Many cooperative civic education projects among U.S. and Central/Eastern European educators have emerged since the end of Communist Party Rule in the former Czechoslovakia. This digest describes a collaborative curriculum development project, Civic Education for the Czech Republic (CECR). The objective of CECR is to revise the existing social…

There is a large body of well-conducted research that supports the value of freshmen orientation seminars in promoting the success of first-year students at community colleges. Orientation programs have been shown to improve retention, program completion, and the level of academic performance of these students. In addition to improving student…

Vocational Literacy is a new academic field which has arisen in response to criticism from industry that vocational graduates are not sufficiently literate to perform on the job. South Seattle Community College (SSCC) in Washington has investigated the feasibility of coordinating courses in computer literacy with English and technical courses to…

This publication investigates what happened when a Chicago public school first-grade teacher radically changed her teaching practice and embraced a holistic literary approach. The practice of shifting patterns of control in the classroom and the construction of knowledge in a setting where most children are bilingual is explored. The nine chapters…

Inclusive education reflects the changing culture of contemporary schools with emphasis on active learning, authentic assessment practices, applied curriculum, multi-level instructional approaches, and increased attention to diverse student needs and individualization. This guide is intended to help teachers implement inclusive educational…

This report highlights four research studies related to the Enrichment Triad Model, which encourages problem finding and problem solving in gifted students. The first study, "Academic Underachievement among the Gifted: Reversing School Failure" by Linda J. Emerick, identified six factors which influenced the reversal of the…

As part of a federal grant to develop an across-the-curriculum ethics program, ethics instruction was integrated into English classes at Colorado's Community College of Aurora (CCA). In the English classes, students were first asked to read case studies from CCA's ethics handbook detailing specific ethical problems. In subsequent classes, students…

In 1990 the Lilly Endowment committed $6 million to a competitive grants program for four-year independent Midwest colleges interested in enhancing racial and ethnic diversity and building a more inclusive community within their institutional settings. The initiative aimed to improve the overall campus climate, to increase the number of racial…

Education in South Africa has mirrored the inequality and socio-political upheaval that has marked that country's history since the official establishment of apartheid in 1948. This paper provides a brief summary of some of the main issues impacting education in South Africa, a description of Fish Hoek Middle School just south of Capetown, an…

The theme of the 1993 conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education was "Pathways to Partnerships: Coalitions for Environmental Education." Speakers on environmental issues represented government agencies and legislative houses, international institutions, businesses, and academia and included U.S. Representative Karan…

In spring 1994, the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Board of Directors approved a recommendation that the Association take the lead in establishing standards for environmental education. The four working papers contained in this publication are the first step in the NAAEE Standards Project. The papers discuss the…

This guide provides lessons for teaching primary research skills to elementary and middle school students. The lessons introduce basic research processes, emphasizing the use of primary sources and direct observation. A six-step process is described that applies to all grade levels. Examples are provided to help the teacher or media specialist…

Entrepreneurship education derives its importance from three factors: a demand among students for information about entrepreneurship; a need to provide students with skills related to making jobs, rather than training to take existing jobs; and a related need for economic growth through job creation. According to a 1994 national Gallup poll, 7 out…

By means of a series of educational activities over 8 months, this practicum study sought to institute a prosocial curriculum for preschool children. The curriculum was meant to teach trust, autonomy, and skills for handling aggressive feelings. Subjects were 18 four- and five-year-old children. Activities exposed children to areas such as: (1)…

This publication reports on an African regional workshop in Nigeria on training science, technology, and mathematics teachers (STME). The workshop focused specifically on trends in recruitment and evaluation of academic and professional STME teaching staff in colleges of education and on initial training and inservice training for STME teaching…