Lifelong Education‐‐a New Challenge

Summaries

English

Researchers from Japan, Romania and Sweden, together with the UNESCO Institute for Education (Hamburg), carried out a study of the functions of lifelong learning within education. Dozent Gestrelius reconstructs and comments on the Swedish part of this study. He delineates a comprehensive list of criteria which may be of paramount importance for curriculum renewal in science education. The author describes, in addition, the relations between some parts of Swedish curricula and the principles of lifelong learning (for example, self‐realization, self‐directed learning, creativity, flexibility). These are the results of empirical studies.     

An analysis of the ecological components within a text structure intervention

The Component Model of Reading expanded upon the Simple View of Reading by adding an ecological and psychological component. Elements of the ecological component include teacher knowledge, information provided in textbooks, and teacher instructional practices. In this study, the authors examined the extent of teacher knowledge about text structure, the extent to which textbooks focused on text structure related skills and strategies as well as the percentage each skill and strategy was covered in lessons and teacher instructional practices. Such analysis shows that although text structure interventions may have positive effects on student reading comprehension, there are multiple elements of the ecological component that may be counteracting the benefits of the intervention. First, teachers have a limited knowledge of the five common text structures. Second, textbooks systematically minimize text structure instruction and only cover comprehension skills and strategies sporadically throughout a year-long curriculum. Third, teacher learning of text structures and change in practice was moderated by these ecological factors including textbook scheduled instruction and administrator support.     

Empirical Considerations on Intelligence Testing and Models of Intelligence: Updates for Educational Measurement Professionals

ABSTRACT

This brief article introduces the topic of intelligence as highly appropriate for educational measurement professionals. It describes some of the uses of intelligence tests both historically and currently. It argues why knowledge of intelligence theory and intelligence testing is important for educational measurement professionals. The articles that follow in this special issue will provide readers with considerable information about the history of intelligence theory and testing, and especially of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of testing and its implementation. The following articles will also provide a well-reasoned approach to the way science should work in evaluating tests and the models on which they are based.     

Issues to Consider in Designing WebQuests: A Literature Review

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based online learning technique. This technique has been widely adopted in K–16 education. Therefore, it is important that conditions of effective WebQuest design are defined. Through this article the author presents techniques for improving WebQuest design based on current research. More specifically, the author analyzes the WebQuest technique in terms of the principles of cognitive load theory, interactivity, accessibility, and usability and visual appearance. The author argues that several factors must be taken into consideration in order to effectively design WebQuests that will educate without impeding the learning process.     

The changing world of international protection of intellectual property

Economic and ideological motives underpin differing positions on the protection of intellectual property, with the strongest divisions running between developed and less developed countries. Protection for intellectual property rests on international treaties and agreements, regional arrangements, bilateral agreements, and unilateral actions. In recent years, nations that have been notorioushavens for piracy have sought to bring their laws and enforcement more into line with international standards.     

THE CHANGING PROFESSIONAL ETHOS: A POLL OF POLLSTERS

A mail survey of 129 contact persons for polling organizationrevealed that 62 per cent of the firms from which responseswere received do not go back before 1980. Many respondents werethemselves newcomers, who had found their way into polling viapolitics and showed less commitment to the professional ethosthat meant so much to the pioneer pollsters. Newcomers, on theaverage, had fewer academic credentials and less training thaneither of two generations of more seasoned pollsters; more ofthem worked directly for politicians. The three generationsalso differed in the satisfactions sought from polling and onprofessional membership. Are we encountering a "new breed" ofpollsters?     

Nine Years after Implementing the Unthinkable: The Cessation of Periodical Check-in at the University of Nevada,Reno

In 2001, librarians at the University of Nevada, Reno, carried out what some considered a radical experiment in the library world: an end to the check-in of print periodicals in exchange for allocating staff resources to support electronic resources. Nine years later, the authors assessed current print serials management practices in a new and changed environment through a survey and interviews. This article presents the assessment results, discusses the directions taken over the years, the benefits and challenges, and offers suggestions for other libraries interested in exploring such a project.