Describes Tolstoy's experimental school program as a forerunner of modern, open-education programs. In a radical departure from conventional, nineteenth century Russian educational practice, Tolstoy stressed individualized, independent learning with meaningful instructional materials. In his non-coercive classroom, self-discipline was founded on…

Identifies five factors that appear to have contributed to the survival of several firmly established programs in the alternative school movement. (Author/WD)

Since 1970, liaisons between the Open University and local providers of adult education have assisted in preparing adults for studying in the Open University. Two examples from joint work with the Workers' Educational Association are cited. (Author/AF)

The Athenian experience parallels the American idealism that produced progressive and open education. The extremes of Sparta's "basic" education are a caricature of our own discipline-based and basic education movements. An understanding of these systems can help us judge the merits of our own educational movements. (Author)

The author gives examples of how the concept of open education can be implemented and of what its successes and satisfactions can be. She also discusses the relevance of Dewey's philosophy to open education, noting the relationship of setting, evaluation, and curriculum to the larger issue of moral and social development. (AJ)

The development of a muralmaking project during a three-week summer institute in open education in Manhattan is described. Photographs and videotape provide a record to share with teachers and schools who wish to use muralmaking as a curriculum element. Preparation is recounted; participants' logs and community reactions are quoted. (AJ)

At the Waukesha County Technical Institute in Wisconsin students benefit from individualized instruction and open entry/open exit system. The key to this flexibility is a series of audio-visual modules to support lecture presentations and demonstrations. (HD)

This article describes preservice teachers' trips to explore progressive public schools (past and present), emphasizing one to Central Park East School in Spanish Harlem. The schools have strong leadership, high expectations, and a commitment to a child-centered approach in common. Future teachers gain perspective and insight from such visits. (SM)

Drawing on Foucault's notion of discourse, it is suggested that post-Fordism and globalization trends can be found in changing theories of distance education and open learning. Argues that notions of distance education are part of a trend towards uniformity under conditions of globalization, while those of open learning are part of a trend to…

Discussion of open learning and the use of computer-mediated communication systems (CMCS) focuses on Information Technology-based Open Learning (ITOL), a small-scale trial model of open learning developed at Lancaster University (United Kingdom). Application of ITOL to a master's program in management learning is described, and evaluation results…

Describes the open education preschool program of the Child Development Research Institute at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Discusses the facility's play areas, learning centers, and outdoor environment; the program's attempts to foster children's creative expression, autonomy and responsibility, and thinking skills; and the program's use of…

After 18 years of using a traditional approach to teaching, a middle-school teacher turned her classroom into a shared learning experience by giving students the responsibility to make choices about their education. To reassure parents who were skeptical of the Foxfire approach, she continued to interject traditional learning activities. (LP)

Puts forth a theory of popular education, the elements of which include (1) an emphasis on the relationship of education and learning to collective and emancipatory struggle, and (2) an analytical framework which connects learning and education with analysis of political economy and ideology. Tests the theory through a case study of Australian…

Examines the evolution of open distance learning (ODL) in the United Kingdom, particularly in relation to traditional universities and to recent developments in telematics. Argues that a major test of the new technologies in distance education will be their capacity to support real academic communities, allowing the university to maintain the best…

As teacher education undergoes significant reform, open and distance education utilizing new interactive forms of technology will play a crucial role in improving the quality and extent of preservice and inservice teacher education. New assessments of costs and effectiveness are needed. The paper presents four case studies illustrating technology…