COUNCIL OF EUROPE S SYMPOSIUM REPORT ON DISTANT STUDY SYSTEMS

We give below information based on the final report (February 1976) of the Symposium organized by the Council of Europe's Committee for Higher Education and Research on “The student in distant study systems” (Tübingen, 6‐10 October 1975). The Symposium dealt with such problems as:

• definition of distant studies

• the social image of the distant student (society's appreciation, acceptance etc.)

• the reasons behind the introduction of distant study

• students’ situation in this form of study

• planning and organization, of distant study courses

• functions of distant study courses

• interaction between tutors and students;

• construction of study materials for distant study;

• methods and media;

• research on and development of distant study.

• the future programme of the Committee.

     

Experimenting with group work

Summary

In order for group analysis to be successful and to achieve the atmosphere which allows student cooperation to flourish, it is essential that adequate physical and financial resources are provided. These can be summarized as follows:

• (i)Adequate budget to allow for expenditure on models, visual materials, acquisition of background information, etc.

• (ii)Secretarial staff for typing and administration

• (iii)Laboratory technicians

• (iv)Visual aid staff

• (v)All resources available to the industrialist viz: information library, telephone, typing, stationery, workspace, storage, etc.

• (vi)The active cooperation of academic and technical staff

• (vii)Flexibility in timetabling and room allocations

• (viii)Seminar members who will command the respect of the students and will readily adapt to role playing where necessary

• (ix)Studio masters who are totally committed to the group analysis method of teaching and are, therefore, willing to allot substantial proportions of their time to student consultation

• (x)A cooperative administrative staff.

It is not difficult to provide such resources to make a new experience for a considerable number of college administrators and teachers alike.     

ASSESSING LAW STUDENTS: LECTURERS' ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES

This paper reports a surrey of public sector law lecturers' methods of assessment of their undergraduate students, and their attitudes towards these processes. The survey was conducted by postal questionnaire to all public sector law teachers. The findings indicate that:

• Law lecturers are unclear about course objectives. Moreover, where course objectives are specified they tend not to be explicitly related to criteria for student assessment.

• Methods used for assessment often do not match specified course objectives.

• Law lecturers tend to be ‘conservative’ markers who use a narrow range of marks clustered round relatively low average points.

     

HIGHER EDUCATION IN ITALY ‐‐ PRESENT SITUATION AND PROBLEMS

The present tension in Italy's universities is attributable mainly to the following factors:

• the higher education system was changed during the 1960s to cater for the masses rather than just the élite, without there being any corresponding expansion of academic facilities, teaching staff and social services;

• changes in educational policies led to strains in the student‐professor relationship, and ‐ a sharp rise in youth unemployment has lowered student expectations and bred resentment among higher education graduates.

Below we present information analysing this situation, with special regard to the position of students, and including proposals for changes which would improve the condition of higher education in Italy.     

Wastage and incentives in vocational evening classes

Summary

• A.Drawbacks to attending evening classes

• (i) In the group of students investigated the main drawback to attending evening classes was item 3 (the rush to get to classes from work).

• (ii) The main difference among the students was in the importance attached to item 9 (domestic commitments), married students finding it as important as item 3.

• (iii) Choices made by students in different courses were fairly homogeneous, apart from the domestic courses. This seems to indicate that the factors making for wastage are not functions of the courses taken, so much as of age, sex, marital status, etc.

• B. Incentives to attending evening classes

• (i) The main incentive was item 1 (it will be useful in getting a better job).

• (ii) Items 2 (it will help in getting promotion in my present job) and 3 (it will be of general educational value) were ranked next in importance to item 1.

• (iii) Responses to the preferred items 1, 2, and 3 were relatively homogeneous when the data were arranged to isolate sex difference, marital status, and age.

• (iv) All courses except the domestic ones made similar choices in this question.

The great importance of item 3 in question 13 (the rush to get to classes from work) as a disincentive in the group investigated (and in the try-out group) and in the research of Smith and Wilkins, suggest that local arrangements between employers and colleges to give more time between work and classes would attack one of the most accessible, and at the same time most important, causes of wastage.     

Cooperative Learning and Visual Organisers: Effects on Solving Mole Problems in High School Chemistry

Eighty‐seven high school students participated in the study in one of four conditions:

1. 1. Visual Organiser/Cooperative Learning

2. 2. Cooperative Learning only

3. 3. Visual Organiser only

4. 4. Teacher‐Directed

Students were taught how to use mole maps to assist them in solving single‐quantity and multiple‐quantity mole problems. A mole problem involves converting quantities of chemicals to moles, a unit of measurement used in Chemistry. Students took tests immediately after instruction and then took mid‐term examinations that included mole problems. Repeated measures analyses with post‐instruction test scores and the mid‐term scores for single and multiple‐quantity mole problems showed that student performance was significantly better immediately after instruction for both kinds of problems. Students who used visual organisers and cooperative learning outperformed students who experienced teacher‐directed instruction on single‐quantity mole problems and also on the immediate post‐instruction test of multiple‐quantity mole problems. Cooperative learning resulted in less decay in performance over time.     

34th MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMITTEE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

The 34th meeting of the Council of Europe Committee for Higher Education and Research was held in Strasbourg from 3 to 5 November 1976.

The main points raised in discussions were as follows:

• the current situation and trends in tertiary education;

• the recognition of degrees and diplomas;

• the future existence of the Committee for Higher Education and Research;

• the current situation and trends in university research;

• the teaching of human rights;

• mobility of higher education staff and students;

• the future programme of the Committee.

The information presented below concentrates on some of the above points.     

34th MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMITTEE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

The 34th meeting of the Council of Europe Committee for Higher Education and Research was held in Strasbourg from 3 to 5 November 1976.

The main points raised in discussions were as follows:

• the current situation and trends in tertiary education;

• the recognition of degrees and diplomas;

• the future existence of the Committee for Higher Education and Research;

• the current situation and trends in university research;

• the teaching of human rights;

• mobility of higher education staff and students;

• the future programme of the Committee.

The information presented below concentrates on some of the above points.     

REFORM OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN MALTA

>Higher education in Malta is in the process of substantial reform which, among other things, includes:

• transfer of a number of degrees and courses from the Old to the New University and as well as the creation of new courses and degrees in the New University;

• changes in the administrative structures of higher education institutions (Old and New University)

• introduction of a worker‐student scheme for university entry;

• changes in the distribution of authority on higher education.

The introduction of the reform is regulated by the Education (Amendment) Act, 1978. Outlined below are the main elements of this reform as they are introduced in the Act, with a special emphasis on the new “worker‐student scheme for university admission”     

GOVERNMENT MEMORANDUM ON HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE NETHERLANDS DURING THE NEXT DECADE

The information below gives the basic elements of the policy memorandum entitled “Higher Education in the Future: possible development in the long‐term and initiatives in the coming years” which was submitted to the Second Chamber for discussion, and which includes proposals for basic changes in the future higher education system of the Netherlands, such as:

• creation of one system of higher education with no distinction between university and higher vocational training;

• introduction of as large a range of courses as possible;

• inclusion of student research only where the study programme requires it;

• introduction of a more general type of higher education in addition, to courses providing students with specific professional qualifications.

     

Identifying transcendence in educating for public service: reflections on qualifying to teach as a pedagogic example

In this critically reflective piece, I describe the design of a foundations of education course and my first year teaching experience. I discuss thematic statements of issues that emerged as I came to construct the meaning of my experience and evolving ideas about teaching for public service professions. These included that:

• Questioning is not ‘normal’ for everyone;

• The experience of classroom safety may be different for student participants than for teacher participants;

• Reflection is a situated responsibility; and

• Assessment and authority interact within the context of learning in a formal classroom.

Discussing these issues helped me in framing teaching for public service as itself a transcendent public act, one that crosses boundaries of time and space and that requires embodied, rather than idealistic, understandings of qualifying to teach.     

KINDERET: developing training for early childhood educators in information and communications technology (ICT) in Bulgaria,England, Portugal,Spain and Sweden

In the European context the continuing training of early childhood educators in terms of information and communications technology (ICT) remains limited and is in need of development. The KINDERET project has been funded through the European Commission’s Leonardo da Vinci programme aimed to identify and understand the theoretical and practical needs of practitioners and is developing course materials to support the development of courses (see www.eseb.ipbeja.pt/kinderet). The KINDERET project has therefore been structured according to five main objectives, namely to:

• identify and understand the theoretical and practical needs of kindergarten teachers with regard to ICT education;

• establish plans for the training of educators, in the application of ICT;

• develop interactive learning materials for educators in order to support the established plans for continuing training in ICT;

• implement pilot training schemes and promote transnational collaboration between tutors and students through the use of ICTs;

• evaluate the pilot training schemes.

In the framework of these overall aims set by the KINDERET project, this paper reports upon the joint work that was developed by the partnership as the first stage of analysis in the training needs of kindergarten teachers. The analysis of the information that was collected at this stage has provided an empirical basis for the development of the pilot training schemes.     

Teaching Software Engineering by Reverse Engineering

Teaching software engineering (SE) is a difficult but critical task, whether students are undergraduates, graduates, or professionals. Most designs of undergraduate courses are based on a large project. During this project, students apply methods that have been introduced during lectures. Project schedules usually follow life cycles corresponding to the steps that lead to the creation of new pieces of software. My intention is to analyze the difficulties that occur in SE undergraduate courses and to propose a method to improve course quality and to meet with industrial needs that are more reusability‐ and maintenance‐oriented.

This article outlines a typical course and some of its weaknesses. Then, it proposes changes and discusses a different way of teaching SE based on the following ideas:

• Apply a reverse engineering life cycle that starts by making students deal with code, and, step by step, parts of design, specification, and requirement documents. This phase aims to motivate students, to make them critical of existing software, and to teach them norms, methods, and standards.

• Make students follow the usual feedback‐directed life cycle to complete the software they have analyzed during the first phase.

This article presents an evaluation of the method based on my application of this approach in an introductory course of SE at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Also proposed are some partial methods based on reverse engineering considerations. Partial methods will allow an instructor, who would like to run a project based on the reverse engineering life cycle, to introduce reverse engineering concepts progressively within a SE course.     

INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF UNIVERSITY OPERATIONS ‐ THE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

The Annual Conference of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) entitled “The Changing Conditions within the Universities” was held from 1 to 4 November 1976 in Regina.

The meeting mainly concentrated on the following issues:

• participation of the AUCC in public policy on higher education and research

• problems facing the research community in Canada

• the status of women in universities

An important part of the conference was cax'ried out in the form of workshops which had the following themes:

• the problems of ahanging growth rates

• the nature and level of university research

• international aspects of university operations

• graduate education

• the future of the community of scholars

• the evaluation of performance in the university

• continuing education

The below article is based on papers presented at the meeting devoted to the international aspects of university operations in Canada.

The traditional role of universities throughout the world has always been to:

• safeguard and preserve knowledge

• impart and disseminate knowledge

• expand the frontiers of knowledge

To this list was recently added a fourth dimension, which, implicitely, has always existed, namely:

• to contribute to the cultural, social and economic development of society

     

Metacognition in Mathematical Problem Solving

Metacognition is considered by most educationists as an element necessary for many cognitive tasks. In problem solving, it has been said that possessing knowledge alone is insufficient and problem solvers need to exhibit high level cognitive skills like “self-regulation skills” (also known as metacognitive strategies) for successful problem solving.

A study on students' metacognitive strategies was carried out with over a thousand secondary and pre-university students from 12 schools. A questionnaire adapted from Biggs (1987) was administered to students at various levels (Secondary 2, Secondary 4, Pre-University 1), from different academic tracks (General, Science, Arts) and academic streams (Special, Express, and Normal). They were required to self-report on their metacognitive beliefs; their use of metacognitive strategies in mental tasks involving memory, problem solving and comprehension; and their attitudes towards the learning of various academic subjects. 20 items from the questionnaire which were related to problem solving were categorized into four stages, namely, orientation, organisation, execution and verification and data from these items were analysed.

Some findings that emerged were:

• (a) Normal stream students exhibited a lower usage of metacognitive strategies as compared to students from the Express and Special streams.

• (b) Metacognitive strategies used by Normal stream students tended to be of the “surface” type.

• (c) There was no significant difference in the frequency of usage of metacognitive strategies between students from different academic tracks.

• (d) During the problem solving process, students spent most time on evaluation of answers rather than on monitoring their understanding.

• (e) Students from different levels (Secondary 2, Secondary 4 and Pre-University) exhibited similar frequency of usage of metacognitive strategies in problem solving.

• The implications of these findings on future research and development projects as well as the teaching of metacognitive strategies are discussed in the paper.

     

Agricultural development; Opportunities and threats for farmers and implications for extension organisations

Abstract

In many countries agriculture is in a process of rapid change,

• - it has to meet a growing demand for food in a sustainable way,

• - the international competition is increasing,

• - the increase in labour productivity is decreasing the employment opportunities in agriculture,

• - agricultural research is offering many new opportunities to increase productivity,

• - government price support for agricultural products in industrial countries is decreasing.

These changes have many implications for agricultural extension, such as:

• - the knowledge and capabilities of farmers has become a major factor in their ability to compete in national and international markets,

• - advice is not only needed on the adoption of new technologies, but also on many other decisions farmers have to make, such as the choice of their farming system and the decision whether or not to earn an income from outside agriculture,

• - this requires a change in extension methods and in the information sources extension agents use,

• - agricultural development demands painful changes in the way of farming and of living for many farm families. It is a challenge for extension agencies to help farm families to realise this,

• - a major task for leaders of extension organisations is to manage a process of change in agricultural extension. Often the role extension has to play in agricultural development can not be performed by one extension organisation, but only by a pluralistic extension system.

Agricultural extension is often expected to contribute to a reduction of poverty among farmers and farm labourers. One has to think seriously how one can realise this objective.     

Personality Ability and Achievement in Primary School Children

This study investigated the relationship of personality, ability and school achievement. The findings here were that:

1. intelligence is the major determinant of school achievement;

2. bright children tend to come from smaller families than dull children;

3. relatively unstable children have a better level of school achievement than stable children;

4. extraversion‐introversion had no effect on school achievement.

     

INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF UNIVERSITY OPERATIONS ‐ THE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

The Annual Conference of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) entitled “The Changing Conditions within the Universities” was held from 1 to 4 November 1976 in Regina.

The meeting mainly concentrated on the following issues:

• participation of the AUCC in public policy on higher education and research;

• problems facing the research community in Canada;

• the status of women in universities;

An important part of the conference was carried out in the form of workshops which had the following themes: ‐ the problems of changing growth rates;

• the nature and level of university research;

• international aspects of university operations;

• graduate education;

• the future of the community of scholars;

• the evaluation of performance in the university;

• continuing education.

The below article is based on papers presented at the meeting devoted to the international aspects of university operations in Canada.     

Teacher Training in Educational Technology in Rumania

Abstract

This paper deals with four aspects of teacher training in educational technology:

• general information on the education system in Rumania

• teacher training in the utilization of educational media

• teacher training with a view to the improvement of teaching‐learning systems

• teacher training in the new information and communication technologies

In each of these areas of teacher training, the problems and perspectives related to developments of educational technology are considered.