Education Commons^™

Falling In Line: Curricular Alignment In A Library Credit Course, Michael Aldrich

Georgia Library Quarterly

The article discusses the usefulness of curricular alignment and how it can be achieved in teaching a library & information science course.

Problems For Teacher Education For Primary Schools In Nigeria: Beyond Curriculum Design And Implementation, Olusegun Akinbote

Essays in Education

Primary education is the core of development and progress sin modern societies. However the quality of teachers who are to ensure the realization of the aspirations we hold for our children has fallen below expectations. This study therefore investigated the entry qualifications, the mode of entry into and the reasons why students enroll in Colleges of Education. The findings showed that majority of the student teachers are not ‘good materials’ for teacher education and that only a few of them really have the genuine desire to become teachers. Recommendations are made on how to improve on the quality of entrants …

Visually Impaired Education: Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow, Adebiyi A. B.

Essays in Education

The actual formal education of the visually impaired persons started in Nigeria in the 40s by the Sudan Interior Mission, that was a century after their sighted counterparts had embraced Western Education. The main aim of the Missionaries was to train persons with Visual impairment to read the Bible and learn skills which would make them to be self reliant. The establishment of the first school for the blind in Gindiri was an eye opener to the emergence of other special education institutions in Nigeria. In Nigeria, Visually impaired education has passed through different stages of educational development. despite, progresses …

Onset Of Hearing Loss, Gender And Self Concept As Determinants Of Academic Achievements In English Language Of Students With Hearing Disability In Oyo State, Nigeria, J. Abiola Ademokoya, B. A. Shittu

Essays in Education

Since every class of students with hearing disability is always a heterogeneous one, the need for establishing relationship between some intrinsic factors in these students and their academic achievements becomes very imperative. This study therefore examined the influence of onset of hearing loss, gender and self concept on their academic performance in English language. 100 Senior Secondary School class III students with hearing disability were purposively selected to participate in the study. The study also raised 3 hypotheses to ascertain relationships between onset of hearing loss, gender, and self concept and English language achievement. Instruments such as the self concept …

Teacher Candidates’ Emerging Perceptions Of Reader Response Theory, Khaled Alazzi

Essays in Education

What are the possibilities when teacher candidates participate in focused instruction in reader response theory and connected opportunities to experience response to literature, then design and implement response experiences with their elementary students? Consideration of this question led to this study that describes teacher candidates’ knowledge about reader response theory and their perceptions of the value and usefulness of reader response theory throughout a semester of focused experiences in university and elementary classrooms. Through qualitative analysis, four distinct, but related themes emerged. These themes describe teacher candidates who: 1) are at differing stages of understanding, 2) find that responding to …

Constructivism In Early Childhood Education, Joseph Mills

Perspectives In Learning

At most universities and colleges, a form of constructivism based on child psychological theories dominates the stage as the “official knowledge pre-service early childhood teachers must know to be proclaimed competent” (Livingston, 2003, p. 3). Why, then, have the understandings of how children learn and the teaching practices suggested by this theory not taken root in many early childhood classrooms? In attempting to answer this question through a review of current literature in the field, three topics of discussion have been suggested: an explanation of the development and learning theories which support constructivism, identifying classroom practices which are considered to …

Editorial Board, About This Issue, Table Of Contents, Deirdre Greer

Perspectives In Learning

Welcome to Volume 8, Issue 2 of Perspectives in Learning. This issue represents our first fall publication and begins with an article by Lenoir Gillam and Lisa Shaw, which details the process of student placements in partner schools for a counseling program. The authors reveal how the use of data has improved this process.

Using Data To Integrate School Counseling Field Experiences Into A Partner School Network, S. Lenoir Gillam, Lisa Shaw

Perspectives In Learning

The College of Education (COE) coordinates field experiences and clinical practice for teacher education through its Partner School Network (PSN) and the Office of College of Education Services and Field Experiences (SAFE). The Partner School Network is made up of school personnel within the CSU service area who have agreed to collaborate with the COE in designing, delivering, and evaluating field experiences and clinical practice. Exceptions are made when students are employed in a school system outside the PSN. In recent semesters, the M.Ed. School Counseling program has been integrated into certain aspects connected with the PSN. Most notably, the …

A Decision To Serve: Decision Making Through Service Learning, Elizabeth A. Romey

Perspectives In Learning

The use of service learning and community service with students at all levels of ability is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially with gifted students, because of their need to prepare for college applications. These applications often require a range of activities including community service as well as straight academic success. However, the distinction between community service, a reactive activity, and service learning, a proactive process in which students take leadership roles in their community, is not always emphasized. The role of structured decision-making processes, like those in Talents Unlimited and Future Problem Solving, to enable gifted students to take proactive leadership …

Aligning Paradigms, Standards, And Assessment: A Higher-Education Application For Instruction In Science And Mathematics, Vikki K. Collins, Donna E. Pascoe, Martha C. Hall, H. Marguerite Yates

Perspectives In Learning

Disciplines of science and mathematics are essential for 21st century life and progress of our nation. To strengthen the effectiveness of education in the state of Georgia and to address emerging and enduring issues in 21st century life, the state adopted Georgia Performance Standards. To meet the standards of science and mathematics in Georgia classrooms, programs of teacher preparation and educational leadership in higher education institutions across the state must support and develop pre-service and in-service teachers and leaders able to effectively incorporate standards and assessment consistent with this paradigm shift. Student leadership teams at Columbus State University were instructed …

Online Instruction In The University Setting: Reflections On Four Years Of Practice In Distance Education, Tom Hackett

Perspectives In Learning

The development of online courses is replete with challenges for the instructor and for curriculum planners who wish to provide students the convenience of online instruction and take advantage of the power of the venue. Despite the obvious promise of technologies with seemingly unlimited potential and capability, certain inherent limitations add a complexity to their implementation. This article discusses the need for a philosophical underpinning that considers both the power and limitations of the online instructional venue.

The Effects Of Early Intervention And Parent Training On Vocabulary Development For The At-Risk Preschool Child, Sallie Averitt Miller, Sally Sinclair, Catherine Kostolnick

Perspectives In Learning

This interdisciplinary team research documents that when specific skills are taught systematically at home and at school, the low-high SES achievement gap shrinks. It provides a “close-up look” at the effects of early intervention and parent training on vocabulary development for the child, which resulted in an intergenerational achievement. The quintessential research goal is to make certain that parents are well equipped to develop their child’s vocabulary; using conversation, literature, environmental print, and a focus on selected proven strategies; that is, concept development, daily and repeated readings, and vocabulary games and activities.

Writing Across The Curriculum: Designing Science Lessons Using The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences To Promote Literacy, Bonita E. Flournoy, Ollie Manley

Perspectives In Learning

As science teacher educators, whose task is to facilitate learning for teachers of science, we impress upon our pre-service teachers to engage their students in writing activities to promote literacy in science. One of the issues that our teachers frequently express in class is that students don’t like to read their textbooks or engage in traditional writing exercises. As we work with these pre-service teachers we assist them with developing a repertoire of strategies that can be used to engage students in reading and writing as they learn science. One way to actively engage students in reading and writing is …

Susan Ohanian: Rabble Rouser, Conspiracy Theorist, Or Teacher Who Gives A Damn?, Sheena Baker

Perspectives In Learning

Longtime teacher and current Senior Fellow at the Vermont Society for the Study of Education, Susan Ohanian has authored twenty-three books and over 300 articles published in both reputable and radical journals alike. With such titles as One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards, Caught in the Middle: Nonstandard Kids and a Killing Curriculum, and Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools?, her books clearly demonstrate that she is one of the most vehement and vocal critics of contemporary education in the United States. In fact, she is a member of the governing board of the Educator …

Crt Assessment Instrument, Janet L. Applin

Kentucky Teacher Educator

The Culturally Responsive Teaching Assessment Instrument (CRT) is an observation instrument that was developed to assess teachers' use of culturally responsive teaching in applied classroom settings.

The Development Of The Culturally Responsive Teaching Assessment Instrument, Janet L. Applin

Kentucky Teacher Educator

This article is concerned with developing an instrument to assess Culturally Responsive Teaching. A study was conducted to explore the process of developing a valid and reliable CRT Assessment Instrument. Teaching behaviors widely accepted to indicate culturally responsive teaching were operationalized and an observation instrument was developed to assess teachers' use of culturally responsive teaching in applied classroom settings. Teachers were observed using the instrument and it was evaluated for its reliability and validity. Results of the study indicated that the instrument was found to have acceptable inter-rater reliability for approximately half of the indicators. The results supported the content …

Library Tools For Connecting With The Curriculum: How To Create A Professional Development Workshop For Teaching Faculty, Sonya S. Shepherd, Debra Skinner, Robert W. Fernekes

Georgia Library Quarterly

The article focuses on ways taken by librarians in linking library tools with the faculty curriculum in Georgia. It states that librarians Sonya Shepherd, Debra Skinner and Bob Fernekes from Zach S. Henderson Library have formed a team that would push students into library resources required by their faculty. It also mentions the creation of linking tools tutorials to improve student and faculty use of the resources.

Partners With A Vision: Librarians And Faculty Collaborate To Develop A Library Orientation Program At A Non-Traditional Campus, Jo Anne Bryant, Alyssa Martin, Jana J. Slay

The Southeastern Librarian

In Fall 2004, the Chair of the Department of Communication and Fine Arts was charged with customizing the TROY University Orientation course (TROY 1101) curriculum and activities for the Montgomery Campus student population. After talking with the Montgomery Campus library director about the need for including a comprehensive library component, the Chair began working with two librarians to create a library orientation component for TROY 1101, a one-semester hour course that would be required for all new and transfer students effective Fall Semester 2005.

Handling Immediate Medical Care At Aquatic Facilities: Do We Need Different Levels Of Lifeguard Certification?, Leland Yarger

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The first-responder and professional-rescuer training materials and training programs consider lifeguards to be first responders in emergencies (Aehlert, 2005; American Red Cross, 2001). This article asks readers to consider whether our agency lifeguard-training programs reflect a philosophy that truly view and prepare lifeguards as first responders. If not, I challenge readers to consider whether we should alter our hiring, staffing, and in-service training procedures at aquatic facilities based on the scope and need for providing adequate emergency care at those facilities.

Escape And Rescue From Submerged Vehicles, Gerald M. Dworkin

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

No abstract provided.

Learning Issues Of Sexuality, Race, And Power In The Classroom, Loshini Naidoo Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The notion that all people should have equal access to human rights, dignity, protection, and opportunities, contextualizes the problems of sexual diversity in a wide range of discourses that marginalize those bodies, or individuals that are perceived to be sexually alternative. ‘Gay, lesbian, bisexual, homosexual, and transgendered students, who do not identify with heterosexual norms are often ostracized, harassed, and excluded from and within the educational safety net, and feel betrayed by a system that positions the ‘other’ as deviant (Loutzenheiser & MacIntosh, 2004). In view of current socio-cultural contexts, sexuality, figures into the milieu as a critical location of …

Aspiring Elementary Teacher's Inclusion Conclusion Prior To Coursework, Michelle Hipsky Ed.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

By determining preservice teachers’ prior knowledge, concerns, and preconceptions regarding the inclusion of students with special needs prior to beginning their first college course in Teaching Elementary Students with Special Needs, professors can better determine what to include in the university curriculum. The “Inclusion Conclusion” was based on surveys that were completed by 53 future elementary teachers. A general inductive approach to categorizing and reporting the qualitative data was utilized. Prior knowledge of people with special needs, based on experience and coursework, was examined. The students highlighted concerns about inclusion that included fear and intimidation, lack of experience, meeting the …

Welcome, Patricia R. Renick Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

This edition continues the international conversation concerning the inclusion of students with articles from an author with close geographic ties to the Journal and ends with an author on the far side of the world.

This continued international research reveals the struggles and concerns to include all students in a free appropriate education that is now global in its efforts. Students with disabilities and from different ethnic backgrounds are now being included and the struggle for acceptance of the students as individuals with contributions to make to society continues.

This edition begins with an article from Dr. Thomas Knestrict from …

Physical Inclusion Yet Curriculum Exclusion? School Staff Perceptions Of The Curriculum For Students With Learning Disabilities In Mainstream Secondary Schools In Tel Aviv, Israel, Tsafi Timor Ph.D., Neil Burton Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The Israeli education system has, over the past decade, moved towards the adoption of a more inclusive approach to meet the needs of students with identified learning disabilities. As a consequence many more students in the secondary sector (12-18) are now more willing to acknowledge that they require additional support. The main focus of this research was to assess the extent to which school staff perceives that the curriculum in secondary schools is being reasonably adjusted to meet these learning needs. The study examines the views of head teachers, counselors and teachers in five secondary schools in Tel-Aviv area, Israel. …

The Role Of Personal Characteristics And Job Support In Retaining Teachers Of Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Bianca P. Prather-Jones Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

This study was a qualitative investigation of the reasons that experienced teachers of students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders give for remaining in that field. The findings of this study indicate that these teachers’ decisions to remain in the profession of teaching students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders were most strongly influenced by both having a sufficient level of support and having certain personal characteristics which they felt made them a good fit for this field. Implications of these findings suggest that changes in recruitment and advising, teacher preparation and professional development opportunities, and processes for providing support to new …

Preservice Teachers' Confidence In Teaching Students With Disabilities: Addressing The Intasc Principles, Amelia Jenkins Ph.D., Cecily Ornelles Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

A survey was developed from the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium’s (INTASC) ten principles that specify what all general and special education teachers should know and be able to do to teach students with disabilities. Two groups of students, those in a general education only and a dual elementary/special education program, were surveyed. Teacher candidates in the general education program scored significantly lower across all variables as compared to those who were completing the dual preparation program. These results, similar to studies of general education teachers, indicate general education preservice teachers need more training concerning students with disabilities.

"Plug-In" - What Is In A Name? Including Children With Disabilities In The World Of Educational Quality, Glenda Moss Ed.D., Jane Leatherman Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

This narrative research study examined aspects of an inclusive program for students with mild disabilities. The overall goal of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the inclusion program for an elementary school in a rural Midwest neighborhood while using the ongoing inquiry process to design and conduct professional development. This specific paper explores participants understanding of the history of inclusion in their school and the definitions of inclusion as presented through the practitioners’ words as they reflect about the “Plug-in” program. The multiple definitions provided in individual interviews of participants of “Plug-in” exhibited the complexities of the evaluation …

Teacher-Teacher Collaboration, Maurice Miller Ph.D., Robin Burden Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Although much literature calls for teachers to be collaborative, and there is abundant literature expressing recommendations about collaboration, there is little data-based description of what actually occurs in collaboration The ideas of preservice teachers about collaboration in schools informs their views and acts as a guide for the knowledge and skills they need.

Inclusive Education In India, Kumar Sanjeev Ph.D., Khagendra Kumar Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

India is one of the few countries world over where the education of children with special needs doesn’t fall within the purview of human resource development ministry. It is generally the burden of the omnibus ministry of social justice and empowerment, the prime focus of which is rehabilitation, not education. In fact, till today it does not have education as part of its agenda and the issue of education of children with disabilities remains imperceptible, hidden from the public domain, a private problem for families and NGOs to deal with. It’s time that governmental agencies as well as mainstream institutions …

Out Of "Dark Backrooms And Sheds", Marguerite Maher M.Ed

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Commitment to a single, inclusive education system has been the aspiration of reform in education in a democratic South Africa as articulated in White Paper 6: Special needs education: Building an inclusive education and training system (Department of Education, 2001, referred to hereafter as White Paper 6). Within a ‘barriers to learning’ approach to inclusive education, progress is being made with improved facilities and the implementation of AIDS awareness programmes. Managing the transition towards an inclusive education system has proved challenging in some areas, however, and the specific provision in policy documents directed towards children with disabilities is behind schedule. …