BOOK REVIEW

No abstract available for this article.     

BOOK REVIEW

The orientation of vocational education towards competence-based education has led to fundamental changes in the work of vocational education teachers. This article pictures teaching in innovative, competence-based vocational education in the Netherlands. In a multiple case study, the teaching practices of 10 teachers from five vocational schools were thoroughly studied. By examining not only the actual behaviour of teachers but also their related personal ideas and professional attitudes, we learn about the ways teachers implement new educational concepts and their experienced uncertainties, dilemmas and practical tensions. These insights lead to a better understanding and specification of the concept of competence-based vocational education at the micro level of educational processes, that is, the interaction between teachers and students. Implications are described in terms of new repertoires of teaching behaviour and teaching methods – all in the context of vocational education.     

BOOK REVIEW

This study examined institutional priorities among Florida's public community colleges as viewed by the presidents and local governing boards. The analysis sought to determine whether local priorities were in concordance with those of other community college leaders and whether there was agreement among the local leadership. The study also examined whether institutional setting was related to institutional priorities. Local leaders were asked to rank‐order 20 priorities presented in a study by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC). Median rankings and rank correlation coefficients revealed a significant positive relationship between the Florida presidents and the leaders in the AACJC study. Both groups indicated a strong commitment to the role of teaching and the retention of top quality faculty. However, no significant correlation was found between the trustees and the AACJC group. Paired rankings from 1. colleges indicated that all but one pair of local leaders failed to rank the priorities in a significantly related way. Finally, the rank‐order analysis of institutional setting produced only one significant correlation; as the institutional setting changed from rural to urban, the trustee priority ranking of student proficiency in the written and oral use of English increased.     

BOOK REVIEW

SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: ITS ORIGINS IN EUROPE. Kath-erine Kendall. Alexandria: Council on Social Work Education, 2000, paperback, 143 pp, $21.95. Reviewed by Dr. Charles Guzzetta.     

BOOK REVIEW

The title of this paper has been borrowed to two major players in our field Larry Cuban and Linda Roberts, it develops a high level view of the major changes of the last period. Importantly, despite greater access to technology and the gathering of a critical mass of equipment, usage in schools remains limited. It examines, through the use of dialogue between the French and the US educational systems, the constructivism issue and concludes that we are facing an unprecedented situation. L'investissement en vaut-il la peine? Le titre de cet article a été emprunté À deux acteurs importants du domaine, Larry Cuban et Linda Roberts. Il développe une approche générale des principaux changements intervenus dans les dernières périodes. Il insiste notamment sur un fait marquant : malgré un accès facilité À la technologie et le déploiement d'une masse critique d'équipement, l'usage demeure limité dans les établissements scolaires. Instaurant un dialogue entre les situations franÇaise et américaine, il examine ensuite la question du constructivisme et conclue sur le caractère inédit de la situation actuelle. Lohnt sich die Investition wirklich? Der Titel dieses Beitrags wurde von zwei Experten unseres Arbeitsbereiches 'geborgt': Larry Cuban und Linda Roberts. Versucht wird eine übersicht über die wichtigsten Entwicklungen der letzten Jahre: Trotz besserem Zugang zur Technologie und ausreichender Ausstattung bleibt die Nutzung der neuen Technologien in den Schulen begrenzt. Vermittels eines Dialogs zwischen dem französischen und dem Amerikanischen Bildungssystem wird ein konstruktivistischer Ansatz geprüft. Der Betrag schließt mit der Feststellung, dass wir mit einer beispiellosen Situation konfrontiert sind.     

BOOK REVIEW

Curtin University of Technology has a strong commitment to gerontological education and is responsible for the majority of graduate education in this area of Western Australia. This article outlines various gerontological activities at Curtin. With the exception of social work, almost all are carried out in the university's Division of Health Sciences. The article describes the wide range of undergraduate courses in the division that have relevance for gerontology. The two ongoing graduate programs, the multidisciplinary or generalist and the occupational therapy streams, are described in detail, and a proposed center for gerontology is mentioned.