Continuing Education: a Challenge and a Commitment∗

A variety of important life consequences for literacy are widely assumed in the contemporary discourse on adult literacy with little, if any empirical research to support them. As a result, they have been variously labelled as ‘myths’ (Coombs 1985), ‘doubtful promises’ (Hinzen 1983), proclamations of ‘faith’ (Winchester 1990) and ‘claims in search of reality’ (Wagner 1992). Part of the problem here is that the effects of literacy are often identified without first defining what literacy is. Naturally, if literacy is ambiguously or broadly defined, virtually any consequence can be attributed to it. Thus, the first task of any researcher, educator or policymaker involved with issues of adult literacy is to make his or her definitions of literacy and the scope of each definition's applicationsexplicit. Within the field of adult literacy education, Lytle and Wolfe (1989) provide a useful conceptual categorization for literacy in terms of four metaphors: literacy as skills, tasks, practices and critical reflection. This paper extends Lytle and Wolfe's framework to identify what consequences are attributed to literacy within each of the four metaphors, focusing on adults in the developing world.     

Past to Future: Creating a Lifelong Career in Sexuality Education—a Panel from the 2017 National Sexuality Education Conference

How do professionals in the field of sexuality education build a lasting career? Ever-changing policies from one administration to the next can add or eliminate funding for programs, shift the focus between science and ideology, and swing public support for or against effective curricula. At the 2017 National Sex Ed Conference, four experienced educators offered insights for creating meaningful work and sustaining it. Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner, Michael McGee, PhD, Mary Jo Podgurski, EdD, and Pam Wilson, MSW discussed their histories in the field, and offered advice to participants on how to keep engaged in the work as times change.     

Learning is a Lifelong Obligation

When you see the topic, you may grow curious. Why do I say that learning is a lifelong obligation. In fact, from the time we were born, we were faced with a learning task. A baby learns how to eat, speak and walk. Afterwards he, at his six or seven years will go to school to learn reading and spelling. In the same way, an adult has to learn the basic skill of communication.     

Books,Teachers, and Committees‐‐a Comparative Essay on Authority in Science Education

Summaries

English

In this essay, Professor Peter Fensham examines the respective roles of books, teachers and committees as source and authority of scientific information in the context of school science education. In his comparative analysis of recent curriculum development trends in the USA, England and Australia, he detects significant differences in what is accepted in the different countries as ‘authority about science knowledge’ and argues that these differences emerge from the different historical, political and economic development of the three apparently similar countries.     

Educational Guidance‐‐Technical Education: STUDENT GUIDANCE IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION

It is contended that present assumptions regarding the relationship of creativity to curriculum structure are inadequately supported by both experimental findings and theoretical rationale. There are two main issues requiring further elucidation: the first concerns the influence of school environment on creativity directly: the second comprises an examination of the interrelationships of creativity, intelligence and curriculum structure.

The evidence presented demonstrates that school environments have a perceptible influence upon creativity but the generally held assumption that progressive environments are more favourable is shown to require careful qualification.The findings also suggest that the interrelationships of creativity, intelligence and curriculum structure are highly complex. Structure does not seem to affect creativity‐intelligence correlations to any great extent: the major influences here would appear to be largely dependent upon the average intelligence of the groups and the extent to which the creativity tasks require school learning and especially verbal skills for their performance.     

Transnational Education‐‐Competition or Complementarity: the Case of Hong Kong

This article provides a brief overview of the Hong Kong system of higher education and the roles of the government, the Education Commission, the University Grants Committee, and the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation in relation to the planning, development, funding, and quality assurance of higher education in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It then describes the extent to which transnational education (i.e., non‐local education delivered in Hong Kong) plays a role in meeting the demand for higher and continuing education in Hong Kong and recent measures taken by the HKSAR government aimed at assuring the quality of such offshore provision. It concludes with some comments as to how transnational education may be expected to contribute towards meeting the demand for higher and continuing education in Hong Kong in the future.     

Women's Liberation—A New Challenge to Counselors

Abstract

Findings from longitudinal research conducted at a private junior college for women document the claim that the benefits of the women's liberation movement extend beyond those of equalization of employment opportunities. Notably perceptible changes have occurred in the contemporary female, especially the married woman, along a number of key personality traits over the past six years. She is more achievement and politically oriented; her aspiration level today is much higher than a decade ago. She seeks change, is less deterred by failures, and is significantly more self-assertive.

Implications of these changes for a school's counseling and guidance staff are also discussed.     

Lifelong Learning Within Higher Education in South Africa: Emancipatory Potential?

In South Africa under apartheid higher education was inaccessible to the majority. This article argues that in the new South Africa there is an opportunity to redress this situation and promote equity though lifelong learning. This would involve greatly widening access and providing programmes to develop broadly applicable abilities such as computer literacy and problem-solving skills, which would increase the economic competitiveness and personal empowerment of learners. At the same time, the author argues, new educational approaches are needed to promote active citizenship.     

Transnational Education in the Slovak Republic: Threat or Challenge?

This article discusses the pros and cons of transnational higher education offerings from the vantage point of a small Central European country, the Slovak Republic, and with special reference to franchising. Transnational higher education offerings are definitely needed, not only in the Slovak Republic, but in the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well, existing national higher education systems and institutions not being sufficiently developed to cope with increasing enrolment pressures. But there need to be adequate safeguards against fraudulent offerings, debased standards, and other such problems. The implantation of two franchised campuses of City University, Bellevue, Washington (USA) is cited as a very positive example of a foreign higher education institution that has been able to successfully integrate itself into the fabric of Slovak higher education by faithfully complying with all Slovak higher education regulations and offering high-quality course programmes.     

Education for sale: at what cost? Lifelong learning and the marketplace

This paper examines the influence of the marketplace on discourses in lifelong learning and raises questions about the future direction of these discussions, drawing upon critical and feminist analyses. A brief overview of how the notion of lifelong learning has shifted from an emphasis on cooperation and shared development to a discourse of competition and individualism is given. Drawing upon the works of various educators, an overview is given of some of the ways in which the marketplace has influenced lifelong learning discourses and has become a pervasive presence in academia. Both critical and feminist analyses are used to examine how justice, equity issues, and critical thinking are suppressed when the marketplace becomes a predominant influence in education. An assessment of questions raised by educators working to challenge this marketplace orientation in lifelong learning and suggestions for further areas of research conclude the paper.     

A New Model for the New Media‐‐International University: The University of the Web

This article provides an overview of the programmes, the faculty, and the instructional model of International University. This institution delivers all its courses and degree programmes using multiple media. As IU has a “virtual campus”, Internet e‐mail and course‐specific Web pages serve as the primary instructional tools for interaction between faculty members and students. All the content and media components are developed exclusively to provide an instructional model that requires faculty to contemplate their roles as teachers. The article further describes a new multi‐tiered faculty structure, the instructional design and delivery of content, the providing of student and faculty services in an on‐line environment, and the development of pedagogy to facilitate teaching and learning on‐line.     

“New Basic Education” and me

Initiated in September 1994, “New Basic Education” first underwent a five-year Exploratory Research phase from September 1994 to May 1999, which was followed by a second five-year Developmental Research phase from September 1999 to May 2004. Thus during the past ten years, “New Basic Education” has undergone a complete research process, including the presentation of the problem, the formation of results, and finally the dissemination, application, perfection, and development of its research. This study has preliminarily explored the transformation of schools, educational theories and educational research methods in China. The author hopes to respond actively to educational changes caused by our transforming society through her professional research. She presents in this paper the retrospective notes of her subjective state, such as her thought process, planning, actions and experiences while conducting and developing “New Basic Education” research. “New Basic Education” research originated from ten years of theoretical preparation (amassing basic educational theory, the methodology for educational research, and meta-research of educational disciplines), as well as from the author’s personal experiences conducting field research during the past three years and her profound reflections on the nature of the social transformations taking place in late 20^th century China. During the Exploratory Research phase, “New Basic Education” research—which consists of reconstructive research on educational theory and practice—regards the rebuilding of educational aims as its theoretical starting point. Additionally, “New Basic Education” research regards schools, which provide nine-year compulsory education as the entire unit of practical research. The research also focused on classroom education, teaching reform, and school management for the experimentation and reform of the schools. As for the core issue of methodology, the crux of the issue lies in how to deal with the relations between theoretical research and practical research and the relationship between theoretical researchers and practical researchers.     

Deutsches Museum,München‐‐Science,Technology and History as an Educational Challenge

Difficulties in reading comprehension of physics texts by college students were investigated. A strategy was developed to improve students’ reading comprehension. Students were taught the skill of formulating clear questions on textual material. The strategy stimulated students’ awareness of their difficulties in reading comprehension and could be used by students as a self‐monitoring technique to improve their reading comprehension.     

Science and Society‐‐a Report on Science Education Activities Organized and Co‐ordinated by the Council of Europe

This study explores the tension between subject knowledge and pedagogic content knowledge in primary teacher education. It documents students and in-service teachers learning about forces within the context of floating and sinking. In doing so it describes not only significant features of the learning process itself but also examines subject specific aspects of learning, identifying some of the inherent difficulties for learners within this domain and demonstrating how learners construct links between tacit knowledge and abstract scientific notions. Implications for teacher education and the teaching of science in the classroom are explored.