Argues for new opportunities for persons previously excluded from rewarding employment experiences, through partnerships between business and adult literacy programs. Joint ventures to benefit viable, functionally literate workers must create a new market through such initiatives as national, state, and business cooperation, language minority…

Discusses the problems associated with remediation in vocational education and job training and argues for the need to reform the current system. The authors explain that reform would require the coordination and referral mechanisms familiar to policymakers as well as pedagogical reforms that have rarely been considered. (GLR)

By combining hands-on research and telecommunications, the National Geographic Society's Kids Network enables K-8 students to grapple with basic science and geography concepts, hone communication and research skills, and network with kids around the world. Students focus on real-world problems, work cooperatively, and share results in class…

Describes the rationale for and outcomes of La Guardia Community College's Critical Thinking Program. Considers the relationship of critical thinking to writing and reading. Evaluates the program's impact on students' reading, writing, and speaking skills; higher-order reasoning/problem-solving abilities; and critical attitudes toward their lives…

A discussion of economic and social arguments that advance adult literacy is followed by a review of definitions of literacy, issues of literacy instruction, issues of language, and issues of assessment and evaluation. (91 references) (LB)

Survey of 233 Missouri trade/industrial and health occupations teachers (72%) and interviews with teachers and administrators showed serious concern for delivering employability and basic skills. Many directors may be unaware of teachers' concern for broader perspectives in vocational education. Dissonance between personal convictions and ability…

Describes a microcomputer-based program of assessment and instruction in language arts incorporated into the developmental curriculum at four colleges. Discusses the instructional value of assessment. Describes three different implementation modes. Finds a climate for experimentation, a program champion, an implementation team, and organizational…

Examines the potential usefulness of intensive interaction as an educational methodology with pupils whose learning difficulties are compounded by autism. Review of empirical case-study evidence together with questionnaire and interview data from teachers suggests that this intensive approach to developing fundamental social and communication…

A study that analyzed curricular structures of three Israeli schools found four components--basic skills subjects, separate subjects, integrative topics, and enrichment programs--each characterized by a different profile of curriculum features. Israel is moving to decentralize curriculum. Enabling conditions include adequate time and resource…

A study of 60 preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers found significant relationships among teachers' beliefs about how children learn; their views on the goals of early childhood education; their positions on policies related to school entry, testing, and retention; their satisfaction with current practices, and pressures for change;…

The School of Hope (Pointe Coupee Parish Schools, Louisiana) opened in January 1996 in response to industry's needs for nonprofessional employees. Curriculum is provided by an integrated learning system--35 computers linked to mainframe--that allows students to work on individualized lessons at their own pace. Seventy percent of 120 students are…

As the numbers of migrant farmworkers active in the United States increases, so does the need to provide effective literacy programs for them and their families. Homestate and upstream programs are designed to meet the needs of migrant workers. The paper provides examples of successful programs that involve whole migrant families in literacy…

Teachers (n=366 and grades K-12) rated 30 social skills for their importance to school success. Results suggest that all teachers viewed cooperation and self-control skills as more important than assertion skills. Middle school teachers had the most homogeneous expectations. General education teachers viewed assertion and cooperation skills as…

In this thematic issue, articles focus on the use of phase electives in the English classroom. Discussions include "Death in the Classroom,""Soapbox Operas in the English Classroom,""Language and History in Phase-Elective Programs,""Phase Electives and the Problem of Composition," and "Phase Electives and College Preparation.""Phase Electives Are…

Describes the process of acquiring a computer-assisted instruction system by the Linton-Stockton School Corporation (LSSC). Discusses problems that made the acquisition difficult. Presents the results of a standardized achievement test given to students before and after experience with the system. Emphasizes gains in reading comprehension. (CW)