Training Professionals in Industrial Design. Les Ateliers: a French experience

The Ecole Nationale Superieure de Creation Industnelle, Les Ateliers, was opened in November 1982 under the auspices of the French Ministry of Industry and Culture. This article gives an idea of the aims of this new French industrial design school and the education structure adopted in order to reach them. A case study illustrates the policy of partnership with industry.     

The Arts and People in Institutions

The paper explores an important area of arts activity which falls between concepts of education and therapy. It examines the consequence of the increasing professionalisation of the arts in institutions which took place between 1950 and 1980, showing how it led to all arts activities in institutional settings being classified as therapy, training or rehabilitation. It charts the changes in attitude which have taken place over the past fifteen years and demonstrates that whilst freedom to become involved in creative activity should be seen as a basic human right, such engagement may, as a by-product, offer benefits of a therapeutic, educational, social, recreational and commercial nature. Important and innovatory work is being carried out by artists working on creative projects with people in institutions and effective techniques are being developed by them in order to draw adults, with no previous experience of this kind of activity, into arts education.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF AN EXTENSION OF ITEM SAMPLING WHICH YIELDS INDIVIDUAL SCORES1

The sampling procedures were designed so that the full matrix of item variances and covariances could be estimated. Three subtest sizes were investigated- subtests of size five, nine and sixteen items. In each of these implementations a double cross validation was used yielding two predicted scores for each individual. Discrepancy measures were also computed showing the difference between the observed and the predicted scores. The prediction of individual scores was accomplished within various ranges of error. The correlations between predicted scores and observed scores ranged from the .70′s to the .90′s, depending on the number of predictor variables used. The procedure is applicable in situations in which large numbers of individuals are tested or in situations where multiple measures are taken.     

A NOTE ON THE RELATIVE SIZES OF THE STANDARD ERRORS OF TWO RELIABILITY ESTIMATES

Formulas for the standard error of a parallel-test correlation and for the Kuder-Richardson formula 20 reliability estimate are provided. Given equal values of the two reliabilities in the population, the standard error of the Kuder-Richardson formula 20 is shown to be somewhat smaller than the standard error of a parallel-test correlation for reliability values, sample sizes, and test lengths that are usually encountered in practice.     

Specialist Schools: An exploration of competition and co-operation

This paper examines the specialist schools programme in England and, in particular, the issue of co-operation between specialist and non-specialist secondary schools. It explores the policy and how it has evolved over time, before examining literature relating to specialist schools, segregation and achievement. A small-scale research study, which involved interviews with officials at national and local levels, and in specialist schools, and a survey of non-specialist schools is described and results analysed. Although the specialist schools programme appears to have facilitated co-operation between schools, there are some major barriers that need to be overcome. One of the most significant is the competitive environment in which schools in England operate. Notwithstanding this barrier, the research suggests that other initiatives covering local education authority areas such as 'Excellence in Cities' and 'Diversity Pathfinders' might serve to foster co-operation between schools, although it is argued that school autonomy is unlikely to be the most productive way to foster co-operation.