These proceedings from a three-day Texas conference focus on the needs of handicapped students in vocational education. In the keynote speech, Marc Gold asks two questions: How do you distinguish those people who have special needs from those who don't--if you can distinguish; and, Is it possible to think in terms of goals that need to be…

Controversies over adult education purposes, methods, audiences, and procedures are examined. After outlining a procedure for reviewing competing positions on controversial topics, the book pairs the contrasting views of two authors on each of 10 key issues facing adult education. Chapters cover: philosophies at issue (David L. Boggs); identifying…

Human resource development (HRD) specialists are searching for instructional design models that accommodate e-learning platforms. Van Merrienboer proposed the four-component instructional design model (4C/ID model) for competency-based education. The model's basic message is that well-designed learning environments can always be described in terms…

This booklet, which is written for adult literacy practitioners in Australia, argues that adult literacy practitioners working as trainers and assessors must become familiar with the tasks and texts used by competent workers in particular occupations and industries, and must understand how those tasks and texts fit within the broader social…

Career-technical educators face three issues in credentialing through assessment. First, the occupational credentialing domain is large and evolving, and a clear understanding of it is a prerequisite to considering adoption of a credential. Three types of credentialing are registration, certification, and licensure. Credentialing organizations are…

This paper gives an overview of issues related to language assessment of prospective bilingual education teachers who are enrolled in postsecondary institutions. The review indicates that, generally, little has been done on the establishment of entry/exit level criteria for language assessment. Where criteria exist, they are viewed in terms of the…

The two principal types of teacher education models--traditional (competency-based) and humanistic--are reviewed as they relate to the training of the foreign language teacher. A synthesized model of conventional second language teacher programs is set forth. Competency-based and performance-based models are described as interim structurings of…

The complexities of defining successful schooling, along with other elusive factors such as teaching styles, pose problems for teacher evaluation. Teaching requires more than the ability to perform skills according to a preset formula; it involves making decisions which combine judgment with performance of skills. (PP)

Peformance-based teacher education should be approached on a humanistic basis. While such programs may be able to point out deficiencies in traditional methods of teacher preparation, a complete change may result in a competency-oriented profession. (CJ)

The position taken here is that extensive field work with children which is built around a particular set of competencies which the university student is responsible to demonstrate will accomplish far more than the campus-centered, inferentially-based lecture approach. Such a program operating at an urban university is outlined. (Author/SJL)

Although the conditions for successful technology integration finally appear to be in place, including ready access to technology, increased training for teachers, and a favorable policy environment, high-level technology use is still surprisingly low. This suggests that additional barriers, specifically related to teachers' pedagogical beliefs,…

This document is intended to generate discussion about the plans of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority for developing a National Qualifications Framework. The document begins with an explanation of the qualifications framework in Maori and in English. A guide to reading the document points out its organization and the inclusion of diagrams…

Australia's new information technology training package emphasizes assessment occurring in the workplace or in a simulated work environment. The options available to Australia's technical and further education (TAFE) institutes in delivering institutionalized training to meet this requirement were explored. The following four options were…

"Management engineered" teacher education is an instructional method designed to assist teachers in the acquisition, maintenence, and improvement of essential knowledge, skills, attributes, and professional competencies which are necessary to function effectively in varied professional roles. The system aims at improving teachers' performances as…

The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between instructional competencies and other items with which they are often confused, and then to explore specific examples of the relations among these items. Two of the reasons for this confusion are associated with the numerous definitions of the terms competency and the…