Systems Techniques Applied to Teaching Listening Skills

The application of systems techniques to counselor education is explored as one means of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of counselor education. The application of systems technology to counselor education is demonstrated by the use of the systems approach in the teaching of a basic counseling technique—the open-end lead. The “Open-end Lead Training Package” is presented to demonstrate the necessary developmental steps involved in the application of systems techniques to the teaching of a counseling skill. The developmental steps are (a) determine the training objective, (b) identify the tasks that will best meet the objective, (c) arrange the tasks in the most efficient and effective order, and (d) collect data that will verify or question the success of the training decisions that have been made. The strengths and weaknesses of systems techniques as applied to counselor education are discussed.     

Human Sexuality Instruction in Counselor Education Curricula

The authors sent a questionnaire assessing curricula on sexual counseling to chairpersons of all counselor education programs in the United States. Results show the current status of sexuality instruction for counselors.     

Restricted Liberty,Parental Choice and Homeschooling

In this paper the authors carefully study the problem of liberty as it applies to school choice, and whether there ought to be restricted liberty in the case of homeschooling. They examine three prominent concerns that might be brought against homeschooling, viz., that it aggravates social inequality, worsens societal conflict and works against the best interests of children. To examine the tensions that occur between parental liberty, children's interests, and state oversight, the authors consider the case of homeschooling in the Dutch context.     

Constructions of Anti-racist Education in Britain and Canada

The aim of this paper is to compare constructions of anti-racist education in Canada and Britain. Particular attention is given to developments in the province of Ontario and in England and Wales. It is argued that the ideological characteristics of anti-racism in each country have been shaped by particular national and local discourses of 'racial', national and political identity. We show that while the impact of anti-racism on educational policy making in England and Wales has declined significantly since the 1980s, this has not occurred in Ontario (where anti-racism remains a potent influence). Some of the key dilemmas faced by both British and Canadian anti-racist practitioners, grass-roots activists and scholars are identified and the emergence and growth of anti-racist education in both societies assessed. We conclude by reflecting upon the value of comparative studies of anti-racist education.     

The nature of virtual organizations and their anticipated social and psychological impacts

Virtual organizations are goal-driven associations of intellectual agents working within the information space. The development of virtual organizations and their agents is a natural continuation of the long movement in western society towards organizing for efficient commerce and communication. For at least 800 years cities and traditional organizations fulfilled these purposes, but now with the advent of high-speed communication and rich interconnectivity, a general diaspora of commerce and education may be expected. All of the technology needed to nurture the rise of virtual organizations is in place, albeit in a primitive form. The authors argue that in the next decade this technology will reach such a level of sophistication that traditional universities and schools with their massive physical assets will no longer be sustainable, and will be replaced by virtual organizations delivering education and training with a minimum of physical infrastructure