This report presents findings of a study of the theoretical and practical methods of access to continuing vocational training. It summarizes six reports that compare the following: the construction sector in Spain, France, Italy, and Luxembourg; the banking, insurance, commerce, and administration sectors in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and…

A course designed to teach survival Japanese language and culture to businessmen and professionals with little time for language study is described. The goals were to teach survival vocabulary and a few basic sentence structures and to develop the learners' pragmatic competence in using them. Portions of a commercial textbook were used for…

It is suggested that Chinese students in China and Chinese Americans have difficulty learning to read in English due to native language interference and to cultural traits and thinking patterns. Reading in English requires overcoming some psychological barriers. A chart outlines the different ways in which a Chinese student would read the same…

A study investigated the attitudes and beliefs of three groups of third- and fourth-grade classroom teachers (special education pull-out, bilingual credentialed, and bilingual waivered, n=18 per group) concerning the reading assessment of Latino language minority students. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews, a written…

In 1991, a national survey was conducted of transfer practices at both two- and four-year institutions. The survey was sent for the second time to two-year public and private institutions (n=1,350), and for the first time to four-year institutions (n=1,950). The two-year college response rate was 39% in 1990 and 31% in 1991, while the response…

This study was designed to ascertain if a relationship exists between supervising teachers' personal attributes and professional backgrounds and the attitudes of their student teachers toward their field experiences. The subjects were 123 elementary and secondary student teachers completing their student teaching experience. Data collection…

A random sample of 157 of the 265 agricultural/extension faculty listed in the 1993 "Directory of Teacher Educators in Agriculture" were mailed surveys regarding their perceptions of faculty productivity. Usable responses were received from 102 (65%) faculty. The respondents' ranged in age from 28-64 years (average age, 46). Ninety-two percent…

The use of freewriting in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction as a means of promoting communicative competence is examined, particularly as it may improve high-school-level ESL instruction in Japan. First, the educational environment of Japanese high schools is described, and some problems with the teaching of ESL writing are outlined.…

After 3 years of dramatic gains, the average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for the Wake County (North Carolina) Public Schools stayed essentially level for 1994 graduates. The scores did reflect a one point drop in the average total score, which is not considered significant. The leveling off matches a similar trend for the entire state.…

A study evaluated the labor market outcomes of individuals with various types of postsecondary educational experiences. In particular, it examined differences among three groups: students who pursued technical education programs; those who pursued academic programs; and those individuals who did not pursue any type of postsecondary education. The…

The development of written language and its functions were studied for 236 second graders (from four locations in the surrounding Birmingham, Alabama area) in 6 traditional and 6 writing process classrooms. Pen pal letters to undergraduates and written samples were obtained from three students from each class. Writing process classrooms reflect…

Based on the premise that second language instruction at the college level should focus on the elements of academic discourse and not spend unnecessary time on less relevant grammatical structures, an analysis of discourse structures in subject-area textbooks was undertaken. Grammatical structures characteristic of academic discourse were analyzed…

This latest edition of the biennial Higher Education Fact Book series focuses on significant national, regional, and Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) state trends affecting higher education in the 1990s. This report contains 19 graphic highlights and over 80 tables displaying state, regional, and national statistics covering population and…

In 1989, Midlands Technical College implemented a comprehensive student tracking and retention reporting system to provide data on first-time students beginning in fall 1988. Highlighted findings for 1988 through 1991 included the following: (1) the freshman to sophomore retention rate for the fall 1990 cohort was 53.8%, a 6.4% increase over the…

In 1992, the state legislature in California voted to increase community college fees from $5 to $10 per unit, and to increase fees for students with bachelor's degree from $10 to $50 per unit. To better understand the fiscal, access, and equity issues associated with increased fees and declining enrollments in the San Diego Community College…