students and educators, the Colorado Department of Education established a task force that evaluated programs in 16 other states. Four principles were identified as necessary to promoting equity, rewarding individual achievement, assuring quality and consistency, and adapting to diverse needs:…

Outlines the efforts of the Department of General Practice to develop a clear educational philosophy on which to build its curriculum. Also illustrates the application of this philosophy in developing a community-based early clinical contact course for first-year students. The philosophy was constructed from the basis of whole-person medicine and…

Addresses the question of how to infuse an artistic aesthetic into classroom music performance. Recommends using material that offers students an aesthetic opportunity yet remains within their intellectual and artistic grasp. Discusses types of compositions that meet these requirements and suggests some creative rehearsal techniques. (MJP)

Looks at the historical roots of the student affairs profession for insight about the value of community. Examines different conceptualizations, institutional evidence, and artifacts of community. Describes ways in which community can be fostered within the college environment through the use of diversity, faculty, and professional work. (RJM)