Suggests ways in which instructors can engage students in large classes. States that short weekly written student responses can ameliorate the problems of dealing with large classes. Explains that such responses help students gain power over the material and assists in developing competence. (Contains 19 references.) (NB)

Describes the "people's college" as the distinctive nineteenth-century educational institution of the United States. These tax-supported public secondary schools prepared graduates for business and industry but lost their position as the defining secondary institution when challenged to prepare students for college as well as employment.…

Discusses three different approaches to child rearing: autocratic, anarchic, and democratic. Maintains that the use of each approach results in the development of a particular kind of character and behavior in the child. Also discusses John Dewey's efforts to define democratic character and his experiments with teacher attempts to develop this…

School superintendents need a strong academic background and a strong intellect. Graduate programs for future school leaders should have close ties with faculty members who are outside the university's department of education; such programs should seek closer ties with elementary and secondary schools. (MLF)

The public schools have just been restructured based on insufficient information or ignored research. Now, with new education bills and laws, another restructuring is beginning. More thought should be put into the purpose of education in order to handle the crucial issues for such restructuring. For example, certification requirements for…

Although more than one-half of U.S. high school graduates do not go on to college, the high school curriculum fails to meet the needs of this "forgotten half." Curriculum reformers have focused on strengthening the curriculum; however, most of their suggestions are appropriate only for those in the college preparatory curriculum. The…

Vocational education for tomorrow must be an educational delivery system rather than a subject-matter content area. It must blend and interrelate the various areas to provide core competencies, employment skills, and employability skills in a truly integrated and comprehensive educational program. Academic and vocational education must not be…

Economic changes and demographic realities may require fundamental changes in what individuals need to learn, how and when they need to learn it, and who needs to learn it. Examination of three strands of research should clarify these issues. The first strand consists of research on changes in the nature and structure of work and in the capacities…

Based on the theory that higher education in America has been on the decline since 1953, the decadence and hopes for renewal in higher learning are examined. The following afflictions are cited as cause for the decline: (1) a purposelessness or loss of the objects of wisdom and virtue; (2) intellectual disorder: all integration and order of…

This paper focuses on the discussion of community colleges as baccalaureate-degree granting institutions. The discussion is based on research projects undertaken in both the U.S. and Canada that investigate the institutionalization of degree programs at community colleges. Colleges in British Columbia and Alberta are baccalaureate as well as…

Heidegger's philosophy of technology demonstrates how technology acts as an agent of performativity within the school system serving the interests of the state and global economy. Papua New Guinea provides an example of how performativity and technology have become entrenched in a non-Western developing nation, usurped traditional education, and…

Argues that the best alternative to assigning children to grades on the basis of birth date alone is to implement a child-centered and process-oriented curriculum for younger children and push back the academic curriculum to the upper grades. Suggests this allows children to develop at their own pace. (RS)

Questions the merit of workplace utility as a criteria for general and occupational curricula, focusing on community colleges and the current trend toward Tech Prep curricula. Urges general education advocates to uphold the integrity of a broadly useful humanities education, while actively promoting vocational education for a well-prepared…

Includes "On the Common Core of Learning" (Kennedy); "Constitutional Implications of National Curriculum Standards" (Arons); "Arguments against National Performance Standards" (Fulk, Mantzicopoulos, Hirth); and "The Painful Lessons of Introducing the National Curriculum in England" (Foster). (SK)

Jim Burke is a master at making pedagogical principles accessible with practical teaching aids, most notably graphic organizers. In this article, he asks two questions, "What can teachers do that makes a difference for all students, that meets them where they are and helps get them where they need to be as reader and writers--as students?" and…