The XX IDEA annual conference has been focused and reflected on different ways and means of meeting various kinds of methodological challenges, new technologies and multi-media developments, newly emerging partnerships and collaboration between emerging sectors on one hand and between the institutions functioning with similar objectives and…

There are virtually no empirical studies of the open classroom which have assessed its critical elements (Bryant, 1972; Walberg and Thomas, 1972). This study took some of the characteristics which have been derived in the descriptive literature and assessed them empirically. (Author)

The changes faced by the society in the past few decades brought revolution in all areas. The job requirements have undergone change tremendously. The emergence of e-culture, e-education, e-governance, e-training, e-work sites and so on questioned the capacity of conventional face to face education in catering to all and relevance of existing job…

Measures of attitude, academic achievement, and social and personality variables were employed in a year-long evaluation of progress and outcomes of open education and traditional education groups. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant function techniques, using means of teacher ratings as the "success"…

It was found that students evaluated their schools more highly when the school demanded more of them and offered high standards and opportunities for dramatic resistance to highly structured situations. (JD)

Excerpts from students' writing illustrate the differences between Foxfire and other learning approaches and the dilemmas students face in Foxfire classes, including choices, decisions and responsibilities; developing new skills in a new process; participating in the democratic process; effectively working together; and nontraditional evaluations.…

The Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) is designed to measure student or teacher perceptions of actual and preferred classroom learning environment along dimensions which differentiate individualized classrooms from conventional ones. These dimensions are Personalization, Participation, Independence, Investigation, and…

The relative appeal and effectiveness of several television lesson formats designed for adult learners in an open university learning system were evaluated. One hundred and fifty-four subjects viewed video lesson segments in two college course areas, Accounting and Psychology. A variety of TV formats were used, including story-lines, short…

This report summarizes the available research on open/informal education. The introduction discusses the assumptions which underlie open education and presents definitions and descriptions of open education. The body of the report examines 30 studies of open education and reports findings with regard to student achievement, student self-concept…

Describes a study of the Vancouver Project (British Columbia), integrating the Ashton-Warner Key Vocabulary approach to beginning reading instruction into nine open classrooms. (BF)

The author is concerned with implementing in geography instruction the philosophy of N. Postman and C. Weingartner, expressed in "Teaching as a Subversive Activity," advocating student "meaning making" and "languaging." (JH)

The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) study showed student support services were an important component of distance education. One of the factors differentiating between high/low-achievers was that the former were more active in seeking help. This project explored what factors promote or inhibit use of peer support, and how it might be utilized…

Describes a study that was conducted in Wales to investigate the attitudes and responses of 16- to 19-year-old students in a flexible learning program. Problems of open learning processes with this age group are discussed, and study skills, tutorial support, and performance monitoring are examined. (six references) (LRW)

The four papers in this collection focus on distance education and open education. In the first paper, "The Open Learning Institute," D. W. Roberts cites the original recommendation that Charles Sturt University establish a new division to be known as the Open Learning Institute, and presents a definition of the concept. In the second…