This study compared the preparedness of middle school teachers graduating from either traditional teacher education or professional development school (PDS) programs. Surveys and interviews with graduates and enrollees of both programs indicated that PDS graduates felt better prepared for middle level teaching in terms of knowledge about early…

Demographic trends suggest colleges and universities will be enrolling record numbers of foreign-born students, and must prepare to introduce this population to the distinctive practices and standards of American higher education. Suggestions include redesigning the orientation program, establishing strong English language instruction, improving…

Describes a successful collaboration between high school and community college faculty that effected a reduced need for first-time college student remedial writing instruction. Discusses Ohio's Early English Composition Assessment Program, the model for collaborative success, and project recommendations. (YKH)

A number of current issues and initiatives in higher education are highlighted, including impending reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the need for advocacy of higher education in public policy arenas, a University of Florida program combining accountability and institutional autonomy, and institutional compliance with nonresident alien…

A Fordham University (New York) initiative to internationalize its undergraduate business curriculum is described. The curriculum development project, designed to both stem declining enrollment and make the curriculum more relevant to business needs, included student surveys, grant proposal preparation, assessment of local program competition,…

Argues that the combination of collaborative writing and electronic resources can produce a reaffirmation of literacy as a social process. Utilizes feminist theory to equate the postmodernist assumptions regarding the indeterminate nature of language with democratizing influences. Describes a class project where students produced a collaborative,…

Examines the question of crossing cultures in early childhood education settings. Suggests that parenting education should focus on clarifying parents' values and goals rather than on socializing them into the standard early childhood perspectives. Suggests that early childhood educators help people clarify their cultural values and examine how…

Characterizes the New Deal as "the single most important twentieth-century episode in the creation of the modern American state." Discusses the astonishing range of legislative activity enacted to respond to the Great Depression and the ensuing political opposition. Frankly evaluates those programs that failed. (MJP)

Maintains that the explosion of communications technology represents both content and method for social studies courses. Praises the International Negotiation Project (INP) as an educational resource that incorporates both. The INP is a computer-assisted simulation of international negotiation and foreign policy decision making. (MJP)

The strategic planning process developed at Hartwick College (New York) begun in 1992 is described, and the college's resulting commitment to information technology is discussed. Issues arising during the process included choice of operating system(s), winning over skeptics, software selection, development of technical support, establishment of a…

Argues that the Japanese model of early years education enables children to make comparatively fast progress once they begin elementary schooling. Asserts that the understanding of group behavior and needs of other children contributes to children's sharing of responsibility and positive learning attitudes. Maintains that preschool routines…

Describes a collaborative in which graduate students who were learning about participatory research and cultural diversity in the classroom worked with middle school students who were learning about research. The paper examines the stories of six middle school research clubs, focusing on collaborative interactions between researchers and students.…

Presents a classroom teacher's experiences in preparing a fifth-grade class for the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) test. Discusses an integrated curriculum approach, disagreements between teacher associations and the state department of education, and student and parent attitudes toward the test. (CFR)

Findings are reported from the annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and foreign language education in the following categories: African, Asian, French, Germanic, Italian, Near and Middle Eastern, Slavic, and Spanish languages/literatures; classics; comparative literature; theoretical…

A study investigated (1) college students' perception of their knowledge and actual knowledge about their student loans (when first borrowed, interest rate, repayment terms) and (2) the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, marital status, ethnic background, residency, academic achievement, major, employment, loan…