This paper discusses the growth of open education programs that were developed first in Britain and then in the United States, and it notes conflicts between the open education movement and demands for accountability that emerged in England and later in the United States. The paper then describes a study in which 23 teachers in England and 25…

A critical review of educational and social psychological literature was undertaken in order to clarify the impact of schools' control orientation on student learning and on the teacher-student relationship. The propositions argued are (a) a strong control orientation is incompatible with helping students become responsible young adults, (b) the…

This handbook, which is intended for adult and community education (ACE) organizations and vocational education and training (VET) providers, outlines more than 40 practical successful pathway models that provide opportunities and options for women's transition from informal, noncredit ACE courses to accredited VET courses. Discussed in the first…

In the Information Society of the new millennium, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming essential for the rapid dissemination of information. In this context, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) will have a growing role in effectively training people to have active roles in society. However, modern learners have a…

SOCRATES is the European Community's new education program for the member states of the European Union (EU) (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and the European Economic Area (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Its aims…

These five papers prepared for the annual Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Senior Executives' Conference emphasize policy implications. "Does Research Influence Policy?" (W. Hall) makes the point that some important policy decisions have been taken on nonexistent or flimsy research evidence. The next four papers are research…

Focusing on both the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching children and adolescents to write effectively, the papers in this report originated as speeches delivered at a conference on English and language arts instruction. The 12 papers deal with the following topics: the composing process as communication, the cognitive and biological…

Describes activities of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the United Kingdom related to ways that information technology may contribute to learning. Topics discussed include cognitive science; evaluation of changes in learning; language skills; learner-machine interface; policy and management issues; teacher education; computer…

The document begins by considering the underlying assumptions of open education and the development of open education in Great Britain and the United States. Several definitions and descriptions of open education are cited. The main body of the document deals with the effects of open education on student achievement, student attitudes and…

This document consists of a 3-year compilation (9 issues) of the RaPAL (Research and Practice in Adult Literacy) Bulletin. Typical articles are: "Student Involvement in Research" (a report of a workshop by Alex Golightly, Nick Nicola, and Marilyn Stone); part of a dialogue between Paolo Freire and Ira Shor, writer/educators of Brazil and…

This volume focuses on the LIVE (Learning in Virtual Environments) project, a three-year project focusing on developing distance education and open and distance learning skills in teacher education. The pilot stage, reported in this volume, was conducted in the spring of 1997 at the Department of Teacher Education of the University of Helsinki…

One of the most important implications for professional adult educators drawn from this review of the literature (emphasizing seven research studies which focus on the individual learner) stems from the increasing evidence that adults plan a great deal of learning for themselves without any assistance or intervention from professional adult…

Research investigated the relationships between the characteristics of adult learners, aged 17 to 67, and their responses to learning via multi-media instructional programs. Students read materials in accounting and psychology, viewed video lessons and listened to audio tapes; post-treatment data were then collected. Results showed that: 1) the…

Interest in "open" education has been stimulated by reforms going on in the British primary school. It is also stimulated by a belief that British schools must become more responsive to the people they are intended to serve and less controlled by institutional routines and technological requirements. A two-dimensional scheme is proposed…

An evaluation was made of the training needs of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy and the potential of open, distance, flexible, and multimedia learning to meet those needs. The methodology included contacts with training providers, governmental institutions, and SMEs and circulation of…