A first-year course for teacher trainees at the University of Warwick (England) involved students interviewing each other about educational life histories, school organization, school and community, teaching styles, and personal crises. The experience suggests a way to develop critical reflection on assumptions and conventional wisdom about…

Charles Sykes' book "The Hollow Men: Politics and Corruption in Higher Education" is criticized as overreacting to trends in higher education and the college curriculum but also seen as potentially prompting educators to ask questions about the dominant politics on their campuses. (MSE)

A review of Charles Sykes' book "The Hollow Men: Politics and Corruption in Higher Education" focuses on the portion that chronicles the political history of Dartmouth College (New Hampshire) from 1769. It is found to be a comprehensive analysis of the college's decline resulting from a "radically politicized and…

The quite average performance of children in Canada and the United States on the International Assessment of Educational Progress is consistent with the foundations of school systems in both countries, which emphasize a sociocultural rather than academic purpose. Recent changes in Quebec stress education for academic reasons, with resulting…

Research on two hypotheses regarding television's possible negative effect on children's academic achievement is reviewed. A lack of support is found for the displacement hypothesis (time spent with television is taken away from more academically beneficial activities) and limited support for the distraction hypothesis (exposure to television…

Interviews with five teacher educators from Brazil, Nicaragua, South Africa, and India who teach in the United States elicited a nonnative perspective on U.S. academic life and public schools. Themes include the effects of the egalitarian nature of U.S. higher education and of the openness and heterogeneity of U.S. public schools. (SK)

Discusses ways that whole-language teachers can address the concerns raised by parents and others about why they do not teach phonics in isolation, drill students on sight words, or expect word-perfect oral reading. Notes that teachers often need to explain and justify their expertise and teaching methods to individuals not familiar with the…

Describes a process-oriented model of experiential learning involving critical relationships between learner and self, teacher, and learning environment. Outlines important elements: mixing content, process, and guided reflection; minimal teacher judgment; engagement in purposeful endeavors; the "big picture" perspective; multiple…

A survey of a random sample of pharmacists (n=394) examined factors in participation in lifelong learning. The greatest barrier was job constraints, the greatest facilitator personal desire to learn. The most common pharmacy learning activity was communicating with peers; the most common leisure learning activity was reading for enjoyment.…

Discusses the need to recognize the importance of preschool teachers and preschool education. Parents and preschool staff can educate the public about the need for high quality child care and the effects of high quality child care on society. (SH)

Five types of adult learners are (1) pragmatic, goal oriented; (2) affective; (3) in transition; (4) integrated; and (5) risk taking. Appropriate teaching strategies are (1) clear objectives, relevant content; (2) personal interaction; (3) opportunities to discuss experiences, mentoring; (4) opportunities for self-direction; and (5) innovation.…

Data describing college students' study orientations in relation to their evaluations of courses and preferences for different kinds of learning environment are reexamined in light of recent suggestions that failing students perceive their learning context atypically. Implications of this disintegration of coherent perception patterns are examined…

The strategy of paying students in play dollars for class participation and learning is criticized as inappropriate, and its effectiveness is questioned. It is argued that the classroom is different from the real world, and one of the teacher's tasks is to show the intrinsic value of learning. (MSE)

Inspired by the early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, offers six challenges to American educators to reclaim the image of the competent child, promote conceptual integrity of programs for children, refine the definition of developmental appropriateness, balance standard-setting with questioning, reflect on professional development, and…

It is imperative that the value of secondary and postsecondary vocational education be recognized to attract and retain students and build a world-class workforce. There must be a change in the attitude that regards four years of college as the only valuable education. (SK)