This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4-5-year-old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play-based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern…

Environmental adult education (EAE) is a viable solution to the world's mounting environmental problems. EAE is a new and emerging field that is faced with constant changes and challenges. While this change presents practitioners with options for dynamic research possibilities, EAE is such that theory and practice in the field face a potential for…

The American Evaluation Association's (AEA) Independent Consulting Topical Interest Group (IC TIG) has a membership of over eight hundred individuals who generally work as sole proprietors, in partnerships, or in small consulting firms. Well over a decade ago, the IC TIG conducted a survey of its membership (Bonnet, 1992). To gather current data…

In this article, the authors offer insight into the challenges of helping children with disabilities succeed in music through a collaborative effort of music educators and special educators. Making the curriculum flexible and accommodating a variety of learning styles produces better results and eliminates the need to customize adaptations for…

Building upon a historical discussion of general and special education reform, this book gives suggestions on how to optimize learning for a diversity of students. The chapters in the book are: (1) "Practices in General Education: Past and Present" (Jennifer J. Coots, and others); (2) "Services for Students with Disabilities: Past…

This digest summarizes studies that provide evidence that youth with multiple and severe risks in their lives can develop into confident and competent adults; and discusses the critical role schools can play in this process of development. Resilience is the term used to describe a set of qualities that foster a process of successful adaptation and…

Experiences of Finnish adults with hearing impairments (n=186) and their views of Finnish society were studied, and methods of collecting data were compared. Study questions focused on knowledge about and satisfaction with Finnish society, participation in activities, and values and attitudes. Respondents who were deaf (n=77) and those who were…

This collection of 26 papers focuses on interdisciplinarity and its impact on the core or general education curriculum at postsecondary institutions. The papers include: "Professing or Instructing: Outstanding Challenges in the Task of Facilitating Student Reflection on Identity as Individual, as Family Member, and as Citizen" (Steve R. Gordy and…

This book examines how five schools in New York City have developed "authentic," performance-based assessments of students' learning, and how this work has interacted with and influenced the teaching and learning experiences students encounter in school. Authentic assessment attempts to take the measure of a child's real work over time…

This curriculum guide, developed in North Carolina, is designed to help teachers guide students in making informed choices for their interaction with children throughout life. The course teaches students about the obligations and responsibilities of being caregivers and emphasizes the impact of adults on children's lives. While preparing for…

The first section of this paper describes the strategies that a veteran teacher developed during a study of supervision undertaken while supervising interns in a preservice practicum. These strategies were supported by the practical knowledge gained from 15 years of classroom teaching, study of clinical supervision, knowledge of models of…

This paper describes Project MILE (Moline Improvement in Literacy Education), a school/university partnership program between the University of Northern Iowa and Moline (Iowa) Public School District #40. The project called for a long-term collaborative effort in order to develop a complex and sophisticated level of university involvement with a…

This instructor's resource manual is designed to assist nurse/instructors in four training programs: Nurse Assistant in Long-Term Care (NALTC), Medication Technician (MT), Level I Medication Aide (MA), or Insulin Administration (IA). A brief report on the project that developed the manual is presented first. Section 1 includes an article on adult…

This paper begins with an overview of the population of adolescents and young adults with deafness. More detailed information is then provided on the characteristics of lower achieving deaf persons and those with multiple disabling conditions. School-to-community transition experiences of these groups are then discussed, with special focus on the…

An introduction to contemporary views of second/foreign language course design is intended for even relatively inexperienced teachers wishing to meet the somewhat sophisticated current expectations for language training. First, it provides theoretical background concerning the concepts of communicative competence and second language proficiency,…