Presents an interview with Lana Wilson, a recognized ceramic artist, educator, and writer. Covers topics such as her educational background and development as an artist, the transitions and evolution of her artwork, what she has learned from her teaching experiences, and her thoughts on art education. (CMK)

A Los Angeles-area survey of 290 Latino parents of elementary and middle school children enrolled in bilingual education classes found that most parents did not understand the different models of bilingual education but thought that use of two languages facilitated their children's development of English. Although supporting bilingual education,…

This study sought to determine the academic, affective, and administrative support expectations of distance education students, and to compare actual expectations of distance education students with the instructor's perceptions of such expectations. Results demonstrated divergence between perceived and actual expectations of student support in…

In the discourse of educational policy and practice, applying the term "disaffected" to young people stigmatizes them, and mentoring with the goal of change reinforces the view that there is something wrong with them. Uncritical use of "disaffected" masks real problems in the transition from school to work. (SK)

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 story of School X started in South Africa in 1875. At that time, the school was built for white children only. More than hundred years later, the 1994 elections demarcated the end of the apartheid era and the school enrolled black Xhosa-speaking children for the first time. As a result, in 2004, 90% of the students were black Xhosa-speaking.…

During the last two decades of the 20th century, Japanese students' exemplary performance on international achievement tests, coupled with the nation's dramatic economic growth, made the Japanese education system a focus of attention from outside observers. Educators, scholars, and journalists all scrutinized the Japanese schools in an attempt to…

In this article, the complexity or possible confusion in public attitudes to ethical issues is explored. The characteristics of the 'Soviet person' as once instilled in schoolchildren are listed and elucidated. Results of nationwide surveys of the Russian population carried out most recently in 2004 are used to illustrate the values that Russian…

In the early 1960s researchers at the University of Leicester carried out a unique survey into the school-to-work transition experiences of nearly 900 young adults. The survey documented most aspects of the school leavers' lives; however, the majority of the data from this Young Worker Project remained unanalysed and unpublished for nearly 40…

The analysis of the perceptions of the value of schooling as perceived by a group of female secondary school students in Benin, Africa, shows that the idea of becoming someone successful by going to school highly affects their educational choices. The author suggests that the educators should adopt measures and policies to tackle the problems of…

This essay considers the question of why we should teach science to K-2. After initial consideration of two traditional reasons for studying science, six assertions supporting the idea that even small children should be exposed to science are given. These are, in order: (1) Children naturally enjoy observing and thinking about nature. (2) Exposing…

Public debate on higher education reform today is dominated by competing views about what higher education institutions, particularly universities, are or should become. To a surprising extent, these views are based upon highly simplified characterisations of university history. The claims in question have been repeated so often that they have…

In this article, the author presents a quiz to identify whether or not a person is a nerd. He also offers a new definition for nerd: "A person who is excited about learning and who thinks that sharing knowledge is cool." A nerdy teacher loves when students bring in articles from the newspaper about the upcoming meteor shower or the new movie about…

Anatomy curriculum has changed dramatically around the world since the 1960s. These changes include the reduction of course hours, the abandonment of cadaver dissection, the use of problem-based learning, application of other teaching modalities such as prosected specimens, models, radiographic images, computer simulations, and the introduction of…

There is increasing evidence that a mismatch exists between the structure of the schools and the cultural, social, and linguistic background of some segments of the school-aged population. This mismatch is often exemplified in the academic and behavioral expectations and performance of some students. In this article, the authors discuss the…