The purpose of postcollegiate professional education is to train scientific and science education cadres of higher qualification. To a large extent, systematic and well-planned training accomplishes the tasks of maintaining and developing the country's constructive scientific, cultural, and intellectual potential; it ensures the continuity of the…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This November 19, 2004 issue of "Chronicle for Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Mr. Water" (Zaragoza); (2) "Philippine Government Shuts Down 23…

We describe a case study of an in-service professional development project with four experienced biology teachers in two upper secondary schools. The objective was to better understand the role of laboratory work (labwork) in science education with a special emphasis on assessment. Research questions include the following: 1. What does the teacher…

In Northern Ireland there has been a dearth of evidence on the role of further education colleges in relation to educating adults. Given the existence of a system of education based on academic selection, it has emerged that the "losers" in this process grow up to become adults with reduced self-esteem in relation to how they perceive…

The paper presents the results of an evaluation research that studied the impact of a nationwide home intervention program, the Mother-Child Education Program, on both children and mothers immediately after the termination of the program and at the end of the children's first year of formal schooling. A pre/post control group quasiexperimental…

It's that time of year again and "Adults Learning" has once more asked some of the outstanding authors who have contributed to the journal over the past 12 months to nominate their best and most valuable reads of 2004. The authors are: (1) Judith Summers; (2) Thomas Sticht; (3) Alison Wolf; (4) Tom Schuller; (5) Linden West; (6) Brian…

Despite the diversity of cultural settings within which it is now being implemented, research on Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) is yet to address the impact of culture on teaching and learning. With its growth in Asia, in places such as Singapore and Hong Kong that are culturally distinct from western settings, this seems to be an area of…

This article describes an action research project, based within a school, to develop and increase the social resiliency of students with special education needs in both school and community settings. The programme included role-plays, scenarios and problem solving. An assessment tool was developed to measure self-esteem amongst the students and…

Background: The population of children with specific language impairments (SLI) is heterogeneous. The present study was conducted to examine this heterogeneity more closely, by identifying and describing subgroups within the population of children with SLI in the Netherlands. Method: A broad battery of language tests and language-related cognitive…

Background: Increasing numbers of children are referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services because of disruptive behaviour. Recent reviews on the origins of conduct problems indicate that the most severe and persistent forms are found predominantly among males with a range of neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities, which are likely to have…

This study examined the relationship among creativity, ADHD symptomatology, temperament, and psychosocial functioning by comparing four groups of children aged 10-12 years: (1) 29 ADHD children without creativity, (2) 16 highly creative children displaying ADHD symptomatology, (3) 18 highly creative children without ADHD symptomatology, and (4) 30…

The effects of information technology on the creative performance in small groups were examined. An experimental 3 x 2 design was used in order to assess the effects of Group Communication Support System (GCSS) and perceived usefulness on the creative product and the creative process. A chat, a video conference and a face-to-face group were…

In this paper I present a narrative approach to environmental education research. This approach evolved through a dynamic interplay between research questions, theory, experience, conversation, and reflection. I situate the approach with respect to narrative inquiry and clarify the key conceptual metaphors underpinning my study, including…

The history of (external) quality assurance schemes in European higher education since ca. 1980 is sketched in this article. The three pioneering countries in Western Europe are taken as models of different developments and contrasted with the rise of accreditation in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989. Using theoretical insights, the dynamics…

Developing Information Technology (IT) skills in pre-service teachers and identifying IT competencies required of practising teachers is an issue challenging most developed nations. This paper looks at IT capabilities required by a number of educational systems and discusses IT skills developed in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree at the…