Essentially about classroom practice, this book is based on the idea that social education brings the world into the classroom. The book provides opportunities for young learners to explore and clarify values and attitudes, develop investigative skills, discuss issues, solve problems, make decisions and act on the understandings they have…

Early in this century, John Dewey wondered how educators could justify believing in democracy if they did not practice it in schools. This paper presents findings of a study that located the underlying values that support the social construction of democratic praxis in schools. It explored how school leaders in democratic school communities viewed…

This thesis seeks to clarify the meaning of the open learning concept by examining it in alternative ways--as an element of social theory, as an intended curriculum, and as a perceived student learning experience. The three curriculum conceptions of open learning are applied to the Australian Open Learning Iniative. Students' curriculum…

Rules for the development and application of audiovisual material are constantly being redesigned whether one is concerned with technological aspects, economic and policy structures, social impact, or media practice. This paper outlines the work being done by the International Media Literacy Project at the Royal University of London. The project…

Authors contributing to this book have all been presidents of national and regional professional education associations. The collection of essays represents current research in historical, biographical, philosophical, and comparative components of education foundations. The articles were written in tribute to Michael Belok, a professor and…

During the 1990s, there has been an unprecedented global dissemination of information about the theory and practice of democracy and civic education for democracy. This digest identifies nine trends having broad potential for influencing civic education in the constitutional democracies of the world: (1) conceptualization of civic education in…

This pilot study examined attitudes toward play and how play is facilitated among early childhood teachers, administrators, and college educators. Classroom observations, interviews, and questionnaires were used to identify attitudes toward the value and relevance of play for early childhood development and education, respondents' knowledge base…

This paper examines elementary education in Brazil, including the most important and difficult problems teachers and teacher educators face, and the main theories and theoretical frameworks that researchers have used in studying these problems. Elementary school teachers complete a special course, corresponding to high school rather than…

Some of the concern about educators' failures to build a strong educational foundation revolves around the idea of "professional" and its relationship to the concept of "malpractice." Educators usually claim that education is a profession of practice and thus ought to embody at least a generalized statement about professional…

This manual was developed in response to teachers' requests for help in maintaining focus and resolving questions and concerns arising out of the Questioning and Understanding to Improve Learning and Thinking (QUILT) program. The introduction describes collegial investigation as a structural process that groups can use to examine problems, issues,…

Reflecting the complexity of the early childhood education enterprise--classroom practice, teacher preparation, research, and conceptualization--this volume reflects an examination of the literature for illumination as to the value of early education theory and its usefulness to practice. The book has 10 chapters divided into three parts that…

This collection of 15 essays provides a state of the art report on research activities in higher education since the early 1980s. It includes: (1) "Research on Higher Education: Global Perspectives" (Philip G. Altbach); (2) "Research on Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa" (Corbin Michel Guedegbe); (3) "Research on…

Despite demands for innovative classroom techniques, many educational-administration professors continue to use the lecture paradigm in their courses. This paper argues for a "virtually real" classroom, which demonstrates to students the reformed school that they will facilitate as future administrators. It also discusses the need for professors…

Perhaps the most dramatic failure in postsecondary education has been in the teaching of mathematical skills. The different functions of the right and left hemispheres of the brain require different approaches to education. Due to their emphasis on language and verbal processing, schools have failed to give adequate stimulation to the right side…

This book offers teachers a convenient means of broadening their understanding of reader response theory and criticism and applying this theory to the teaching of literature in high school and college classrooms. The book is designed to arouse individual teachers' interest in reader response theory and encourage them to apply it to their teaching.…