Waggoner, Matt (2015). The Truth about Liberal Arts. Thought & Action, p5-14 Sum. Skills, jobs, and even self-enrichment were not historically regarded as the ultimate goals of the liberal arts; they were byproducts. The reason liberal arts education was called "liberal" in the first place was because it was supposed to cultivate a free human being. Education on the liberal model aimed to liberate. The goal of liberal learning goes beyond knowing what's out there, how it functions, and how to function within it. The liberal learner is searching for truths that aren't always compatible with known procedures and the realities they administer on a daily basis. In this paper, the author, an associate professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut, argues that liberal learning doesn't reach its satisfactory conclusion in an accommodating disposition that avoids judgment by default. Acquiring an expanded horizon isn't simply about acknowledging the plurality of bodies and languages. It's also about considering… [Direct]

Brauckmann, Stefan; Schwarz, Alexandra (2015). No Time to Manage? the Trade-off between Relevant Tasks and Actual Priorities of School Leaders in Germany. International Journal of Educational Management, v29 n6 p749-765. Purpose: School leadership is considered a central agent in the implementation of "New Governance" concepts which have been introduced in Germany by means of accountability measures, decentralization and a growth of autonomy and competition. With the adjustment of policies, rights and duties of school leaders have changed considerably. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to leadership research by providing descriptive evidence on the relevance of specific areas of leadership activity reported by school principals and their actual priorities in terms of day-to-day workload. In particular, the authors analyze whether individually reported priorities are reflected in the actual distribution of workload in a daily routine. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical analysis uses data collected in the German SHaRP study ("School leaders' activities between more responsibility and more power"). Based on a sample of 153 school leaders from six German federal… [Direct]

Diwan, Rashmi (2015). Small Schools in Rural India: "Exclusion" and "Inequity" in Hierarchical School System. Policy Futures in Education, v13 n2 p187-204 Feb. Small schools have enjoyed rich traditions in the history of education. The Vedic-age gurukula small schools, an abode for children of the privileged few, followed a structured curriculum in the teaching of religion, scriptures, philosophy, literature, warfare, medicine, astrology and history. The rigvedic small schools, which were more egalitarian, opened their doors for admission to all strata of society. In medieval India small schools located in pathshalas, madrasas and informal surroundings of a village, for example, in the teacher's house, places of worship or under a tree imparted instruction in the three Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic. Peer-group learning, multipoint entry, needs based studies, adaptability to the immediate environment and adjusting school hours to suit local requirements were the chief merits of these schools. By the time the British arrived, India had a fairly widespread village based small primary school education on revenue free land. A major shift… [Direct]

Guyer, Cynthia; Uzeta, Michelle (2009). Assistive Technology Obligations for Postsecondary Education Institutions. Journal of Access Services, v6 n1-2 p12-35. When the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, it was estimated that 43 million Americans were living with a disability. This number continues to grow. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are now over 54 million Americans who have a disability. There also has been an increase is the number of students with disabilities attending postsecondary education institutions. Assistive technologies are making postsecondary education a realized dream for many students with disabilities. They make simple tasks, such as taking class notes or doing library research, possible for such students. Postsecondary institutions have special legal obligations toward their students with disabilities. These obligations stem from various federal and state disability rights laws. This article examines the inextricable connections between assistive technologies, postsecondary institutions, and disability rights laws. (Contains 8 notes.)… [Direct]

Imbault, Juliette; Vauclair, Jacques (2009). Relationship between Manual Preferences for Object Manipulation and Pointing Gestures in Infants and Toddlers. Developmental Science, v12 n6 p1060-1069 Nov. The aim of this study was to measure the pattern of hand preferences for pointing gestures as a function of object-manipulation handedness in 123 infants and toddlers (10-40 months). The results showed that not only right-handers but also left-handers and ambidextrous participants tended to use their right hand for pointing. There was a significant correlation between manual preferences and pointing lateralization. Further analyses showed that the correlation between these two indexes was at its strongest during two key phases of language development (i.e. vocabulary spurt and syntax improvement) and weakened to become nonsignificant in the interim. These findings support the view that humans have a specialized area for communicative gestures and language in the left cerebral hemisphere that may be independent of the system controlling the purely motor functions of hand use…. [Direct]

Meguerditchian, Adrien; Vauclair, Jacques (2009). Contrast of Hand Preferences between Communicative Gestures and Non-Communicative Actions in Baboons: Implications for the Origins of Hemispheric Specialization for Language. Brain and Language, v108 n3 p167-174 Mar. Gestural communication is a modality considered in the literature as a candidate for determining the ancestral prerequisites of the emergence of human language. As reported in captive chimpanzees and human children, a study in captive baboons revealed that a communicative gesture elicits stronger degree of right-hand bias than non-communicative actions. It remains unclear if it is the communicative nature of this manual behavior which induces such patterns of handedness. In the present study, we have measured hand use for two uninvestigated behaviors in a group of captive olive baboons: (1) a non-communicative self-touching behavior (\muzzle wipe\ serving as a control behavior), (2) another communicative gesture (a ritualized \food beg\) different from the one previously studied in the literature (a species-specific threat gesture, namely \hand slap\) in the same population of baboons. The hand preferences for the \food beg\ gestures revealed a trend toward right-handedness and… [Direct]

Ardichvili, Alexandre; Kuchinke, K. Peter; Lokkesmoe, Karen J. (2016). Developing Cross-Cultural Awareness through Foreign Immersion Programs: Implications of University Study Abroad Research for Global Competency Development. European Journal of Training and Development, v40 n3 p155-170. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of foreign immersion programs in terms of increasing cross-cultural awareness among university students in business, accounting, human resources and agriculture. The authors extrapolate from their population to the practice of developing business professionals on international assignments. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper presents findings of a four-year, government-sponsored university exchange program involving 40 professional management and agriculture science students from four US and Brazilian top research universities who participated in a semester-long study abroad experience. Pre-departure and post-exchange data were collected using the well-established Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). In addition, the authors collected academic performance data and verbal mid- and end-project personal assessments. Two of the authors of this paper served as project directors, the third as evaluation specialist…. [Direct]

Chen, Nian-Shing; Fang, Kwoting; Lin, Kan-Min (2011). Understanding E-Learning Continuance Intention: A Negative Critical Incidents Perspective. Behaviour & Information Technology, v30 n1 p77-89 Jan. This study develops a model to examine the key drivers of users' continuance intention of e-learning, based on negative critical incidents (NCIs) standpoints. The developed research model is tested empirically using a field survey of 230 users. This study finds that users' past service encounters (NCIs), belief (perceived ease of use and usefulness), satisfaction (quality attributes cumulative satisfaction and overall satisfaction) and attitude are key antecedents of continued usage intention. Four dimensions of both NCIs and quality attributes in e-learning (administration procedures, e-learning system functionality, instructional process and human interaction) are explored in this study. Results indicate that NCIs in teaching and administration are comparatively more important in determining user satisfaction and continuance intention. Further analysis finds that the recorded lecture content and the response time to users are the most critical problems in teaching and… [Direct]

Valentine, Dorothy J. (2017). Community Networks and Effective Change in Proprietary Colleges and Universities: A Systems Perspective. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Fielding Graduate University. This case study was conducted to gain more knowledge from citizens in the four city area of Virginia which included Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach concerning the emergence of proprietary colleges in these areas. It was a qualitative study designed to gain more insight into the feelings and regard that citizens in these areas have for the new proprietary colleges and universities that have established campuses in these urban areas. The query was also designed to determine the extent of their present knowledge regarding these institutions as well as to determine if they would be willing to work with the colleges on a collaborative basis on projects and programs created to enhance, enrich, and improve the various neighborhoods where campuses are located. Understanding the attitudes and emotions of inner-city residents toward the new higher education entities is essential to this dissertation which basically advocates that proprietary colleges and universities move… [Direct]

Tincani, Matt; Travers, Jason (2010). Sexuality Education for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Critical Issues and Decision Making Guidelines. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, v45 n2 p284-293 Jun. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present unique needs regarding sexuality education. While the topic of sexuality has received increased attention in the fields of intellectual and developmental disabilities generally, less consideration has focused on the unique needs of individuals with ASD specifically. This paper presents one position in support of sexuality education for children and adolescents with ASD. The nature of human sexuality is discussed to provide a context for the rights of individuals with ASD to learn about their sexuality. Further justification for providing sexuality education in terms of the unique characteristics of this population is offered in conjunction with potential consequences of failing to provide sexuality education. Lastly, information regarding a decision-making process for sexuality education curriculum is presented, including the responsibilities of families and professionals providing sexuality education…. [Direct]

Calbom, Linda M. (2012). School Bullying: Legal Protections for Vulnerable Youth Need to Be More Fully Assessed. Testimony before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, U.S. Senate. GAO-12-785T. US Government Accountability Office In this statement, the author discusses the results of the work that the members of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions requested on school bullying. It is estimated that millions of American youths have been bullied by their peers, including physical, verbal, and electronic attacks. The author's statement is based on a report released recently, which addresses the following objectives: (1) What is known about the prevalence of school bullying and its effects on victims?; (2) What approaches are selected states and local school districts taking to combat school bullying?; (3) What legal options do the federal and selected state governments have in place when bullying leads to allegations of discrimination?; and (4) How are key federal agencies coordinating their efforts to combat school bullying? To address these objectives, the author and her colleagues reviewed research on the prevalence and effects on victims; analyzed state bullying laws, and school district… [PDF]

Kachur, Jerrold L. (2012). The Liberal Virus in Critical Pedagogy: Beyond \Anti-This-and-That\ Postmodernism and Three Problems in the Idea of Communism. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, v10 n1 p1-21 Apr. In the shadow of triumphalist and hubristic capitalism, many adherents to critical pedagogy promote \democracy\ as a kind of anti-capitalist challenge to inequality, oppression and exploitation. However, American culture has gone global, immersing the world in the received wisdom of a variety of liberalisms or in the reaction formations of religious fundamentalism on the right and demotivated cynicism of postmodernism on the left. The impotence in critical pedagogy in the clarion call of \democracy for democracy's sake\ resides in common sense subordination to competing liberal assumptions and a political positioning along different lines of liberal critique: classical, modern, neoliberal or radical (i.e. left postmodernism and right libertarianism). Nevertheless, this liberal positioning in critical pedagogy evacuates many commitments to a positive program based on labour, socialist or communist beliefs. This inadequate commitment to \democracy in form\ secures \liberalism in… [PDF]

Weinstein, Margery (2010). ADP's ABCs of Training. Training, v47 n2 p34, 36, 38 Feb. When a company's core competence is processing data, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the obvious–the information right under its nose. In the case of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), a business outsourcing company specializing in human resources, payroll, tax, and benefits administrations solutions, that is not a problem. Through innovative training solutions that boosted employee knowledge and on-the-job ability, the company demonstrated it has no problem keeping its eyes on the development of its employees. Programs geared toward supporting career growth and enhanced customer service paved the way for a good year in training for ADP in 2009–resulting in the company's double-digit move to No. 2 on the Training Top 125 list. This article provides some tips for creating a top-performing training organization…. [Direct]

Kim, Yong Wook (2013). Inclusive Education in Korea: Policy, Practice, and Challenges. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, v10 n2 p79-81 Jun. Even though the Korean experience with special education in the public education system is limited, inclusive education for special education needs (SEN) students has been at the center of attention at the national policy level since the mid-1990s. Since then, Korean educators and administrators have put an emphasis on the revision and regulation of special education policies, guaranteeing the rights of SEN students to learn, and fostering the quality of teachers to strengthen inclusive education. These efforts have led to progress supporting inclusive education. However, there is still much to be achieved. The author examined the current practices and policies of inclusive education and the challenges to implementing successful inclusive education in Korea and found that what is needed is to transform the existing climate of the schools from being competition-driven to being more cooperative and human-centered. We need strong leadership from principals and administrators. The Korean… [Direct]

Chavis, William M. (2016). No Turning Back: A Case Study Analysis of Leadership Practices of Organizational Turnaround at A North Carolina Historically Black High School. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, North Carolina State University. Despite the seeming progressiveness in moving from "Plessy v. Ferguson" to "Brown v. Board of Education," and from the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights Movement, schools continue to exist that are racially homogenous and segregated at the core. Many of these schools were created in times of harsh legislation that mandated a "separate but equal" philosophy, which oftentimes placed Black students in learning environments that were not, in fact, equal–leading to marked disparities and disproportionate circumstances, conditions, and outcomes. The Black High School as an institution of learning has therefore become a historical cornerstone of the community, providing students with experiences associated with cultural and racial identities while teaching the state-adopted curriculum. Although the resources including textbooks and materials were typically outdated "hand-me-downs" from institutions serving White students, these Historically Black High… [Direct]

McKernan, Jim (2011). The Idea of a University: Grey Philistines Taking over Our Universities. College Quarterly, v14 n2 Spr. In this article, the author stresses the danger of losing the concept of education in favour of lower notions of instruction and training. By \training\ he means a process that suggests the acquisition of skills and the enhancing of performance capacities. By \instruction\ he means learning facts and new information–the results of retention. Too often, states McKernan, even those in universities confuse training and instruction with pure \education.\ Traditional (basic) research, what may be thought of as \blue sky\ inquiry in the human and social sciences, is being viewed as inappropriate in favour of applied scientific \evidence-based\ research methodologies where grant money is being currently channeled. The problem is that the grey philistines who are \running\ the colleges and universities claim, falsely, to be businessmen running enterprises that will bring greater economic growth and riches through applied research–not \blue sky\ inquiry. The author believes that there are… [PDF]

Bouchard, Thomas J., Jr.; Johnson, Wendy; Segal, Nancy L. (2008). Fluctuating Asymmetry and General Intelligence: No Genetic or Phenotypic Association. Intelligence, v36 n3 p279-288 May-Jun. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is the non-pathological left-right asymmetry of body traits that are usually left-right symmetrical, such as eye breadths and elbow to wrist lengths in humans, but which can be affected by developmental stressors. It is generally considered throughout biology to be an indicator of developmental instability and thus of lack of overall biological fitness. Several investigators have proposed that deficiencies in general intelligence (\g\) may be indicators of the same kind of instability in human brain development. If so, FA and \g\ should be negatively correlated. Moreover, because \g\ shows substantial genetic influences, FA should also show genetic influences, and the two sets of genetic influences should be correlated. We investigated these propositions in a sample of 263 adults that included 88 pairs of twins. Results indicated genetic influences on FA, but FA and \g\ were not correlated at either the observed or genetic levels…. [Direct]

Buras, Kristen L. (2013). New Orleans Education Reform: A Guide for Cities or a Warning for Communities? (Grassroots Lessons Learned, 2005-2012). Berkeley Review of Education, v4 n1 p123-160 Jan. Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, co-chair of the Senate Public Charter School Caucus in Washington, DC, hosted a forum for education policymakers. It centered on "New Orleans-Style Education Reform: A Guide for Cities (Lessons Learned, 2004-2010)," a report published by the charter school incubator New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO). Through human capital and charter school development, the report asserts, New Orleans has become a national leader in education reform. In this essay, members of Urban South Grassroots Research Collective, including education scholars and those affiliated with longstanding educational and cultural organizations in New Orleans, reveal that such reform has been destructive to African American students, teachers, and neighborhoods. Inspired by critical race theory and the role of experiential knowledge in challenging dominant narratives, authors draw heavily on testimony from community-based education groups, which have typically been ignored,… [PDF]

Moody, Heather Ann (2013). "Before We Teach It, We Have to Learn It": Wisconsin Act 31 Compliance within Public Teacher Preparation Programs. ProQuest LLC, D.Ed. Dissertation, University of Minnesota. Wisconsin Act 31 was established for the purpose of addressing American Indian history, culture, and sovereignty within K-12 schools as a response to treaty rights issues in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yet, in the 21 st century there remain issues with compliance throughout not only K-12 schools but also institutions of higher education. The research addresses how public institutions of higher education factor into compliance with regard to teacher preparation programs. Through a mixed methods approach, instructors from nine University of Wisconsin System institutions were surveyed regarding their professional and personal background in relation to American Indian Studies as well as their understanding of Wisconsin Act 31. In addition, a document analysis was performed on the syllabi from teacher-licensing certified courses. The results provided an overall understanding of the issues within teacher preparation programs that affect future educators. A distinction became apparent… [Direct]

Pedersen, Helena (2012). Undercover Education: Mice, Mimesis, and Parasites in the Teaching Machine. Studies in Philosophy and Education, v31 n4 p365-386 Jul. What happens to education when the potential it helps realizing in the individual works against the formal purposes of the curriculum? What happens when education becomes a vehicle for its own subversion? As a subject-forming state apparatus working on ideological speciesism, formal education is engaged in both human and animal stratification in service of the capitalist knowledge economy. This seemingly stable condition is however insecured by the animal rights activist as undercover learner and–worker, who enters education and research laboratories under false premises in order to extract the knowledge necessary to dismantle the logic of animal utility on which the scientific-educational apparatus rests. The present article is based on a semi-structured interview with an undercover worker. It draws on a synthesis of critical education and posthumanist theories to configure knowledge creation and subjectification processes in the \negative spaces\ of education. The techne of… [Direct]

Hurlbut, J. Benjamin; Robert, Jason Scott (2012). Good Governance Connects Science and Society. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, v31 n3 p722-726 Sum. Owen-Smith et al. (this issue) answer the question about expanding funding for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) research decisively and emphatically. They conclude that the U.S. federal government should expand funding in volume and scope, and stabilize it through regularity. According to Hurlbut and Robert, If the clear goal of policy should be to increase present and future activity within the hPSC research domain over the long term, the solutions are simple–and their recommendations are on target. This, however, is the right solution to the wrong problem. These authors highlight two premises of Owen-Smith et al.'s essay that they find particularly problematic: (1) One should not mistake the categorizations of research–or research objects–that are employed in public debate and policymaking as matters for science alone. They do precisely this in lumping all forms and sources of cells under the heading of "PSC research."; and (2) Owen-Smith et al.'s assertion that… [Direct]

Baumgaertner, Annette; Buchel, Christian; Isel, Frederic; Meisel, Jurgen M.; Thran, Johannes (2010). Neural Circuitry of the Bilingual Mental Lexicon: Effect of Age of Second Language Acquisition. Brain and Cognition, v72 n2 p169-180 Mar. Numerous studies have proposed that changes of the human language faculty caused by neural maturation can explain the substantial differences in ultimate attainment of grammatical competences between first language (L1) acquirers and second language (L2) learners. However, little evidence on the effect of neural maturation on the attainment of lexical knowledge in L2 is available. The present functional magnetic resonance study addresses this question via a cross-linguistic neural adaptation paradigm. Age of acquisition (AoA) of L2 was systematically manipulated. Concrete nouns were repeated across language (e.g., French-German, valise[superscript suitcase]-Koffer[superscript suitcase]). Whereas early bilinguals (AoA of L2 less than 3 years) showed larger repetition enhancement (RE) effects in the left superior temporal gyrus, the bilateral superior frontal gyrus and the right posterior insula, late bilinguals (AoA of L2 greater than 10 years) showed larger RE effects in the middle… [Direct]

Hayward, Sally; Janz, Heidi L. (2009). Questions of Right and Left or Right and Wrong: A Disability-Ethics Analysis of the Right-Wing and Left-Wing Media Portrayals of the Latimer Case. Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, v37 n1-2 p165-186. This paper examines the right and left wing media coverage of the Robert Latimer case, arguing that, in particular, the left-wing progressive portrayal of this case not only creates a "preferred version and vision of social order" (Ericson, Baranek, & Chan,1991, p. 4), but also affirms a utilitarian ethics and a normative framework of reference that can be used in the courts of law to argue for the voluntary and, more importantly, the nonvoluntary euthanasia of "defective" and "deformed" individuals. We further argue that publications of the religious right, most notably Alberta Report, have countered this normative framework of utilitarian ethics by consistently providing space for Tracy Latimer's story to be told. We conclude this paper with consideration of an alternative ethics that develops Paul Woodruff's call for a politics and practice of reverence, a secular, as opposed to a religious, praxis that is inclusive and appreciative of all human… [PDF]

Galbraith, Diane D.; Webb, Fred L. (2010). Business Ethics: A View from the Classroom. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, v7 n4 p39-52 Apr. The global economy has been devastated in the last year and according to Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, America's economy was threatened, reminiscent of the Great Depression. Our nation is also in a serious ethical and moral decline, as evidenced by steroid use in baseball, corporate scandals, accounting fraud, religious immorality within churches, human trafficking and the rise of cheating and plagiarism in our school systems. The lines between right and wrong have been blurred, relegating moral and ethical boundaries to outdated standards. This paper will seek to establish some answers regarding university students in the classroom such as, what is the perceived attitudes of today's college students toward ethical behavior, are they naive, etc? Also, this paper will explore ways in which professors can reinforce appropriate ethical behavior as an essential element in our society. (Contains 7 figures and 3 exhibits.)… [Direct]

Johnson, Warren R. (2010). Magic, Morals and Health. American Journal of Health Education, v41 n1 p14-17 Jan-Feb. Magic has to do with the supernatural and the unnatural. It is indifferent to natural law and science and is aloof from scientific inquiry. Its existence depends upon unquestioning faith. Granted such faith, it is extraordinarily potent. If it does not move mountains, it convinces the faithful that it can. It can damage health and perhaps, restore it. It has, historically and cross-culturally, been closely tied in with and supportive of morals and religion. Morals have to do with right and wrong, with good and bad, as defined by a particular society. The word derives from \customs.\ By definition, morals as well as customs may differ tremendously from society to society, right being wrong or more or less right or wrong, depending on where one happens to grow up. Morals sometimes have the support and backing of laws, as in the case of sex morals, but nearly always they are protected by magical forces via the superego and conscience. Health may be defined narrowly as freedom from… [PDF] [Direct]

Barbeau, Emmanuel J.; Baumann, Cedric; Benar, Christian; Chauvel, Patrick; Koessler, Laurent; Liegeois-Chauvel, Catherine; Maillard, Louis (2011). From Perception to Recognition Memory: Time Course and Lateralization of Neural Substrates of Word and Abstract Picture Processing. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, v23 n4 p782-800 Apr. Through study of clinical cases with brain lesions as well as neuroimaging studies of cognitive processing of words and pictures, it has been established that material-specific hemispheric specialization exists. It remains however unclear whether such specialization holds true for all processes involved in complex tasks, such as recognition memory. To investigate neural signatures of transition from perception to recognition, according to type of material (words or abstract pictures), high-resolution scalp ERPs were recorded in adult humans engaged either in categorization or in memory recognition tasks within the same experimental setup. Several steps in the process from perception to recognition were identified. Source localization showed that the early stage of perception processing (N170) takes place in the fusiform gyrus and is lateralized according to the nature of stimuli (left side for words and right side for pictures). Late stages of processing (N400/P600) corresponding to… [Direct]

Colls, Rachel; Evans, Bethan; Horschelmann, Kathrin (2011). "Change4Life for Your Kids": Embodied Collectives and Public Health Pedagogy. Sport, Education and Society, v16 n3 p323-341. Recent work in human geography has begun to explore the fluidity of bodily boundaries and to foreground the connectedness of bodies to other bodies/objects/places. Across multiple subdisciplinary areas, including health, children's and feminist geographies, geographers have begun to challenge the notion of a singular, bounded body by highlighting the importance of, for example, relations of care and intergenerationality to everyday embodied experiences; remembered past/anticipated future bodies to self-perception and body image; affect/emotion to the production of embodied collectives; and connections to distant and proximate others to understandings of embodied rights and responsibility. In this paper we will review these areas of work in order to explore the ways in which this geographical work on embodied connections might contribute to recent debates concerning public health pedagogy and the production of embodied and emotional collectives in education. This will involve an… [Direct]

Childress, Vincent W. (2011). Energy Decisions: Is Solar Power the Solution?. Technology and Engineering Teacher, v70 n5 p9-14 Feb. People around the world are concerned about affordable energy. It is needed to power the global economy. Petroleum-based transportation and coal-fired power plants are economic prime movers fueling the global economy, but coal and gasoline are also the leading sources of air pollution. Both of these sources produce greenhouse gases and toxins. Worry over the environment and the health of humans is growing. Could the world switch to solar power today and sustain the global economy? Not a chance. In 2008, solar accounted for only 0.048 percent (four one-hundredths of one percent) of the U.S. generating capacity (including concentrating solar). But that is not necessarily the right question to ask. Here is a more appropriate one: Can solar power "contribute" to a cleaner environment and a healthy economy? The answer is yes, with conditions. In this article, the author talks about photovoltaic solar power and explores how this kind of solar power can make a contribution. The… [Direct]

Meehan, Casey R. (2012). Global Warming in Schools: An Inquiry about the Competing Conceptions of High School Social Studies and Science Curricula and Teachers. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Wisconsin – Madison. Despite the scientific consensus supporting the theory of anthropogenic (human-induced) global warming, whether global warming is a serious problem, whether human activity is the primary cause of it, and whether scientific consensus exists at all are controversial questions among the U.S. lay-public. The cultural theory of risk perception (Schwarz and Thompson, 1990) serves as the theoretical framework for this qualitative analysis in which I ask the question how do U.S. secondary school curricula and teachers deal with the disparity between the overwhelming scientific consensus and the lay-public's skepticism regarding global warming? I analyzed nine widely used social studies and science textbooks, eight sets of supplemental materials about global warming produced by a range of not-for-profit and governmental organizations, and interviewed fourteen high school teachers who had experience teaching formal lessons about global warming in their content area. Findings suggest: 1)… [Direct]

Bakare; Tewo V. (2012). Access to Higher Education for National Development in Nigeria: Distance Education to the Rescue. Journal of International Education Research, v8 n3 p283-294. The paper examined the place of Distance Education (DE) as a method of Adult Education in Nigeria and its contribution to national development. The paper discussed DE practice and challenges in some African countries and related this to the Nigerian situation. The paper further noted the challenge of the national admission body for regular tertiary institutions with reconciling the ratio of applicants to those admitted. Incidentally, DE, which is originally a form of Adult Education, is fast becoming a replacement for regular higher education. The implication of this on Adult Education practice in Nigeria is that the changes in the demographics of participants in DE, along with other challenges, affect the essence of Adult Education provision, access and its conduct. The paper analyzed the concept of DE and noted that distance education is currently used to replace, instead of support mainstream education in Nigeria by eroding the more desirable non-formal approach. The paper agrees… [Direct]