This chapter argues that liberal learning can be transformative and foster students' intellectual and ethical development only if we consider its development underpinnings and pedagogic strategies that illustrate that the skills of academic inquiry are the skills of personal development. (Contains 1 note.)

The main objective of this self-study is to reflect and document the development of our own praxis by using teacher research in our teacher education courses. By praxis we mean an ongoing interdependent process in which reflection, including theoretical analysis, enlightens action, and in turn the transformed action changes our understanding of…

In response to the need for research on the contextualized use of CALL resources, the authors conducted a survey on instructor use of a popular online Spanish language learning resource to provide insight into how foreign language instructors' use of online resources are influenced by socio-institutional factors and instructor motivational factors…

This article explores why university reform is central to the Labour government's project to create a "modern" Britain. During the passage of the 2004 Higher Education Act the government created a policy narrative which redefined the role and purpose of universities. It framed their futures as corporations, based more on an economic than…

Purpose: This report seeks to address the preliminary findings from a large-scale study of the different ways in which the asynchronous discussion forum (ADF) is being used in the online learning environment. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual approach is taken. Findings: The structural and functional variation of the ADF is depicted within…

This information digest provides an overview of some areas of agreement between the fields of gifted education and middle school education, some areas of tension, and some promising directions that could engage educators in mutual planning of appropriate services for all middle school students, including the gifted. Shared beliefs include the…

The shortcomings of standardized testing as the predominant form of student assessment in the United States are reviewed, and the use and potential benefits of portfolio assessment are explored. Children's educational experiences and their future job prospects and standards of living are being decided by test scores. Moreover, these test scores…

This collection of 15 writings by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators examines the issues and dilemmas of First Nations education in Canada 25 years after the beginnings of First Nations control of education. Organized around the concept of the Sacred Circle, the essays are grouped into four sections: reconceptualizing First Nations education,…

In preparation for a conference held in Paris, France, in November 1994, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) launched a 5-year program that involved 20 countries studying the changing role of vocational and technical education and training (VOTEC). This report synthesizes 18 country reports on major recent developments…

This study examined the "educare" experiences of infants and toddlers in New Zealand child care centers to evaluate whether those experiences provided opportunities for learning. Subjects were 200 under-2-year-old children (99 boys and 101 girls) from 100 childcare centers, 2 children from each center. Subjects were each observed for 80…

This project paper for the 1994-95 Klingenstein Fellows Program at Teachers College, Columbia University (New York), examines the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of an interdisciplinary law-related curriculum for secondary students. The proposed interdisciplinary law-related curriculum focuses on issues of human rights, civil liberties…

This book is an autobiographical effort to understand life as a person and as a high school English teacher, and how those two lives have intertwined. The text examines how the author, trained in certain ways, thinks of herself as a professional person. In addition to the subject of the teaching of reading and writing, the author explores how her…

This book presents 29 papers addressing critical issues in the education of the gifted. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Education of the Gifted and the Excellence-Equity Debate: Lessons from History" (Thomas R. McDaniel); "Comments on McDaniel's 'Education of the Gifted and the Excellence-Equity Debate'" (James…

This discussion focuses on the growing trend in deaf education toward bilingualism/biculturalism, with special emphasis on schools for the deaf in Canada. American Sign Language and la Langue Signes Quebecois on the one hand and English and French on the other are used as examples of bilingualism. Biculturalism is seen in the deaf individual's…

This digest focuses on several issues in school desegregation that stem from recent changes in demography, policy, and research. Change in student diversity, the first consideration, is even more marked in cities than in the country as a whole, with only 9 of 47 urban cities in the Great City Schools network having a majority white enrollment.…