To explicate Marshall McLuhan's thinking, three concepts germane to his views on technology are introduced: technology as an extension of man; visual and acoustical space; and the laws of media. The goal is to engender a deeper appreciation of McLuhan to help educators and communication specialists understand how media (technology) can be used to…

Examines the role of goals in the learning process and reviews another theoretical perspective, experienced cognition as additional justification for the constructivist revolution affecting the field of instructional design. Addresses the implications of experienced cognition for dealing with learning goals and learning environments. (Contains 32…

Suggests that there is an identifiable landscape (context, perspectives, sets of issues, methods, and values) associated with instructional design. Key features of that landscape include assumptions about the nature of being a person and living in society. Without some identifiable instructional landscape there is little possibility for progress…

Offers a new model for addressing issues of providing access to lifelong continuous learning and personal knowledge management. The full spectrum of component functions and costs within traditional education systems are being unbundled so as to allow separate functions to be selectively retained and redesigned independently, then reconfigured,…

Reflects on the recent development of comparative education, focusing on modernity's ongoing possibilities and the value of metanarrative as providing meaning and a space for negotiating shared values across cultures. Discusses research on China's and Japan's experiences of education and modernity to illustrate how the author's search for meaning…

States that knowledge has disappeared in and from adult education because it is rarely viewed as educational content or a didactic task of instruction. Explains that this is due to both internal and external disciplinary reasons and discusses these reasons in detail. (CMK)

Discussion of the need for effective leadership and identifying leadership competencies for academic librarians focuses on the areas of development and fundraising. Describes areas of expertise, experience, and skills associated with academic development positions in colleges and universities as a basis for identifying relevant leadership…

Examines the Department of Communications at John Carroll University from 1984 to 1999 when the university undergraduate enrollment increased 40% while department graduates increased 67%, faculty increased 120%, course offerings and programs increased 100%, and the department moved into a new building with upgraded facilities. Presents seven…

Examines recent trends and developments in Portugal's higher education system, highlighting three trends: democratization (transforming the system from an enclave of the elite to one that allows mass access); diversification (offering two levels of higher education, including a non-university sector called the Polytechnic System), and…

Presents classical definitions and explanations of distance education selected from pioneers of the field or those who have made seminal contributions to the conceptualization of distance education and related fields. Discusses definitions by Desmond Keegan, Michael G. Moore, Borje Holmberg, and Otto Peters. (AEF)

European educational systems are under immense pressure to change, develop, improve, and satisfy many conflicting demands. Educational development and improvement in these countries is unlikely to progress in a neat, orderly, and linear fashion. Applying nonlinear (chaos) theory to development theory may aid understanding of educational…

Identifies key events that influenced the development of community colleges in Ohio, identifying key individuals involved in the institutions' establishment. Discusses historical and contemporary challenges presented to Ohio's two-year colleges, focusing on programmatic, financial, and educational access issues from the 1950s through the 1990s.…

In the past 20 years, China's economy has been developing rapidly. Yet is China's education keeping up the same pace as its economic development? What is the current situation for China's education? With the advent of knowledge-based economy, how will education in China adjust itself in order to meet the growing demands of economy? This paper will…

The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is a commitment of the United States to raise its grant aid by a factor of 50% over the next 3 years and will result in a $5 billion annual increase over current foreign aid levels. Many other countries and multinational development assistance agencies will be asked to help co-finance this new account, and…

While research on self-regulated learning has been proliferating over the past decade, also within higher education settings, only very few studies apply the notion of self-regulated learning to teaching. We offer this exploratory study as a contribution to our understanding of the role of self-regulated learning in university instructors' growth…