Engaging youth in public lands monitoring: opportunities for enhancing ecological literacy and environmental stewardship

Abstract

The US Forest Service has a long history of youth conservation education. We investigated U.S. Forest Service citizen science programs that involve secondary school students in field collection of monitoring data to understand (1) how the programs integrated science and environmental education and (2) whether these programs advance ecological literacy and environmental stewardship. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the program leads, teachers, and students. Program leads and students said programs produced reliable data and met monitoring and other U.S. Forest Service stewardship objectives. Although these programs varied in design and objectives, our findings suggest these programs were incorporating both science and environmental education, and there is some indication they are creating ecological literacy among participants. Students exhibited environmental stewardship to some degree as a result of all programs, but the extent of this is tied to programs’ objectives and design.     

How First-Class Undergraduate Education Reform in the United States Can Inform the Development of Double First Class Education in China

Abstract

As learning institutions, U.S. universities aim to provide abundant learning opportunities to fulfill students’ right to learn. Undergraduate education is considered an important component of lifelong learning and aims to enable students to “learn how to learn.” During the undergraduate stage, schools pay special attention to cultivating students’ critical thinking and curiosity, emphasizing five core competencies in writing, reading, research, quantitative analysis, and communication. They use summer reading, undergraduate research, seminars, learning communities, and academic advising as platforms to expand students’ learning experiences, especially those of first-year students. They encourage students to innovate and start their own businesses, and promote equal access to education, thereby strengthening student retention and successful graduation.     

医学院校特殊学生群体现状及管理对策

随着社会的快速发展,高校学生人数的急速增加,高校中出现了各种类型的问题学生。这些问题学生组成了高校的特殊学生群体,他们的管理和教育已成为高校学生管理和心理健康教育的重点工作,受到各高校的重视。但是针对医学院校的特殊学生群体的研究很少,本文针对医学院的特点研究医学院校的特殊学生群体现状,并初步提出其管理的重点。     

Community College Employee Wellness Programs

This paper describes the prevalence and characteristics of employee wellness programs in public community colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). A random sample of 250 public community colleges accredited by SACS was mailed a 46-item employee-wellness program survey. The survey solicited program information regarding funding, activities offered, program administration, participation rates, and incentives. The results indicated that the majority of the employee wellness program administrative bodies were either the health and physical education departments or wellness committees. The main coordinators of the wellness programs were either part-time directors within the institutions, wellness committees, or full-time directors within the institutions. Of the institutions surveyed, 27 out of 64 (42.2%) offered employee wellness programs. The findings indicate that the prevalence of employee wellness programs in public community colleges accredited by SACS is below previous research findings in community colleges and universities and do not meet the national health goals of employee health promotion prevalence set forth by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.     

Andreas Goes to Africa: A Comparative Historical Study of the Teachers for East Africa Programs

This article uses a comparative historical approach to examine the Teachers for East Africa (TEA) and the Teacher Education in East Africa (TEEA) programs, an influential educational development effort that involved U.S. and British college graduates in East African schools and colleges during the decade of 1961–1971. Drawing on postcolonial theory and Andreas Kazamias’s humanistic view of education, the “Paideia of the soul,” it explores how U.S. teachers interpreted the education system they encountered in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda at the end of the colonial era, seeking to made sense of a radically different system of schooling. The comparison of U.S. and British teachers’ views on pedagogy in this critical historical period as discerned in the TEA and TEAA archive illustrates deep fissures in the putative edifice of “Western” education.     

Implications of the olympiad studies for the development of mathematical talent in schools

In this chapter educational implications arising from the data about the Olympiad winners in the U.S., Taiwan and Mainland China (Chapters 3–5) are offered. The discussion addresses two lines of questioning: (1) How can we ensure support for recognized math talent through schooling to professional life? (2) How can we increase the pool of gifted students who participate in the Olympiad and other academic competitions and programs? To address the first question, related research studies in a number of different areas are explored. The second part of the chapter looks at how and why schools should expand the number of students who participate in competitions. This view is supported by a rationale for the role of talent development, including whether broad or narrow curricula for secondary students should be pursued and how the “the leaky pipeline” leading to math-based careers can be “plugged.”     

Illuminating Low-income Pregnant and Parenting Student Mothers’ Experiences with Community College

U.S. community colleges are considered historical sites of educational access and opportunity for social mobility for nontraditional students. Theoretically framed in Acker’s theory of gendered organizations, this qualitative study explores low-income pregnant and parenting student mothers’ experiences with community colleges, spaces that are designed for an abstract, “ideal student.” Gendered analyses of in-depth interviews from 17 low-income pregnant and parenting student mothers across three community colleges in the Northeastern U.S. reveal compromised classroom and campus wide experiences that negatively impact processes of education and social growth. Findings illustrate the complexity of experiences for this marginalized student group who “do school” in institutional spaces that fail to meet their needs as students with multiple roles. Recommendations for institutional supports are offered.     

The Regular Education Initiative in the U.S.: What Is Its Relevance to the Integration Movement in Australia?

A NEW THRUST for the integration of students with a mild disability has been initiated by special education scholars and Federal government officials in the U.S. The “regular education initiative” is based upon the assumption that mildly disabled students’ educational and social needs can be better served in regular education settings. Proponents of the regular education initiative are seeking “waivers for performance” that would allow school districts to experiment with alternative service delivery models and the allocation of resources without being Financially penalized under the current funding systems. Critics argue that the strength of the research base used to support REI is insufficient to warrant wholesale changes in current service delivery systems. They are sceptical of the argument that REI type programs can eliminate the effects of labeling by better integrating students who need supplemental educational resources. An analysis of the REI proposals and their conceptual relevance to the Australian context is presented.     

Gifted and Talented Programs in Charter Schools

ABSTRACT

The fact that the reform movement in public education has directed greater attention to the needs of underperforming students than to those of gifted and talented (G/T) students is both well documented and not surprising in the current political climate. Some advocates for G/T education greeted the growth of charter schools as promising a more receptive environment for G/T students and programs. Indeed, enthusiasm was so great that early critics of charter schools worried that they would result in “creaming” G/T students from the general population leaving public schools in worse shape than before (Wells et al., 1999). However, not only has evidence of this “creaming” not been found but, rather, only approximately 30% of charter schools report that they have a G/T program at all (Gruber et al., 2002). The charter schools in this study (n = 49) were found to provide varied instructional programs and employ recommended practices such as acceleration and project-based learning to meet the needs of their G/T students. They don't focus on identification of G/T students. While some schools are based on a philosophy that all students are gifted, others only recognize the gifts and talents as they emerge. We found that these schools provide flexible grouping and independent learning plans to assure that all students can progress as far as possible as quickly as possible.     

A Race to the Top From the Bottom of the Well? The Paradox of Race and U.S. Education Reform

Abstract

This article explores the paradox of “race” and U.S. education reform in the 21st century. I consider how the invisible ontology of race and its entangled relationship with class divert our attention from economic inequality and undermine policies intended to redress racial inequality in schools. I conclude that the education research community must unpack its use of “race” and focus on the role of racism in the maintenance of racial caste in America's schools.     

Market segmentation for improved distance education program planning

Distance education planners face two basic, yet difficult decisions: which students should be targeted and which programs should be offered? This paper reports the process and results of the planning committee of a consortium of engineering schools in the United States that was tasked with these very decisions. A market research study measured the program preferences of potential students. Three program characteristics (course type, delivery method, and time availability) were examined. The results show there is no ‘average’ student and no single program will satisfy all the needs of the student population. Rather, the committee must choose one or more segments based on the program preferences of the students and the resources required to provide the programs.     

中国法硕士项目的困境及发展对策研究

随着中国经济的发展,面向外国学生的中国法硕士项目有着很大的发展潜力,但由于各种原因又面临发展困境。美国法学院很早就有类似项目的设置,通过与美国法学院的法律硕士项目的比较与分析,在课程设置、教学内容和教学方法等方面加以改进,从国家、学校和学生三个角度加以审视,确立该项目的正确发展方向。     

Allowing Idiosyncratic Learners to Thrive

Abstract

School-within-a-school programs are an alternative school choice that can provide differentiated learning opportunities for academically gifted students, but they are often politically contentious. In a recent study, we interviewed 530 students and teachers in gifted and regular streams in three publicly funded secondary schools with different approaches to high-ability school-within-a-school programs: gifted, International Baccalaureate, and science-focused. Although teachers and students across conditions expressed strong satisfaction with the academic challenges provided by the special programs, they also expressed serious concerns about the relationship between these programs and the larger schools within which they are housed. Taking into consideration concerns about gifted education usurping resources from more urgent educational and societal goals, we discuss policy implications of our findings, considering ways to “allow idiosyncratic learners to thrive” (in the words of a teacher interviewed in this study), while minimizing misconceptions, prejudices, and perceptions of elitism.     

Rocky Jones: Case study of a high‐achieving black male's motivation to participate in gifted classes

An increased body of research on the recruitment and retention of Black students in gifted programs provides guidance for educators to understand factors that impact Black male under representation in gifted programs. A common concern among high school educators is that schools cannot keep Black males interested in gifted programs. Even in culturally diverse high schools, gifted Black males often do not want to take advanced level classes because they are accused by peers of “acting White”. This case study reveals that while rare, it is not impossible. This article uses a Participation Motivation Expectancy‐Value Model (PMEVM) to explain the motivation of Rocky Jones, a gifted Black male, and his choice to participate in his school's gifted program. Findings from interview and archival data are reported that inform Rocky's participation choice, and implications are drawn to enhance teachers’ efforts to increase Black males’ motivation and representation in gifted education.     

Australian Waste Wise Schools Program: Its Past,Present, and Future

The Waste Wise Schools program has a longstanding history in Australia. It is an action-based program that encourages schools to move toward zero waste through their curriculum and operating practices. This article provides a review of the program, finding that it has had notable success in reducing schools’ waste through a “reduce, reuse, and recycle” (or “three Rs”) approach. Since the program's conception, an evaluation process has continually occurred alongside the actual program. This report presents the most recent program evaluation results: a 2007 statewide survey that was administered to 1,015 primary (elementary) and secondary teachers. The article outlines the past, present, and future directions of the Waste Wise Schools program and, in doing so, discusses the broader implications for school-based environmental education programs. In particular and of most significance, the findings reveal a growing sustainability culture in Australian schools and communities.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Educators have invested considerable effort in developing environmental education programs that address students' knowledge, attitudes, and action competence regarding environmental issues. The authors explore the effectiveness of such programs in terms of both student learning outcomes and the intergenerational influence that results when students discuss their learning experiences with their parents and other community members. Six environmental education programs involving 284 students in Queensland schools, from Grades 5-12, were investigated. Students and their parents were surveyed and interviewed regarding their perceptions about the program, the program's influence on their environmental learning, and the extent and nature of discussions that the program stimulated between students and their parents. The authors draw conclusions about key features that should be incorporated into environmental education programs to encourage and empower students to bring about environmental change in their homes and communities.     

Stepping Off the Dance Floor for a View From the Balcony: Observations for Physical Education Teacher Education Programs in Interesting Times

Abstract

The theme of this article is adopted from the work of leadership experts Heifetz and Linsky, who described the need for organizational leaders to balance their time on the “dance floor” (managing tasks) with time viewing from the “balcony” (understanding the bigger picture). The physical education teacher education doctoral program faculty on many campuses would be well advised to periodically invest time distancing themselves from the daily rigors of research, teaching, and service to better understand the challenges and opportunities confronting their programs. Furthermore, faculty must be willing to critique their program and its strategic direction, eliminate ineffective practices that consume limited resources, and retain what is most important. The purpose of this article is to provide collective observations “from the balcony” for faculty working in physical education teacher education doctoral programs as a catalyst for discussion.     

EXPERIMENTS in induction: new approaches to the probationary year*

Abstract

Feedback from educators in England, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland was obtained regarding the performance of U.S. student teachers in the schools of these nations. Reported in this paper are the educators' observations and beliefs pertaining to topics such as the professional and cultural/social strengths of U.S. student teachers; major cultural/social ‘mistakes’ often made by U.S. student teachers; ways in which they could better prepare for classroom teaching assignments in overseas schools; goals motivating them to seek placements in overseas schools; and ways in which the foreign pupils benefitted from the U.S. student teachers. Based on the feedback, recommendations are offered to student participants and university/college faculty for the improvement of teaching experiences in overseas nations. In addition, the need for internationalizing teacher education programs in the United States is recognized.     

传统手工艺在听障职业教育中的传承路径研究

在国家实施传统工艺振兴计划的背景下,一部分职业院校抓住发展契机,在听障大学生中开展了有关传统手工艺的职业教育,但在具体实施过程中存在培养方案缺乏特色、师资力量薄弱、学生实训场所不足、参与主体不够广泛等困境。学校需要针对听障生身心发展的特点及优势,通过优化人才培养方案、加强师资队伍建设、建设听障生特技工作室、加强管理体制和运行机制建设等多种路径,推进传统手工艺的优质传承和特殊教育事业的创新发展。     

Probability of Corporal Punishment: Lack of Resources and Vulnerable Students

ABSTRACT

The author examined corporal punishment practices in the United States based on data from 362 public school principals where corporal punishment is available. Results from multiple regression analyses show that schools with multiple student violence prevention programs and teacher training programs had fewer possibilities of use corporal punishment, whereas schools that served a greater percentage of ethnic minority students and special education students had a 2.1 times greater and a 1.8 times greater likelihood of use corporal punishment, after controlling for students’ problem behavior and school characteristics. Policy implications for an equal implementation of corporal punishment practice were offered.