Discusses four models/quadrants to frame different ways of thinking about education arising from four philosophical bases that have considerably influenced education and learning: realism, idealism, pragmatism, and existentialism. These models differ in their view of learning's meaning, emphasis on learning subject matter, and the basic media…

Participants at an issues clarification working session concerning open enrollment for students with disabilities identified three kinds of issues for districts and students: outcome, implementation, and demographic. Participants expressed concerns in the areas of pupil benefit, parent involvement (or convenience), teacher/administrator job…

Examines the significance of play within the traditional cultures of North America's indigenous peoples. Identifies four components of Native American education practice--significance, competence, power, and virtue; and discusses native American principles of child rearing, such as guidance without interference. The lyrics of a song written by an…

Indicates how Afrocentricity interacts with the fundamental motivations within African-American life. Presents an overview of Afrocentric ontological and epistemological orientations and those developed in terms of time and logic. A third section illustrates that the way one thinks about time determines the role history plays in social change.…

Contrasts the instrumental character of traditional curriculum plans with the retextured curricular landscape inhabited by a hypothetical fifth-grade teacher struggling to help individual students learn. The idea is to teach science as a humanity, so that a privileged technoscientific mindset can be demystified and the multiplicity of human…

A theoretical framework for action learning and action research is presented, as a basis for better understanding college instruction and learning. Action research is viewed as a philosophy, theory of learning, research methodology, and teaching technique. It is argued that action research both increases knowledge and improves teaching.…

Identifies Chilean organizations and programs concerned with the environment, and discusses human beings' responsibility for the environment, Chile's environment, and hope for the earth. Offers a philosophical rationale for environmental education in early childhood, and describes a conference on environmental education. Highlights research on…

Discusses France's 1989 New Policy for Education (NPE), which identifies three ways of preventing academic failure: school policies stressing family involvement and instructional continuity; reorganization of primary education into three training cycles; and assessment of student competencies. Considers NPE's position on knowledge development.…

Transferability of skills in learning is discussed, focusing on the notions of cross-disciplinary, generic, core, and transferable skills and their role in the college curriculum. Cross-disciplinary or cross-curricular skills are examined in terms of their relationship to cognitive domains, and transferable skills in relation to social domains.…

Student assessment policy in Queensland (Australia) secondary schools has undergone major changes in 30 years. Successive reforms were deliberate and followed several well-defined stages. However, reforms only suggested how the system should work and did not affect underlying philosophy. None survived the legitimation stage, and each renewed the…

Charges that the sanctity of the English classroom is being dismantled in Great Britain, partly through efforts toward development of a National Curriculum for English. Criticizes the curriculum planners' apparent belief that anyone can teach English. Suggests that English instruction should prepare students not just for occupations, but for life.…

The article suggests 12 mindsets to decrease stress in teachers of students with behavior disorders and to build a functional philosophy of education. Adoption of positive mindsets are seen to enhance instruction and facilitate positive feelings of hope, self-efficacy, and progress. Sample mindsets include flexible thinking, maintaining academic…

The integration of scientific and technical perspectives on modern life with the insights and understanding derived from such studies as philosophy, economics, and literature is described. The historic and aesthetic elements of technology and engineering are discussed. (KR)

Discusses John Dewey's theory on ethics in education and the theory of deliberation, examining his views on emotion and ethical deliberation; emotion and aesthetic sensibility; use of research results in ethical deliberation; use of the scientific approach and scientific results; and emotion and aesthetics in scientific discovery. (SM)

Responds to three reviews of "Preparing School Administrators for Democratic Authority" by Richard A. Quantz et al. Discusses issues relating to the Ph.D. program in educational administration at Miami University (Ohio), including relating theory to practice and encouraging graduates to continue to reflect and reconstruct after leaving.…