In writing instruction, emphasis should be placed on developing a sense of a community, focusing on the social or collaborative view of writing. This view contends that writing is taught best as collaborative learning, with the classroom providing a social context in which students come together to develop their writing skills. In the…

This paper describes the theories and social factors that contributed to the development of competency-based training (CBT). These include behaviorism (Edward L. Thorndike), scientific management (Frederick Taylor), progressive education (John Dewey), and derivative theories including operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner), objectives-based…

Television shows have been a traditional outlet for language practices in second language classrooms around the world. However, the only criteria that teachers seem to have to choose said shows are that they are in English and native speakers are involved. This may lead to choosing materials for the sake of watching or selecting materials that do…

Examines how negative views of government and the public sector are affecting educational governance. Reviews social and political trends undermining support for public schools. Presents a new definition of governance that realistically portrays the politics of educational leadership by acknowledging the roles of public and private sectors,…

Discusses the state of the Internet. Highlights include the magnitude of the infrastructure, costs, its increasing pace, constraints in international links, provision of network capacity to homes and small businesses, cable television modems, political and cultural problems, the digital library concept, search engines, the failure of personal…

Recommends application of social learning theory to medical education in ambulatory care settings, including preceptor attention to orienting and creating legitimate and appropriate roles for learners; provision of competent role models; careful organization of the experience to include modeling, discussion, and both guided and independent…

Describes public communication as either priestly (didactic, bringing institutionally authorized meanings to an initiate audience) or bardic (giving voice to a body of meanings already at work in the consciousness of the auditors). Suggests that the public discourse of contemporary scientists is an important example of the priestly voice. (SR)

Examines problems in the use of the term "community," including: (1) vague descriptions of community, without rules or boundaries; (2) its foreignness to students, raising questions about why students should learn it; and (3) its tendency to polarize writing theorists into community and individual camps. (JAD)

Traces the development of black-white residential segregation in U.S. cities, and applies the views of Gunnar Myrdal, expressed in the 1940s, to housing trends in the 1980s. While such segregation has decreased, blacks remain more segregated than two other large minority groups (i.e., Hispanics and Asians). Forces influencing residential…

The movement to reform the Chicago (Illinois) public schools faces a host of problems in the classroom and a sea of social ills outside the classroom. Without support from the African American community and largely cut off from the reform process, neither significant progress nor progressive change can be made. (SLD)

Examines how well the International Baccalaureate (IB) achieves its aims of inculcating international attitudes while maintaining students' cultural identities. Finds that international attitudes may be more affected by the social environment of IB programs than by the curriculum; success at cultural maintenance varies by culture, with Western…

Uses the textbook, "The Manufacture of Pulp and Paper," as a case study of technical education in a process industry during the post-World War I period. Illustrates how codification of knowledge about industrial processes served the hegemony of university-trained scientists, the leaders and beneficiaries of this new period of industrial…

Despite remarkable improvements in the overall health of the nation during the past two decades, compelling evidence suggests that the nation's racial and ethnic minority Americans suffer increasing disparities in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and adverse health outcomes compared with white Americans. The 1998…

In this article, we consider the theoretical debates and frameworks that have shaped research on language development and intervention in persons with mental retardation over the past four decades. Our starting point is the nativist theory, which has been espoused most forcefully by Chomsky. We also consider more recent alternatives to the…

An interesting trend is sweeping the nation's Christian higher education movement. During the 20th century, Christian liberal arts colleges and universities were frequently established and founded with names that included their denominational affiliation or the word "Christian" in them. In recent years, the trend has been to omit any religious…