Discusses two current monograph publications that provide frameworks for adult learning approaches that stress active, participatory, and reflective learning experiences for early care and education professionals, in an effort to eliminate passive learning by adults. A constructivist teacher-education approach is drawn from both works. (SD)

Using the Kite (a framework for school development) as a diagnostic tool can help schools identify barriers to reform efforts by constructing an authentic picture of the school which can be measured against the qualities and practices of a learner centered environment. The paper describes organizational theories supporting the model. (SM)

Investigates the establishment of ragged schools in nineteenth century Wales. States they dealt with the many shabbily clad, underprivileged youth found roaming the streets. Explains Wales focused on creating church and boarding schools. Concludes that other schools eventually provided welfare based services which caused ragged school's demise.…

Twentieth-century data on the numbers of students completing university matriculation examinations in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden were used to study the expansion of secondary academic education. The long-term regularity in the expansion and the differential growth curve for the two sexes suggest that the state was not…

Presents the current and preeminent policy statement of the Commission on Geographical Education of the International Geographical Union. Reiterates the vital importance of geographic education and outlines general standards for curriculum planning. Addresses a broad range of issues including fundamental concepts, research and educational…

Educators must focus more on designing active learning and less on using the latest technology. As distance education technology develops, educational institutions face increasing costs and decreased budgets, greater diversity, increasing demands for continuing education, and competition from other institutions. Knowledge of instructional design…

Describes the development of Oregon's community colleges, which were strongly supported by their local communities. Discusses the major focus of each college, from transfer programs to distance education, and the commitment of Oregon's community colleges to educational reform, workforce preparation, and institutional effectiveness. Examines the…

Examines Hong Kong's educational system following reversion to the jurisdiction of mainland China in 1997. Presents an overview of the education system, education and schooling in a post-colonial context, school curriculum reform, improving student assessment mechanisms, enhancing access and equity, improving teacher education and professionalism,…

Describes and evaluates the introduction of the Patchwork Text assignment in the assessment of a Masters-level course on Intercultural Management taught to students of various nationalities and linguistic/cultural backgrounds as part of a Masters-level business education program. Begins by addressing the question of whether the Patchwork Text…

Taken together, the articles in this special issue contribute to the collective sense of recent progress in research on networked learning in higher education. In combination, they help explain some of the key relationships between teachers' and learners' intentions and experiences, the affordances of text-based communications technologies and…

Based on 1970s data, the "Heyneman-Loxley (HL) effect" proposed that in developing nations, school variables were more important than family socioeconomic status in determining academic achievement. A reassessment of the HL effect using 1990s TIMSS data found the relationship between family background and student achievement to be…

Analyzes education and comparative education as intellectual disciplines, stressing learning over teaching. Traces changes in comparative education research policies, citing the influence of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Suggests African comparative education research should use alternative…

Comments on Foxfire rural education program, focusing on John Puckett's "Foxfire Reconsidered." Examines Eliot Wigginton's brand of educational reform, its ideological evolution, difficulties, detractors, and surrounding issues. Differentiates Wigginton's educational reform from both radical politics-oriented ideology (such as Herbert…

Discusses the need for media specialists to be able to translate broad issues into specific questions that can be answered at the building level in order to improve school media programs. A series of specific questions for each challenge posed in "Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs" is presented. (five references)…

Discusses educational development in China, examining two divergent educational systems: education for the disabled and education that promotes athleticism. Examines social and political context within which educational policy is formed and enacted. Analyzes new boundaries of educational specialization and diversification. Observes trend toward…