"Critical thinking" has been defined as reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. Since the social sciences require practitioners to ask relevant questions, develop appropriate evaluation criteria, generalize from observed facts, conceptualize hypotheses, and make judgements, critical thinking skills should…

Based on a class in small engine repair, this document prepares teachers to help special needs students to enter the world of work. The paper contains an overview of the course, which teaches students repair skills while introducing them to safety habits, work habits, and characteristics that employers expect of entry workers. Strategies outlined…

A position is put forth on the appropriate content of a computer literacy course and the role of computer literacy in the community college. First, various definitions of computer literacy are examined, including the programming, computer awareness, and comprehensive approaches. Next, five essential components of a computer literacy course are…

A study examined the changing role and status of the elementary school teacher as projected in the teachers' guides that accompany reading textbooks. Twelve fifth-grade teachers' guides for each decade since 1920 were analyzed by scrutinizing every sixth chapter, story, or lesson for (1) physical characteristics, (2) testing components, (3) number…

The syllabus for a college-level speech course at California State University, Los Angeles, designed to help students of English as a second language bring their pronunciation closer to mainstream English is presented. While the primary focus is on pronunciation improvement, the course also provides functional communication practice. The students…

A curriculum designed for secondary school fourth-year language students focuses on the human life cycle in the Hispanic cultural context. Four lessons cover the following topics: (1) Hispanic values; (2) the roles of women and men in Hispanic society; (3) customs related to dating, love, marriage, and divorce; and (4) treatment of death. Each…

An Eastern Michigan University course in Spanish for special purposes with an emphasis on technology was intended to serve students of business, international trade, and technology, but the actual enrollment came largely from the department of foreign languages and bilingual studies. However, significant diversity in scientific preparation and…

The authors offer their view of a normative basis for an approach to teacher education that contributes to the establishment of more critical and emancipatory practices in the public schools of United States. These ideas are then linked to the broader tradition of radicalism in teacher education. A variety of conceptual lenses and instructional…

Suggestions are provided for teachers wishing to develop a course segment on intercultural business communication, based on a hypothetical need for an instructional module in Japanese business culture. It is suggested that the teacher first read related materials and seek out resource people who have lived and worked in the culture. Module…

Historically, preservice teacher education programs have not provided their students, in a systematic manner, with knowledge, methods, or practice to produce effective classroom management. A systematic approach to classroom management is recommended that would deal with advance planning and preparation before the school year, and the…

The intent of women's studies, the academic arm of the women's movement, is to create critical space where the debate over power and the production of knowledge can occur through the argument that the exclusion of women from the knowledge base brings into question that which has passed for wisdom. A survey was designed to provide a descriptive…

A literature course entitled "The Victorian Illustrated Book: A Marriage of Image and Word," offered at Skidmore College in New York, was designed to help students make connections between art and literature. Based on the premise that illustrations in Victorian books can be "decoded" much like a written text, students were…

The high degree of autonomy college faculty members exercise in organizing and teaching courses suggests that faculty perceptions of educational purposes, subject matter structure and importance, and expectations for student learning are major determinants of educational success. Despite diversity and local autonomy present in its system, American…

Although intrusive factors--such as the economy--have limited recent strides toward improving rural education, there are components of excellence within the realm of local determination that are appropriate to conditions, circumstances, and aspirations surrounding the schooling process in rural areas. The educational reform movement in most states…

The effectiveness of two alternative attitude change strategies--a traditional persuasive strategy and a combined attributional/persuasive strategy--in altering attitudes toward nuclear disarmament were compared. Seventeen male and 39 female undergraduate students at a small university participated. A nuclear disarmament attitude pretest was…