Falling In and Filling In: ESL Teaching Careers in Changing Times

Drawing from a study in four schoolsin Ontario, Canada, this article identifiesissues around the professional training, dailywork, and potential long-term commitment of ESL(English as a Second Language) teachers whoprovide much of the initial educationalprogramming for the growing number ofincreasingly diverse immigrant students in manyNorth American school systems. Because ESLteachers are most directly involved with newimmigrants, they experience most directly thechallenges and consequences of what a number ofresearchers have identified as a fundamentalmismatch between traditional school practicesand the current student population's academicand social needs.     

Parents as Trainers About Disability in Low Income Countries

A 5-day workshop is described which was designed specifically to prepare parents to act as trainers for other parents with a child who has a disability. It also aimed to build their confidence and competence in training community groups as well as professional workers such as teachers. Data gathered at the end of the workshop confirmed that these aims were broadly met. Twelve months later, the participants had organised 19 training events throughout Lesotho for families and community groups and they were able to report a variety of tangible outcomes resulting from their training. The key elements to the success of these training initiatives are discussed. This training model could be replicated in other places and resources for doing this are available.     

Effects of a 6‐week,co‐taught literacy unit on preservice special educators' literacy‐education knowledge

For special education preservice teachers to be prepared to assist students with disabilities to achieve their maximum potential in literacy, an innovative, co‐taught literacy unit was implemented within existing methods courses. The intensive, 6‐week unit was created to prepare all candidates in both mild interventions and severe interventions licensure programs to meet the literacy needs of diverse learners. The curriculum was designed around the National Reading Panel's five critical components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension) in addition to the topics of emergent literacy and writing. Pre‐ and posttests were administered, revealing a significant growth in participant knowledge related to literacy assessment and instruction. Implications for future efforts to improve literacy outcomes for students with disabilities by improving teachers' knowledge and skills related to literacy instruction are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

对高职院校校企合作人才培养模式的几点思考

企业关注、支持和积极参与职业教育,是校企合作人才培养模式顺利实施的基本条件。否则,合作教育将失去生存与发展的土壤。然而,充分调动企业参与职业教育的积极性,必须遵循"互利互惠"原则。根据不同时期校企双方的不同需求,不断更新"互利互惠"的具体内容,是切实贯彻"互利互惠"原则的根本要求。本文在分析我国高职院校校企合作的现状及存在问题的基础上,对建立健全校企合作人才培养模式进行了对策探讨。     

Humanistic knowledge management perspective： The case of Croatia

The paper promotes people-focused, in other words, HKM （humanistic knowledge management） perspective. In the theoretical part of this paper, HKM perspective is being elaborated. In the empirical part of this paper, the status of KM （knowledge management） holders as KM factor is assessed. Precisely, the quality of 5 areas （KM infrastructure, KM holders, organizational culture, IT （information technology） and measuring KM） which are important for KM success was evaluated in order to position people factor in Croatia. Therefore, Croatian organizations and Croatian employees were asked about their KM practice and their perceptions of its quality.