What are the prerequisites for reforming education, and how can these reforms be seen in school development and culture? How should teacher education support this reform process? What are the principles and practices underlying the functioning of the schools of tomorrow? These questions are examined in this unique volume. The authors in this book argue that the central function of teacher education and education in general is to respond to the challenges brought on by the twenty-first century. According to this approach, the competencies and skills needed in the future are not merely a new addition to school activities, but rather something requiring a comprehensive reform of school culture encompassing teacher education, curricula, and teaching methods. Such a fundamental process of change in the action and thinking models used by schools would be an effort to achieve a complete transformation, the result of which would be schools developing into organizations that are both creative and imbued with a strong sense of community. A central attribute is that the creation of new knowledge is not just restricted to the classroom but also takes place in out-of-school environments. This would link learning to its natural context, eventually leading to an ideal instruction that is actively problem oriented, holistic, and life centered. This reform-minded volume is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the reform processes in teacher education, the second on the reforms of pedagogics at schools and teacher education institutions, and the third on the processes of reculturing schools. New prospects for active schools in the United States and Europe, as well as in Japan and China, are discussed.

The surprising, often fiercely feminist, always fascinating, yet barely known, history of home economics. The term “home economics” may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken muffins. But common conception obscures the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople. And it has something to teach us today. In the surprising, often fiercely feminist and always fascinating The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field’s history from Black colleges to Eleanor Roosevelt to Okinawa, from a Betty Crocker brigade to DIY techies. These women—and they were mostly women—became chemists and marketers, studied nutrition, health, and exercise, tested parachutes, created astronaut food, and took bold steps in childhood development and education. Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them. Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by women of color who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics’ women, as they chose to be single, share lives with other women, or try for egalitarian marriages. This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a denigrated subject to its rightful importance, as it reminds us that everyone should learn how to cook a meal, balance their account, and fight for a better world.

Education is a contested terrain. The symmetry of education reform among the seven countries examined in this volume is remarkable. There is much commonality in the issues they raise, in the competing groups battling over education policy, their policy choices, and the implementation of such policies. Also, all seven countries address the same issues: equity, global competition, the performance of their students. There are at least six important traits characterizing these battles: the context, the combatants, the issues, the process, and the policies. To begin with, history, culture, and governance regime set the context for education policy and reform. Second, there is the process of how these battles are waged--is compromise an outcome or is it a zero sum contest? Third, there appear to be four groups of combatants each with its own ideology representing a particular social class in society and their views about education and its uses: Conservatives, Socialists, Neo-Liberals, and Elites. Education is an important and valued resource that each status group tries to control and shape to its own views. Fourth, there are key issues that drive education reform: how education can best flatten a social system, how education train students for work, and how education socializes students to be functioning citizens. In recent years, fifth issue has emerged: student performance on international standardized tests. Not only is a society’s international reputation based on their students’ performance, but nations see such performance as an indicator of the quality of their educational system and if it is good enough to secure its economic future. Finally, there are the policies themselves--do they reduce or increase inequality, who benefits and how? The chapters in this volume clearly point out that education reform is not a homogeneous process as some scholars have conjectured. Rather, education reform involves heated battles over the control of the educational system because education is seen as a key factor in maintaining a society’s vision and social structure.

Contiene : Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Introduction: The Lowly Status of the Ed School 1 Chapter 2. Teacher Ed in the Past: The Roots of Its Lowly Status Chapter 3. Teacher Ed in the Present: The Peculiar Problems of Preparing Teachers Chapter 4. The Peculiar Problems of Doing Educational Research Chapter 5. The Peculiar Problems of Preparing Educational Researchers Chapter 6. Status Dilemmas of Education Professors Chapter 7. The Ed School's Romance with Progressivism Chapter 8. The Trouble with Ed Schools: Little Harm, Little HelpNotes References Index.

Judith Fein tells the story about where she came from, what the Old World was like, and what remains of the places so many of our ancestors left behind when they came to America. With heart and humor, she takes us along with her as she treks through graveyards, has a private audience with the Gypsy Baron of Moldova, meets the last Jew standing, communes with the dead, quaffs cognac with Russians, wanders among ruins, and hears the call of the ancestors, driving her on. Ultimately, it is our story too, as we experience the legacy of what was handed down to us in our families, relationships, beliefs, fears and longings.