The liberal arts college and adult continuing education: A rationale

Discussion concentrates on feasibility of private liberal arts college involvement with adult and continuing education. Evidence of need is provided by national and local surveys. Basic model is that developed by Saint Mary's College, Winona, Minnesota, which sponsors an Employee Learning Program with support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Experiences of the exploratory period indicate positive support from college administration and faculty, increasing response to course offerings (life-coping skills and personal enrichment), cautious involvement by business and industry, and meager interest from organized labor. The program continues to define the model in its second year of operation.     

Educational Neuroethics: A Contribution From Empirical Research

In recent years, educational neuroscience has begun to move into the limelight, suggesting an increased importance on the ethical considerations of educational neuroscience work, or educational neuroethics. In a departure from previous work on educational neuroethics, this article focuses on the ethical considerations that are applicable to empirical educational neuroscience research. Neuroethics concepts were compiled through a thorough survey of neuroethics articles. Then, 28 empirical educational neuroscience articles were analyzed through the lens of five categories of neuroethics concepts collected through the literature survey: the scientific enterprise, prediction, neuro‐manipulation, social considerations, and philosophical considerations. Three of the five categories (i.e., the nature of scientific investigation, prediction, and social considerations) applied to a subset of the articles. In addition, a fourth ethical issue not stemming from the neuroethics literature, referred to here as brain‐based justifications, emerged from the nature of educational neuroscience work. Limitations of this study and future directions for educational neuroethics research are discussed.     

Physician opinions about an anatomy core curriculum: A case for medical imaging and vertical integration

Pre‐clinical anatomy curricula must provide medical students with the knowledge needed in a variety of medical and surgical specialties. But do physicians within specialties agree about what anatomical knowledge is most important in their practices? And, what is the common core of anatomical knowledge deemed essential by physicians in different specialties? Answers to these questions would be useful in designing pre‐clinical anatomy courses. The primary aim of this study was to assess the importance of a human gross anatomy course by soliciting the opinions of physicians from a range of specialties. We surveyed 93 physicians to determine the importance of specific anatomical topics in their own practices. Their responses were analyzed to assess variation in intra‐ and inter‐departmental attitudes toward the importance of anatomy. Nearly all of the topics taught in the course were deemed important by the clinicians as a group, but respondents showed little agreement on the rank order of importance of anatomical topics. Overall, only medical imaging received high importance by nearly all respondents, and lower importance was attached to embryology and lymphatic anatomy. Our survey data, however, also suggested distinct hierarchies in the importance assigned to anatomical topics within specialties. Given that physicians view the importance of anatomy differently, we suggest that students revisit anatomy through a vertically integrated curriculum tailored to provide specialty‐specific anatomical training to advanced students based on their areas of clinical interest. Integration of medical imaging into pre‐clinical anatomy courses, already underway in many medical schools, is of high clinical relevance. Anat Sci Educ 7: 251–261. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Teachers’ reasons for using self-assessment: a survey self-report of Spanish teachers

The study aimed to explore teachers’ beliefs about student self-assessment (SSA) and the reasons for their use of it in their classrooms. A representative sample of 944 Spanish teachers (38.8% primary school sector, 54.0% secondary school sector and 7.2% university or adult education sector) were surveyed about SSA. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to determine statistically and theoretically significant predictors of teachers’ self-reported use of SSA. Results showed that 90% of the teachers indicated having used SSA in their courses and 90% reported having positive experiences. A well-fitting structural model found five statistically significant predictors for the use of SSA: (1) positive experience with self-assessment, (2) belief in student participation in assessment, (3) willingness to include self-assessment as percentage of final grade, (4) self-assessment advantages and (5) having attended assessment courses. Statistically significant mean score differences for these factors were found according to level of employment and level of educational qualifications. In conclusion, teachers’ values, attitudes and prior experiences with this type of assessment contributed a significant proportion of self-reported SSA usage.     

Early social communication development in infants with autism spectrum disorder

Social-communication differences are a robust and defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but identifying early points of divergence in infancy has been a challenge. The current study examines social communication in 9- to 12-month-old infants who develop ASD (N = 30; 23% female; 70% white) compared to typically developing (TD) infants (N = 94, 38% female; 88% white). Results demonstrate that infants later diagnosed with ASD were already exhibiting fewer social-communication skills using eye gaze, facial expression, gestures, and sounds at 9 months (effect size: 0.42–0.89). Moreover, three unique patterns of change across distinct social-communication skills were observed within the ASD group. This study documents that observable social-communication differences for infants with ASD are unfolding by 9 months, pointing to a critical window for targeted intervention.     

Do monitoring and evaluation tools,designed to measure the improvement in the quality of primary education,constrain or enhance educational development?

A learner-centred view of education argues that the learner's needs must be understood and the learner must be engaged within the learning process. Governments advocate ‘learner-centred’ approaches whilst introducing national strategies and systems to reach agreed standards and competencies, often globally determined. There are increasing pressures on organisations to provide evidence that the quality of education is improving. Defining quality education and how it is measured has been the focus of much discussion. This paper contributes to the discussion by focussing on the measurement of the teaching and learning process in an Education Quality Improvement Project implemented in Cambodia.     

Correction to: The treatment adherence of paraprofessional behavior training programs: a systematic literature review

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The professionalization of paraprofessionals through training is elemental in providing supports to students with disabilities. Through a systematic...