This article describes a teacher education program, "Studies in Educational Alternatives" (S.E.A.), at Mankato State University (Minnesota). The program is committed to personalization and practicum experiences as major components of teacher preparation. The document discusses: (1) program design; (2) admission processes; (3)…

Selected examples using the statistical packages Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), the Statistical Analysis System (SAS), and BMDP are presented to facilitate their use and encourage appropriate uses in: (1) a hierarchical design; (2) a confounded factorial design; and (3) variance component estimation procedures. To illustrate…

This guide, designed for teachers and other workers in adult basic education, includes a variety of articles about teaching; counseling, and advocacy approaches; curriculum planning and evaluation, assessment; and program design based on personal experience. All focus on critical thinking as a teaching and learning skill. Article topics include:…

Researchers of gender differences in computer-related behaviors have reported a confusing picture. When asked which sex is more positive toward computers, more apt at using computers, and more likely to use a computer, one would be best advised to answer "it depends." It depends on what attitudes you are measuring, what skills you are…

This document contains papers presented at a seminar that examined the Home Economics curriculum at Kenyatta University (Nairobi, Kenya) in the context of Kenya's new educational system. The seminar studied themes of nutrition and health, child development and care, and rural development. Working groups prepared reports on each of these themes.…

Research from the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe explored the concept of motivation in relation to education and training schemes for the unemployed. Studies suggest that lack of motivation can be explained by socioeconomic status, recent training experience, lack of perceived links between training and jobs or career progression, and…

This text lists crucial activities a teacher can undertake in preparation for the first day of school. The suggestions are especially helpful for beginning, transfer, and student teachers. They may also be used by experienced teachers, administrators, and teacher educators. Suggestions are organized in the format of a 60-day countdown to the first…

Teachers engaged in action research are involved in a process that focuses on how they and their students construct and reconstruct learning experiences, thereby extending professionalism and creating additional learning opportunities for students. This paper describes the evolution of an action research project involving an elementary school…

This manual provides documentation and guidance for users of the public release data files for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) component of the 1991 National Household Education Survey (NHES:91). Information is presented about the purpose of the study, the data collection instruments, the sample design, and data collection and data processing…

This document presents key findings about the team evaluation process used in seven workplace basic skills programs in 1993 and 1994. An introduction summarizes the methodology used to develop the case studies and key findings about the team evaluation process. These key findings present the strengths and challenges of using evaluation teams,…

A great deal has been said and written about the importance of giving students the opportunity to provide service to others. This book is designed to provide educators with a "crash course" in how to start or repair such a program in their schools or districts. Following the introduction, chapter 1 defines service learning and explores its…

A study investigated the possible reasons for low achievement gains in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses among Thai university students in their second year of EAP instruction. Second-year EAP midterm and final examination grades were compared by path analysis with a variety of student variables (sex, English language background, age,…

This book provides the vision and rationale for "centers of pedagogy" that can bring schools and universities together in a close, renewing relationship. It proposes a redesign of education that is grounded in a mission of enculturating students in a social and political democracy. The first four chapters address questions related to the nature…

Military cutbacks by the Department of Defense will cause thousands of enlisted personnel and civilian workers in defense industries to lose their jobs and look toward other employment opportunities. To help ease this conversion for some displaced employees, the Department of Defense is sponsoring a program to help former servicepeople earn…

The suggestions offered in this paper are based on the experiences of two scientific researchers of how evaluations undertaken in a competitive arena, in which true experimental designs are not viable, can be designed in such a way that meaningful comparative data can be examined. Case studies of the Science and Engineering Research Semester and…