Research has indicated a gender disparity in early education environments in terms of student-teacher interaction, fostering of different types of play, varying use of praise and gender-specific messages, and stereotypical messages in literature or play materials. This article outlines areas within a classroom that teachers or child care providers…

Schlessman notes that Johnson's article on role of theory in second language (L2) teachers' education opens a Pandora's box in attempting to determine what it means to have two forms of knowledge, conceptual and perceptual. Johnson argues that theory can transform practice only if teachers have varied opportunities to make sense of theory within…

Examines quantitative studies, especially small-scale statistical probes, which have become the dominant mode of inquiry in higher education, but criticisms of this approach are mounting. Describes the presuppositions of this prevailing mode, and several strands of criticism, noting how education and social research have changed over four decades.…

Increasingly, homosexual members of the academic community are being subjected to physical and psychological harassment, discrimination, and violence that obstruct the achievement of their educational and professional goals. Discussion of this phenomenon examines the importance of campus climate in providing an atmosphere conducive to maximizing…

Researchers have found three consistent effects of stressing letter or number grades. Grades reduce students' interest in learning, preference for challenging tasks, and thinking quality. Grades distort curriculum, waste time, encourage cheating, and spoil interpersonal relationships. Invisible grading is a compromise. Authentic assessment opens…

An education futurist discusses who are the consumers of Canada's education and training system, what individuals need from Canada's formal education and training system, how consumers might characterize a preferred system of education and training, what a consumer-based education and training system would look like, and what a knowledge-based…

Discusses the nature of child domestic work (children employed as servants in the households of families other than their own). Suggests a number of practical steps that can be taken to ensure that child domestic workers are afforded a measure of protection which they do not currently receive. (Author)

A Kettering Foundation survey of Newark citizens found that the only consistent supporters of public schools view them as partners in educating children and building community. Schools' standard public-relations techniques (directing messages exclusively to parents and stressing customer satisfaction) are misguided. Ameliorative strategies are…

To survive a contentious, dysfunctional environment, interested school board members in a Pennsylvania community captured support from district leaders. A steering committee composed of the superintendent, assistant superintendent, and board president was formed. Establishing rules for brainstorming sessions and developing a "leadership…

Argues that the current English program at the Korean primary level is so closely related to the middle and high school programs that the success of the former cannot be ensured without solving the problems of the latter. Examines what problems have been pointed out in middle and high school programs, whether they are real problems, and how a…

Gina Kranitz, the new chair of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) board of directors, the first from the community college sector, is profiled, and her plans for the next year, including several major initiatives for the association, are discussed. (MSE)

The revolution in higher education being produced by advances in information technology brings these challenges: understanding what new skills students must master; making the distributed-learning environment an asset for interpersonal interaction; creating physical and virtual campuses that complement one another; creating large-scale…

Discusses the role of academic departments in university reform efforts and reports on a survey of 64 provosts concerning department-level change. Three sources of tension between institutional needs and traditional academic departments are identified. Urges faculty involvement in reforms, including regrouping faculty, redefining departmental…

Examines issues in designing policies and providing services that promote maintenance of parent-child bonds and responsible parenting when fathers are incarcerated. Examines differences between public perceptions and real-life experiences of prisoner parents. Discusses impact of correctional and child welfare policies on fathers' parenting…

Evaluates Science Education in Pacific Schools (SEPS), a project addressing science-education deficiencies in 12 small Pacific Island countries. The assessment revealed inadequate, outdated, and unattractive science teaching resources in some countries; badly sequenced and duplicative curriculum projects across the region; and lack of teacher…