This paper presents the Arkansas alternative plan for teacher certification, provides a profile of the persons involved in the pilot, and compares this plan with the Association of Teacher Educators' recommendations for minimum standards for alternative certification programs. Upon completion of a 3-week intensive training session, the apprentice…

More adult learners than ever are enrolling in postsecondary education. A review of literature found that more than half of all college undergraduates are women, one of six is a member of a minority group, two of five are over the age of 25, and fewer than three in five are full-time students. A study at Empire State College showed that their…

This booklet describes the New Jersey Provisional Teacher Program that enables local school districts to employ college graduates who did not study education courses in college. In order to qualify, a candidate must possess a degree in the subject he/she will teach and must pass a state certification test of subject knowledge. Further, the…

The purpose of this research was to examine policies and curriculum practices in performing arts secondary schools in the United States. Data were obtained from a survey (including questionnaires, opinionnaires, interviews, and observations) conducted among 55 schools (total number existent in 1980) and visits to 11 selected institutions in the…

Applied linguistics, like language teaching, is in a state of disarray. It has been caught in the turmoil associated with the downfall of the theoretical model and the rise of several others. It is no longer identified solely with language teaching, but has begun to explore the solution of language problems in nonformal educational settings and…

In 1986 the Danforth Foundation Program for the Preparation of School Principals was launched at Georgia State University, the University of Alabama, and Ohio State University. All participants have attempted to address the foundation's primary objectives: (1) to work with faculty to develop alternative preparation programs in collaboration with…

As one report in a comprehensive study of Illinois state mandates for elementary and secondary education, this study covers the three major areas in the Illinois compulsory attendance law: students' entrance age, their exit age, and the schools' obligation to enfore truancy regulations. After brief histories of compulsory attendance laws in the…

This paper describes one instructor's experiences in teaching an introductory psychology course in a traditional college (Rhode Island College) setting and in the College's nontraditional Urban Educational Center. The students at the Center, which offered tuition-free enrollment classes in high school equivalency preparation, adult basic…

The purpose of this study was to explore the various types of alternative programs offered in American secondary schools, the ways in which they differ from traditional programs, and their success in educating their students, particularly those classified as at risk. The question "Should students have a choice of schools?" is examined in annotated…

This presentation describes a program at Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) which successfully prepares candidates for certification in secondary education. It is an alternative plan to the usual four-year undergraduate program. Candidates must have completed a baccalaureate degree with a major in a certification area and must have attained…

A description is given of the major in Educational Services at Memphis State University (Tennessee) that is an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare undergraduate students to function as educators in non-school settings. The program includes: (1) general education, (2) professional education, configured in a tri-level core of courses; (3)…

A descriptive study was undertaken to determine the type and extent of academic adaptations that Texas postsecondary institutions are making to address the emerging needs of the adult population. It also identified items that affect program quality and growth. The questionnaire developed and mailed to 119 Texas postsecondary institutions was…

Directions in self-directed learning for adults and perspectives for the future are discussed. The following five movements in self-directed learning are considered: the Knowles Group Learning Stream, the Tough Adult Learning Projects Stream, individualized programmed instruction, nontraditional institutional arrangements, and heuristic life…

Public education in the United States needs a structure and organization that permits teachers, students, and parents to exercise a reasonable degree of choice from among different, but defensible, sorts of education. Our public schooling is unnecessarily and inappropriately compulsory. (Author)