What is it to learn for an unknown future? It might be said that the future has always been unknown but this question surely takes on a new pedagogical challenge in the contemporary age. Generic skills may seem to offer the basis of just such a learning for an unknown future. Generic skills, by definition, are those that surely hold across…

A high percentage of young people (16-24 years of age) lack essential skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic needed to become workers and citizens. The teaching of reading should be of importance to all educators, not just language arts teachers. (JOW)

Focuses on how business educators can train students realistically for the future, combining change, content, and challenge with traditional basic skills to provide office occupations students with the skills needed to find jobs in today's technological office. (JOW)

Office procedures must be taught and learned in the context that each country is dependent upon the others for economic survival. This dependence will be successful if the work force in each country understands and appreciates that productivity and cooperation are necessary in a global economy. (Author)

The purpose of instruction in agriculture at the secondary level should be educating students about agriculture: its importance and contributions to society, the development of practical agricultural skills, and preparation of people for occupations in agriculture. (JOW)

The United States must renew its commitment to public education by establishing clear goals in education, restoring language to a central place in the classroom, developing a coherent curriculum, and reaffirming the centrality of teaching. (Author/MSE)

Industrial arts should use its enormous potential for experiential learning in the area of broadly-conceived occupational education. Industrial arts must also maintain its general education framework and reach beyond a narrow "crafts" focus. (SK)

Developmental education, confined to the lower division, is a key to opportunity for historically Black institutions to advance Black professional education and employment. Tension exists between the goals of excellence and equal educational opportunity, exacerbated by competition for Black students. Coordination between these and professional…

Points out that the employment of secretaries is expected to rise faster than the average for all occupations through the 1980s. This presents a challenge for business teachers: training students with necessary skills to fill these vacancies. (JOW)

Discusses the need for lifelong learning to maintain a presence in a world economy. Looks at the widening gap between rich and poor and its relation to educational level and suggests that more emphasis must be placed on upgrading the skills of blue collar workers. (JOW)

The current imbalance between teaching basic skills and higher order skills can be addressed by redesigning teaching into two specialized areas. Using the principal-agent model and applying ideas from organization theory, the advantages of restructuring teaching to increase emphasis on problem-solving and higher order skills are discussed. (SLD)

This research report presents five papers offering Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Australian views of educational issues. The first paper, "Nursery School Leadership--A Forgotten Leadership" (Margareth Drakenberg), discusses societal changes in Sweden, characteristics of Swedish Child Care Service, literature on leadership styles and…

A controversial Arkansas law requires that all currently employed certified teachers pass a specially developed literacy test. This article describes the rational for teacher testing in terms of professional, ethical, and political issues. Testing is necessary for public support for reforms that improve the professional status and salaries of…

Futurists claim that computers will change the workplace and the entire society of the United States within the next few years. Already they are making many changes such as displacement of clerical workers and creation of more jobs for programmers and analysts. In the future, the majority of adults will need to be computer literate. However,…

Changes already well underway in the world of work will affect the opportunities for full employment, and these changes will have an impact upon all working persons, including the hearing impaired. In the year 2000, many more women, more older persons, and more individuals with different language backgrounds and cultures will be in the work force.…