A two-year college program on a high desert ranch that combines traditional liberal arts with strenuous physical work aims to develop humility, service, leadership, and a wide range of practical skills. Most graduates have gone on to graduate study and leadership positions in society. (MSE)

Schools' ability to provide equal educational opportunity depends on the creation of appropriate responses to student needs, based on the recognition that different students have different requirements. (Author/MJL)

In well-established disciplines there is largely traditional agreement about what subject areas should be included. When new disciplines emerge, decisions about their content seem more problematic. This article answers the questions of what distance education as an academic teaching discipline should cover. (Availability: Open University, 70…

Reviews research results and arguments supporting Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) as a paradigm for distance learning, describes a project at Athabasca University which compared various PSI configurations for distance learning, and discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and flexibility of PSI for such use. Nineteen references…

The elimination of traditional courses in favor of student-originated, self-graded projects in the Department of Geology and Geography at St. Lawrence University in Canton (New York) proved too radical for the entire faculty. The program eventually became two-tracked, offering students both traditional and student-generated learning situations.…

Highlights selected findings of the National Center for Education Statistics 1981 adult learner survey, revealing that 13 percent of the adult population was involved in structured learning programs; 80 percent of the learners engaged in non-credit activities; and academic institutions offered only 20 percent of the courses taken. Considers…

Describes two programs for adult learners, Weekend College and Learn and Shop. Weekend College offered credit courses on Saturdays and Sundays; Learn and Shop used employee training rooms at five major shopping centers. Statistics on both programs are given as well as a description of the Spanish Department offerings and reactions. (AMH)

The Zoo School, housed in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, city zoo, provides a challenging one-year program for highly motivated, but not necessarily gifted, sixth graders. Using the zoo as a laboratory, its goal is to teach students about the contemporary world and to develop them as independent learners. (Author/SJL)

A review of George B. Vaughan's introductory article for the series "New Directions for Community Colleges" is presented, including summaries of critical works on community colleges and pieces by authors who reexamine their own criticisms. Observations of "outsiders" are seen as essential to community college leaders. (MLW)

Colleges faced with declining enrollments are cultivating a new crop of students--7-to-14-year-olds--who attend college after school, on Saturday mornings, and during the summer. Some programs are described, including College for Kids at the College of Marin and Cornell University. (MLW)

Examines state laws and the actions of various courts on home instruction and unauthorized educational programs. Suggests reforming the regulation of private education through legislative action that requires periodic testing as an alternative to compulsory school attendance. (Author/MLF)

Defines and underscores the importance of recurrent education as a principle for modifying educational systems and creating a learning society. Reviews social, economic, and individual motives fostering recurrent education. Lists 12 functions and eight guiding principles of recurrent education and discusses short-cycle institutions within this…

In light of the current American interest in school vouchers as proposed by economist Milton Friedman, recapitulates the origins, content, and fate of an 1872 law drafted by a French parliamentary commission to establish a countrywide voucher scheme for primary schools. (NEC)

Discusses a study to determine the effects of furnishing taped alternatives to textbook learning in social studies classes on the junior high school level. Results indicated that listening alternatives are useful addenda to instruction in social studies classes. (DB)

Describes a parent-education model to help parents and adolescents communicate more effectively during high school years. Format and counseling strategies of the five-week workshop are explained. Goals include improving communication and problem-solving skills and sharing parenting issues. (JAC)