Education Research

Let's be honest: When people here the term "homeschooling", one of the first images that pops into their mind is a backwards, old-fashioned, inadequate form of education. However, it is true that for centuries, children have been taught at home by their parents. This practice is in no way a new phenomenon and has helped produce many of history's greatest movers and shakers! In contemporary American society, homeschooling has received a reputation for being a poor way to educate children. This reputation, which is limited in perspective, is neither fair nor accurate.

The education that homeschoolers receive is often more dimensional and diverse than the standard means of education received in a typical classroom. One of the greatest aspects of a homeschool curriculum is its flexibility. Learning a lesson about the Impressionist Art period? Pack a lunch in a bag and the family in the car, and head to the museum to see actual work by the artists you are learning about. Learning about the wonder of birds in your science lesson? Grab a pair of binoculars and head outside. These are both incredibly valuable experiences.

In addition, there are many great homeschooling resources that exist for parents interested in taking charge of their children's education. Many of these programs are developed by professional educators and are accredited programs that are recognized as valid education curriculums. Students are encouraged to think for themselves and take ownership of their learning experience.

Some people might say that this information sounds good in theory and on paper, but when it comes down to it, how do homeschool students perform compared to students from the public school? The answer to this question would surprise many! "A 1997 study by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) found that home educated students excelled on nationally-normed standardized achievement exams. On average, homeschoolers outperformed their public school peers by 30 to 37 percentile points across all subjects."

Finding a program with high standards and that fits the needs of you and your child is important, but as you can see, choosing to homeschool your children would in no way impair them for a bright future.

Distance learning in education services prepares students for various careers in the field of education. Some of the educational services are elementary and secondary school teacher, college and university faculty, instructional coordinator, vocational education teacher, remedial education teacher, students counselor, library technician, self enrichment teacher and training specialist. Apart from these careers other educational services include education product design and development services, education course and curricula development, international education consulting services, international credential evaluation, etc.

Distance learning in education services enhances your expertise in specialized teaching techniques such as how to create a successful classroom literacy program, how to better examine and expand student's varying learning styles and intelligence levels, and how to utilize technology to enhance and facilitate the learning process. A degree in education accompanied by a strong academic background gives you confidence and professional expertise in the field of teaching.

New Opportunities

Distance learning in education services, also offer advanced degree courses in education administration, education supervision etc. Education administration degree courses are available in school finance and budgeting, school law, community relations, etc. Education supervision degree courses are available in human relations, curriculum development, supervision of instruction and curriculum, etc.

Online education courses and distance learning facilities have raised more challenges for education professionals than ever before. It has given an international dimension to education. Countries around the world are trying to promote their educational services through online technology. New careers are offered by distance learning in education services targeted for international exposure. An education product design and development professional stays abreast of new education research and technology and continually designs new education strategies and approaches to retain a competitive edge in an international arena. An international education consultant evaluates a number of education programs and materials and provides accurate and up to date information on international higher education. International credential evaluators evaluate educational credentials from any country in the world into their US equivalents.

Resources for Distance Learning in Education Services

There are plenty of online degree programs available for education services. Many of them are accredited by the National Council for accreditation of teacher Education; and by the Educational Leadership Constituent Council. The web site ELearners is a search engine for accredited online degrees, while the site CollegeandUniversity is a convenient, comprehensive and personalized source of degree programs and related information. Educational Pathways is a paid subscription newsletter covering distance learning and teaching in higher education. GetEducated is an online degree clearinghouse for accredited colleges and universities while ClassesUSA is also a very good higher education portal.

Demand for education professionals is expected to grow substantially by 2012. Education will continue to hold a special place in people's lives. Private institutions, local and state governments and corporations will continue to offer various education programs.

Chances are that any children with autism spectrum disorder that are schooled in mainstream education are likely to need a certain amount of support within the classroom.

All children with autism spectrum disorder will have a triad of disabilities common with this condition.

Social deficits

Communication deficits

Imagination and interaction deficits.

The triad of autism symptoms will vary between individuals, however all will have this triad of autism symptoms.

The asperger syndrome student will almost certainly have an average or above average IQ.

There is no formal teacher training for autistic educators. Research also suggests that 70% of all autistic educators are less that satisfied with the amount of support and in school training they receive.

So how can we make educating autistic children easier?

Research has suggested that autistic educators are using autism social skills stories to help teach autistic students social skills vital to classroom inclusions.

We know children with autism spectrum disorder have the triad of impairments making social, communication and imagination issues a problem within the classroom.

For example the autistic student may find following lessons difficult and loose concentration quickly.

They may lack the ability to follow school rules and not understand, sharing, or working quietly. They may shout out in lessons and be unable to stay on track unless the lesson has captured their interest.

An autistic educator can find help using autism social stories. For example Josh is a twelve year old asperger syndrome student, who is quite disruptive during P.E. lessons.

A suitable autism social skills story is implemented to help Josh understand what is expected of him during P.E. lessons.

Autistic children are very sensitive and in this case Josh was overwhelmed by the noise made by his peers during P.E.

By implementing the correct autism social skills story, Josh was able to control his anxiety during P.E. making the lesson more comfortable for him and the other students in Josh's class.

For downloadable autism social stories that can be printed and used to help autistic children in the classroom as well as round school visit:

www.autismsocialstories.com/school

The Challenge

There are some principles that drive learning. Every human being is driven to search for meaning. We all try to create patterns from our environment, and we all learn

to some extent through interaction with others. Because ours is a social brain, it's important to build authentic relationships in the classroom and beyond. Complex learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat. We want to deeply engage learners with their purposes, values and interests. Thinking and feeling are connected because our patterning is emotional. That means that we need to help learners create a felt meaning, a sense of relationship with a subject, in addition to an intellectual understanding. Once educators and parents grasp that complexity, they begin to function differently in their lives and in their classrooms.

Furthermore, the wider the scope and range of possibilities in style and pace of both instruction and assessment, the greater the possibility that different kinds of students will be engaged by learning. This has obvious benefits both for the individuals who enhance their competence (who might not otherwise have done so), and for society, which requires as much diversity of ability and approach as possible in order to thrive in a time of unpredictable change.

Students themselves can be excellent sources for devising innovative approaches to learning. They may in fact be education's best-hidden and most valuable resource. A classroom of students who are encouraged and wisely guided in thinking about what they want to learn, how they want to learn it, and how their learning should be assessed has a far greater capacity for creative imagination than any single teacher.

Thus engaging students in understanding their own interest and creating their own learning is a good beginning for their participation in a society facing rapid unpredictable change.

Memory and Learning

I view teaching as analogous to cooking; excellent gourmet chefs describe the preparation of their favourite dishes with "a little bit of this and a little bit if that." This approach is recommended for teaching youth development – one that is not set and rigid, but a flexible mixture of learning and teaching formats. " A little bit of this and a little bit of that" refers to employing a variety of teaching techniques to promote active learning (i.e., student involvement through discussions, reading, and writing) by engaging the student through a conglomerate of activities from debates to visuals to role play to panel discussions. The literature describes this philosophy as an active learning approach.

The research literature supports active teaching formats over passive ones. Significant features of active learning in the classroom occur when students are involved in more than listening, less emphasis is placed on giving information and more on developing students skills, students are involved in higher-order thinking (analytically, critically, and relationally), and students explore their own attitudes and values.

These active learning aspects require that students process information by doing and saying, not only through listening and reading – the trademarks of traditional teaching. Research in the area of memory and understanding indicate that persons on average retain long-term: 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they see and hear, 70% of what they say, and 90% of what they do and say (Magnesen, 1983). Doing and saying are recurrent themes of active learning which many educational researchers agree is best obtained by using a wide variety of teaching techniques to stimulate the senses with "a little bit of this and a little bit of that."

Passive observation is not enough; it is interactivity that is so essential. "Tell me, and I forget. Show me, and I remember. Let me do, and I understand," says the ancient Chinese proverb.

Written by David Slade author of Mandarin English XL at

Learn Chinese - Free online Chinese course with pinyin and esl

The cry of the public classroom teacher is heard throughout the United States and in many parts of the world. With all the testing performed to ensure accountability in our educational system, there are not enough hours in the day to teach. Teachers become constrained to "teach to the test," thereby impeding certain modalities of transmitting information to students, reducing the number of hours that students can take part in "unnecessary" activities like art and music, and increasing the amount of homework to fill in the gaps. What is the answer to the conundrum of maintaining standards of excellence in education without creating inordinate stress for teachers and students? Further, what assurances do we have that testing amounts to something more than making clever comparisons across States and nations? Is there a methodology of testing that leads to results that can be efficiently translated into better education for our children?

The answer to these questions and more were considered at the International Symposium for Methodological Tools for Accountability Systems in Education at the Joint Research Center [JRC] from February 6-8 in Ispra Italy. Attended by 90 international experts from 20 countries, leading minds gathered to resolve academic disputes and identify a few solid robust statistical practices upon which the widest international consensus can be reached. The sponsor of the symposium, the Unit for Applied Statistics and Econometrics at JRC was mandated to bring together a diverse team of educators, social scientists, economists and statisticians in a multi-disciplinary approach to education research. "Our Unit builds scales for the knowledge society," said Daniele Vidoni, one of the conference organizers, "and our ability to bring together all these experts in one room may well be the key to focusing what path educational testing will take and what role it will have in cultivating our children's future." "Statistical techniques which allow quality of education to be measured are available," added Andrea Saltelli, Unit Head, "but not all countries have the same experience of their use in education and training."

Trevor G. Bond, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Andreas Schleicher, OECD, David Andrich of Murdoch University, Australia, Enrico Gori, University of Udine, Italy, Gage Kingsbury of Northwest Evaluation Association in the United States and several others were on hand to discuss the benefits of Rasch analysis in obtaining measures of student achievement that can be compared through space and time. The importance of generating a multilevel modeling approach to understanding the actual influence of gender, social and family conditions in student achievement was also explored. Experts also discussed the utilization of longitudinal measures of student achievement as necessary to an in depth understanding of student progress. All these factors are expected to yield, in practice, the ability to track an individual student's progress over time, thus evaluating the quality of the education distinct from socio-economic location.

Above and beyond any intellectual discussion of statistics and the accuracy and efficiency of the methodologies used, which are certainly crucial to all forms of testing, experts agreed that whatever methodologies are utilized in the coming decades, they must yield expeditious results. Children are not meant to languish while adults read test scores that require excessive time periods to decipher or incorporate into educational practices. Adaptive and interactive testing that gives teachers direct access to the "front end" of testing results, already in practice in countries like New Zealand, may be the sought compromise that puts results quickly and efficiently into the hands of those most able to make sure that no child is "left behind."

The government offers grants for numerous research programs. The education 902B grant is just one of these grants. This grant allows money for research in discovering methods for improved learning among students, especially students that have faced adversity in the past.

The 902B education grant is just one of the many grants that the federal government offers to individuals. If you are looking for something different, government grants for women and government grants for small business can give you the challenge you are looking for in life. Government grants offer unique opportunities. The money is free and does not have to be paid back, but just because the money is free does not mean it is a free ride. The government will expect something in return.

These grants come with conditions and there are usually a lot of conditions, but do not let that discourage you. You can get the money you need to start a business or possibly pay debts, but you also have to know how to find out what grants the government has available.

The tricky part about government grants is finding the grants that are available and doing the paperwork to get them. There are a number of websites that list these grants. They are generally listed by category on these websites. There are also databases that list all of the government grants that are being offered at the current time.

You may have something specific in mind when searching for a grant, but you may just want to search to see what is available. There may be offers there that you never would have thought of, but would be a good fit for the business you are in or are considering. One thing you have to keep in mind is the government will expect something in return. Not only are they giving you money, but they are expecting you to help a certain group of people or a certain area of the country. Free government grants can be a win-win situation for all involved.

Get started in business and getting an education can be expensive. Before you look into getting a loan, you should consider a government grant. You may find some free money that can help you realize one of your goals. Take the time to research all your options before you make any decisions when it comes to money. An education 902B grant is just one of the free grants that the government offers for education research.

HIV/AIDS is the global issue of new era of science and technology and we should know that the problem of widespread AIDS is challenge for human survival. Children and young people need to be equipped with the knowledge, attitudes, values and skills that will help them face these challenges and assist them in making healthy life-style choices as they grow. Education delivered through schools is one of the ways through which children can be helped to face these challenges and make such choices.

Providing information about HIV (transmission, risk factors, how to avoid infection) is necessary, but not sufficient, to lead to healthy behavioral change. Programs that provide accurate information, to counteract the myths and misinformation, frequently report improvements in knowledge and attitudes, but this is poorly correlated with behavioral change related to risk taking and desirable behavioral outcomes. Education can be effective in the more difficult task of achieving and sustaining behavior change about HIV/AIDS. The schools can either be a place that practices discrimination, prejudice and undue fear or one that demonstrates society's commitment to equity.School policies need to ensure that every child and adolescent has the right to life education; particularly when that education is necessary for survival and avoidance of HIV infection.

HIV infection is one of the major problems facing school-age children today. They face fear if they are ignorant, discrimination if they or a family member or friend is infected, and suffering and death if they are not able to protect themselves from this preventable disease.

It is estimated that 40 million people, worldwide, are living with HIV or have AIDS, at least a third of these are young people aged 15-24. In 1998 more than 3 million young people worldwide became infected including 590,000 children under 15. More than 8,500 children and young people become infected with HIV each day. In many countries over 50% of all infections are among 15-24 years old, who will likely develop AIDS in a period ranging from several months to more than 10 years.

Studies have shown the enormous impact HIV and AIDS have on the education sector and the quality of education provided, particularly in certain regions of the world such as Sub Saharan Africa. Consequences of the AIDS epidemic include a probable decrease in the demand for education, coupled with absenteeism and an increase in the number of orphans and school drop out, especially among girls. Girls are socially and economically more vulnerable to conditions that force people to accept risk of HIV infection in order to survive. A decrease in education for girls will have serious negative effects on progress made over the past decade toward providing an adequate education for girls and women. Reduced numbers of classes or schools, a shortage of teachers and other personnel, and shrinking resources for educational systems all impair the prospects for education.

Effective HIV/AIDS education and prevention is needed in all schools for all children so that no one is left ignorant. Yet in many places schools are apprehensive about providing sex education or discussions of sexuality because of cultural demands to protect adolescents from sexual experience. Women often lack skills needed to communicate their concerns with their sexual partners and to practice behaviors that reduce their risk of infection, such as condom use, which is often controlled by men.

The school can either be a place that practices discrimination, prejudice and undue fear or one that demonstrates society's commitment to equity. School policies need to ensure that every child and adolescent has the right to HIV/AIDS education; particularly when that education is necessary for survival and avoidance of HIV infection.

A UNAIDS review (1997) of 53 studies which assessed the effectiveness of programs to prevent HIV infection and related health problems among young people concluded that sex education programs do not lead to earlier or increased sexual activity among young people, in fact the opposite seems to be true. 22 reported that HIV and/or sexual health education either delayed the onset of sexual activity, reduced the number of sexual partners or reduced unplanned pregnancies and STD rates. 27 studies reported that HIV/AIDS and sexual health neither increased nor decreased sexual activity, pregnancy or STD.

The review concluded that school based interventions are an effective way to reduce risk behaviors associated with HIV/AIDS/STD among children and adolescents.

There are three main objectives for this paper to integrate the education effectively with the HIV/AIDS preventions and other health aspects related with it.

These are as follows:

Objectives:

1) Health education focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention.

2) Raising awareness about HIV/AIDS among educators and learners.

3) Stimulate peer support and HIV/AIDS counseling in schools.

The main focus of the paper is to give the importance to the HIV/AIDS precaution with the health education raising the awareness about it among all the students as well as their teachers also and provide the supportive environment for the HIV/AIDS education for all.

Need of HIV/AIDS education:

In area such as HIV/AIDS prevention individual behavior, social and peer pressure, cultural norms and abusive relationships may all contribute to the health and lifestyle problems of children and adolescents. There is now increasing evidence that in tackling these issues and health problems, a healthy approach to HIV/AIDS and sex education works, and is more effective than teaching knowledge alone. T

here are numerous studies indicating that providing information about issues such as sex, STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and HIV (transmission, risk factors, how to avoid infection) is necessary, but not sufficient, to lead to healthy behavioral change (Hubley, 2000). Programs that provide accurate information, to counteract the myths and misinformation, frequently report improvements in knowledge and attitudes, but this is poorly correlated with behavioral change related to risk taking and desirable behavioral outcomes (Gatawa 1995, UNAIDS 1997a). HIV/AIDS with health education can be effective in the more difficult task of achieving and sustaining behavior change.

Health education with HIV/AIDS is widely applicable:

This problems largely affecting men and women as well as older children and adolescents, both this age group and younger children also face a wider range of health problems where education can play a vital role in sustainable prevention and management. Health education with HIV/AIDS programs plays a vital role in preventing infections. This is done through promoting knowledge of areas such as symptoms, transmission, and behaviors that are specifically relevant to many infection in each community; attitudes such as responsibility for personal, family and community health, confidence to change unhealthy habits; skills such as avoiding behaviors that are likely to cause infection, encourage others to change unhealthy habits, communicate messages about infection to families, peers and members of the community (WHO, 1996).

 This kind of health education with HIV/AIDS prevention focuses upon the development of Knowledge, Attitudes, Values, and Skills (including life skills such as inter-personal skills, critical and creative thinking, decision making and self awareness) needed to make and act on the most appropriate and positive health-related decisions. Health in this context extends beyond physical health to include psycho-social and environmental health issues.

This approach utilizes student centered and participatory methodologies, giving participants the opportunity to explore and acquire health promoting knowledge, attitudes and values and to practice the skills they need to avoid risky and unhealthy situations and adopt and sustain healthier life styles.

HIV/AIDS – a critical need for health education:

HIV/AIDS is an area where the scale and impact of the problem is such that the urgency of implementing preventative measures, including health education, is critical. Health education programs are being increasingly adopted as means of reaching children and young people to help halt the spread of this crippling epidemic. Studies from African countries show that children between the ages of 5 and 14 have the lowest prevalence of HIV infection. Below the age of 5 they are susceptible to mother to child transmission and after they become sexually active, the rate of infection increases rapidly – especially for girls (Kelly, 2000). Children aged 5-14 need to be reached at this critical stage in their lives and offer the 'window of hope' in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.

 Health Education with HIV/AIDS prevention Does Change Behavior:

There is now strong evidence from an increasing number of studies that health education HIV/AIDS prevention applied in an appropriate context, changes behavior – including behavior in sensitive and difficult areas where knowledge based health education has failed.

For example: Sexuality and HIV education –USA:

This study was implemented in 4 schools in New York City with 9th and 11th grade students (867 students), in intervention (AIDS prevention program) and control classes (no AIDS prevention program). The program focused on correcting facts about AIDS, teaching cognitive skills to appraise risk of transmission, increasing knowledge of AIDS-prevention resources, changing perceptions of risk-taking behavior, clarifying personal values, understanding external influences and teaching skills to delay intercourse and/or consistently use condoms. An evaluation carried out three months after the end of the program found that the intervention group showed the following positive behavioral outcomes when compared with the control group: decrease in intercourse with high risk partners, increase in monogamous relationships and an increase in consistent condom use. (Walter & Vaughan, 1993).

 HIV/AIDS prevention-Nigeria:

Health education programs are being implemented in many schools in Nigeria to increase levels of knowledge, influence attitudes and encourage safe sexual practices among secondary school students. A study to evaluate one such program was conducted comparing 223 students who received comprehensive sexual health education with 217 controls. Students in the intervention group received 6 weekly sessions lasting 2-6 hours, with activities including lectures, film shows, role-play stories, songs, debates, essays and a demonstration of the correct use of condoms. Following the intervention, students in the intervention group showed a greater knowledge and increased tolerance of people with AIDS compared to the control. The mean number of sexual partners also decreased in the intervention group, while the control group showed a slight increase. The program was also successful in increasing condom use (Fawole et al., 1999) Above mentioned studies shows that health education with HIV/AIDS prevention does change the behavior of students especially adolescents.

 Method for implementing Health Education with HIV/AIDS prevention:

Although there is strong evidence that HIV/AIDS prevention is effective when properly applied and supported, implementing this approach and achieving this success on a larger, countrywide scale is one of the greatest challenges to be faced.

To be effective, HIV/AIDS prevention programs must address the following areas:

•Reassure stakeholders that these messages are beneficial:

Talking and teaching about reproductive health and HIV/AIDS issues does not result in earlier initiation of sex or promiscuity. The evidence suggests that well implemented skills-based programs, conducted in an atmosphere of free discussion of all the issues, is likely to lead to young people delaying the initiation of intercourse and reducing the frequency of intercourse and number of sexual partners (Kirby et al. 1994, UNAIDS 1997a).

•Provide support to teachers: The lack of support for implementation of new programs is one of the most important factors affecting success. For most teachers both the content and methods of HIV/AIDS prevention programs are new and perhaps sensitive, and yet the approach has great potential to assist teachers both in their work and also their personal lives since HIV/AIDS is, of course, also affecting teachers. Sufficient support, training, practice and time needs to be available to teachers, in both pre- and in-service training sessions and workshops, to facilitate reflection and development of their own attitudes, and to motivate them to apply their new knowledge and skills, rather than continue with the more didactic, traditional teaching methods, which are often focused on information alone (Gatawa 1995, Gachuhi 1999). In addition, sufficient time and an appropriate place must also be given in the curriculum so that all students have access to HIV/AIDS prevention.

•Start early: As well as targeting adolescents, programs need to be targeted at children at an early age, with developmentally appropriate messages, before they leave school (Gachuhi 1999, Partnership for Child Development 1998). Because younger children are generally not sexually active, these programs will address the building blocks for healthy living and avoiding risk, rather than the very specific issues related to sexual relationships and HIV/AIDS which are progressively introduced to programs for older ages. However, the large number and diverse age range of children within primary schools is an enduring challenge, especially when addressing sensitive issues. Active and self-directed learning methods which are commonly used in education can be helpful in overcoming these classroom management issues to some extent.

•Provide a supportive environment: Schools need to have strong policies and a healthy supportive environment in terms of behavior of students towards each other, teachers and school personnel. Sexual abuse can occur in schools, with both boys and girls reporting abuse by school staff (Kinsman et al. 1999, Lowensen et al. 1996). Programs need to address this potential problem by training and supporting teachers, so that they can become role models rather than neutral or adverse figures in relation to sexual behavior.

•Respond to local needs: Many of the models for HIV/AIDS prevention have been developed in western, developed countries. The available evidence from developing countries, although more limited in scope than the studies from non-developing countries, supports skills-based health education for HIV/AIDS and reproductive health (Hubley, 2000). The main issue is that wherever programs are to be implemented they must be shaped to meet the local socio-cultural norms, values and religious beliefs, and need to include ongoing monitoring (Kirby et al 1994, UNAIDS 1999, Kinsman et al.1999).

Elements of a Health Education for HIV/AIDS prevention:

Reviews of school-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs (23 studies in the USA (Kirby et al. 1994), 37 other countries (reported in UNAIDS 1999) and 53 studies in USA, Europe and elsewhere (UNAIDS 1997a) have identified the following common characteristics of successful programs:

1.Focus on a few specific behavioral goals, (such as delaying initiation of intercourse or using protection), which requires knowledge, attitude and skill objectives.

2.Provision of basic, accurate information that is relevant to behavior change, especially the risks of unprotected intercourse and methods of avoiding unprotected intercourse. 3.Reinforcement of clear and appropriate values to strengthen individual values and group norms against unprotected sex.

4.Modeling and practice in communication and negotiation skills particularly, as well as other related "life skills".

5.Use of Social Learning theories as a foundation for program development.

6.Addressing social influences on sexual behaviors, including the important role of media and peers.

7.Use of participatory activities (games, role playing, group discussions etc.) to achieve the objectives of personalizing information, exploring attitudes and values, and practicing skills.

8.Extensive training for teachers/implementers to allow them to master the basic information about HIV/AIDS and to practice and become confident with life skills training methods.

9.Support for reproductive health and HIV/STD prevention programs by school authorities, decision and policy makers, as well as the wider community.

10.Evaluation (e.g. of outcomes, design, implementation, sustainability, school, student and community support) so that programs can be improved and successful practices encouraged.

11.Age-appropriateness, targeting students in different age groups and developmental stages with appropriate messages that are relevant to young people. For example one goal of targeting younger students, who are not yet sexually active, might be to delay the initiation of intercourse, whereas for sexually active students the emphasis might be to reduce the number of sexual partners and use condoms.

12.Gender sensitive, for both boys and girls.

 Conclusions:

 Health Education with HIV/AIDS prevention offers an effective approach to equipping children and young people with the knowledge, attitudes and skills that they need to help them avoid risk taking behavior and adopt healthier life styles. The scope of health education means that it can be applied to a wide range of areas, especially STDs and HIV/AIDS prevention, but also including violence, substance abuse, unwanted situations such as early pregnancy and all areas where knowledge and attitudes play a critical role in promoting a healthy lifestyle for children and young people growing up in the 21st century. We can sum it in following points- •The constitutional rights of learners and educators must be protected equally.

•There should not be compulsory disclosure of HIV/AIDS status.

•No HIV positive learner or educator may be discriminated against.

 •Learners must receive education about HIV/AIDS and abstinence in the context of life- skills education as part of the integrated curriculum.

•Educational institutions should ensure that learners acquire age and context appropriate knowledge and skills to enable them to behave in ways that will protect them from infection.

•Educators need more knowledge of, and skills to deal with HIV/AIDS and should be trained to give guidance on HIV/AIDS.

Suggestions for implications for policies and programmes:

•Male and female condom promotion efforts need to recognize, identify and address gender issues including sexual and other forms of violence, that inhibit condom use.

•HIV/AIDS, peer education, and sex education programmes for adolescents that incorporate gender equality issues into their framework should be fostered. Such programmes should enable a better understanding of how norms related to masculinity and femininity may increase risky sexual behaviour, and help young people begin thinking about how to work towards equal and responsible relationships.

•Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services should take into account the risk of violence and other adverse consequences when evaluating different approaches to disclosure. For example, patients can be given the choice of counsellor-mediated disclosure if that would help minimise adverse consequences.

•Both men and women should be involved in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMtCT) programmes. Antenatal services can educate men about sexuality, fertility and HIV prevalence to raise their awareness and sense of responsibility. This would avoid reinforcing the belief that women alone are responsible for pregnancy and for HIV transmission to the infant.

•Community Home Based Care (CBBC) approaches need to include a special effort to promote the role of men as care-givers in the family and community, and to provide adequate support and guidance to enable male participation. At the very least, such programmes should acknowledge that reliance on "home care" is, at present, largely reliance on "women's care".

References:

1.Fawole, I.O., Asuzu, M.C., Oduntan, S.O., Brieger, W.R. (1999). A school-based AIDS education program for secondary school students in Nigeria: a review of effectiveness. Health Education Research – Theory & Practice, 14: 675-683.

 2.Gachuhi, D. (1999). The impact of HIV/AIDS on education systems in the Eastern and Southern Africa region and the response of education systems to HIV/AIDS: Life Skills Programs.

3.Gatawa, B.G. (1995). Zimbabwe: AIDS Education for schools. Case Study. UNICEF Harare Zimbabwe.

4.Hubley, J. (2000). Interventions targeted at youth aimed at influencing sexual behavior and AIDS/STDs. Leeds Health Education Database, April 2000.

5.Kelly, M.J. (2000). Standing education on its head: Aspects of schooling in a world with HIV/AIDS. Current Issues in Comparative Education. 3(1).

6.Kinsman, J., Harrison, S., Kengeya-Kayondo, J., Kanyesigye, E., Musoke, S. & Whitworth, J. (1999). Implementation of a comprehensive AIDS education program for schools in Masaka District, Uganda. AIDS CARE, 11(5): 591-601.

7.Kirby, D., Short, L., Collins, J., Rugg, D. et al. (1994). School-based programs to reduce sexual risk behaviors: a review of effectiveness. Public Health Reports, 109(3): 339-361.

8.Lowensen, R., Edwards, L. & Ndlovu-Hove, P. (1996). Reproductive health rights in Zimbabwe. Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC).

9.UNAIDS (1997a). Impact of HIV and sexual health education on the sexual behavior of young people: a review update.

10.UNAIDS (1997b). Learning and teaching about AIDS at school. UNAIDS technical update, October 1997.

11.Walter, H. & Vaughan, R. (1993). AIDS risk reduction among a multiethnic sample of urban high school students. JAMA, 270(6): 725-730.

12.WHO (1996). Preventing HIV/AIDS/STI and related discrimination: an important responsibility of health promoting schools. WHO series on school health, document six.

Research in Germany
There are lots of reasons why Germany is so successful. One of the most important is close cooperation between universities, international research institutes and industry. Expert networks of this kind have established themselves in 32 regions of Germany. They operate nationwide and are able to produce innovations with particularly high value-added potential. They are embedded in a framework of innovation-friendly conditions and contribute to the regions' profile creation.

Cutting-edge research also takes place at hundreds of non-university institutions belonging to organisations like the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association, the Leibniz Association, or the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. It is here that scientists can find optimum conditions only available at very few other institutions worldwide. The Helmholtz Association alone, the largest of the organisations, employs a staff of about 24,000, 4,500 of whom come from abroad. It has a budget of 2.2 billion euros (2006) which is channeled into research areas such as energy, health and transportation.

Internationalisation – Science without borders
Germany's cabinet adopted the "Strategy for Internationalisation of Science and Research" on 20 February 2008. The government specifically aims to boost collaborative research with developing countries and so open up new fields of innovative potential. Furthermore, it also plans to take on greater international responsibility and to focus more on addressing global challenges.

More mobile, more present
Measures include improvements to the exchange of scientific staff, international collaborative research programmes, and an internationally coordinated research agenda. The strategy provides for a harmonized international German presence in science and research, plus a campaign to promote Germany's role as a major centre of education, research and innovation.

The "Research in Germany" Initiative
The Internationalisation Strategy includes measures aimed at highlighting Germany's appeal and its research landscape in selected topic areas of the High-Tech Strategy. It provides a special focus on selected countries. This marks a decisive contribution by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to promoting German innovation around the world.

Regional and thematic focuses
The first regional measures were implemented in South Korea in 2006 und 2007, one of Asia's high-tech countries. Two key HTS topics for the future provide a hub for further campaigns: Nanosciences and environmental technologies. Specifically targeted, international marketing measures will promote these German research achievements in 2008 and 2009. Further activities are planned in India as from the end of 2008 – to expand and consolidate our cooperation with the world's best.

There are well-established scientific institutions in India and Germany working together on bilateral research and development projects. They also continue to invest in the next generation of leading scientists by championing exchange programs between universities in both countries.

Growing number of Indian students in Germany
The number of Indian students who enroll at German universities in recent years has risen more quickly than that of students from any other country: by 50 percent between 1997 and 2006. More than 4,000 Indian students are currently studying and conducting research at German universities; in 2006 alone the number of exchange students totaled 1,179.

German Academic Exchange Service
The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) is a leading educational organization that promotes the transfer of young scientific minds by providing grants and scholarships and a cohesive support system. In India the DAAD is currently active through information centers in cities throughout the nation and a network of 27 personal tutors at 20 of the top universities.

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
In a similar vein, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) in Germany has funded a total of 1,531 promising junior scientists from India since 1953 – 19 of which have won awards for their research achievements. The German Rectors' Conference (HRK) cooperates with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) to advance the educational exchange.

Joint scientific projects
The STC is also building on this Indo-German symbiosis. Institutions within its framework undertake joint scientific projects in the areas of biotechnology, health, information technology, environmental technology, sustainable research, materials research, aerospace research, production technology and security research.
Projects range in scope from the exchange of personnel between the international firms and educational institutions (PPP), to large-scale collaborations. German research institutions expanding their cooperation with India include the Max Planck Institute (which presently has 12 partner groups in India), the Helmholtz Association, the Fraunhofer Association, the Leibniz Association and the German Research Foundation, which is currently involved in expanding research efforts in nanotechnology.

If you want to research in Germany please visit the German Information Centre where you can get all the information related to research in Germany

.

E-journals can be a very helpful resource, also known as online education journals. They address both online and regular education needs. E-journals provide a source of articles by education professionals as well as beginners in the field. "Blogs" are personal online journals where comments can be posted by students. Online classes are often assigned blogs to be used as community journals where all participants may post information.

Uses for Blogs in a University Online Course

(Source: Trimarco, R. (2004). "Use of Blogs in Online College Classes." B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. January 7, 2007, at: http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/blogonlineclass/start.htm)

Blogs are used for:

* Professors to post assignments, class requirements, information, lessons, answer questions from students, and post a weekly topic for students to comment on.

* Professors and students to post articles related to the class and others respond.

* Classes to hold discussions about lectures, assigned reading, news, and projects.

* Students to post completed assignments and notes and give others feedback.

* Students to create writing portfolios.

General Uses For Blogs

Personal online journals are also used to create a forum for bloggers on which to post their opinions, review books or other sites, or upload articles. Remember that work posted on such sites may be copied and used by others illegally. Unless you paraphrase it and cite the source or quote it and cite the source, it's not acceptable to use others' posted information as your own.

E-Journals

Here are some online education sites where you can access lists of journals. In addition to the journals listed here, there are journals for nearly all universities, as well as most majors, such as nursing, technology, business, etc.

Full Text Electronic Journals in Education The Communications Among Researchers Group of the American Educational Research Association creates a list of journals that publish research in education. Find it at: http"//aera-cr.asu.edu/links.html or http://aera-cr.asu.edu/links.html.

Education Journals in the Yahoo! Directory Find education journals of all types online via the Yahoo! Directory at: dir.yahoo.com/Education/Journals/ http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Journals/

Essays in Education publishes documents written about issues in education. The journal also will publish reviews of educational software and books, if they describe the writer's personal experiences using the materials. Essays in Education is located at: http://www.usca.edu/essays/.

T.H.E. Journal Online: Technology Horizons in Education T.H.E. Journal Online is the best technology-based education journal. T.H.E Journal Online contains information, news, and activities related to technology in education. Its sites are: www.thejournal.com/ or http://thejournal.com/.

Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) The Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks provides names of programs for studying online at one's own pace and on one's own schedule. Access it at: www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/ or http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/.

Information about education online can be found in online education journals. If you have experience in education or research, consider submitting an article for publication.

Using online education e-journals for research or personal education journals for blogging are common practices for students taking online education courses. If your teacher assigns blogging or research as part of your class, the tips and resources here will get you started.

Iran, as a historically, culturally, and scientifically ancient country has had a prosperous status in the human life and worlds education. To give an example, Iranian cosmopolitan scientists and educators such as Bozorgmehr, Ferdowsi, Birooni, Razi, Avicenna, Sadie, Khayyam, Nasir-oddin-Toosi, and many others are among the great educators and scientists who have played an important role in human life. When we compare this with other main ancient countries of China, India, Egypt, and Greek, it becomes clear that only Greek scientists and educators are comparable to Iranians in the amount of influence of their science and education on international and historical basis.

But, nowadays, in terms of innovations in culture, education, and other sciences, both philosophically and methodologically, Iranian scientists and educators research products are not remarkable. Todays Iranian human sciences are academically and socially struggling with some essential problems and challenges that block the process of qualitative growth and development of sciences and education in this ancient land which was once one of the most valuable cradles of knowledge and wisdom.

Research indicates that the qualitative development of higher education in our country is much lower than its quantitative growth. During the past 25 years (1981-2005), the Iranian academic community and its institutions have expanded dramatically (Yalpani, et. al, 2006). Currently, there are more than 50 state universities, and nearly 150 non-private technical undergraduate schools, which enroll about 750,000 students. There are also about 60 official research institutions throughout the country. In addition, since 1984, an extensive country wide private university system (mostly undergraduates) was started which enrolls another 750,000 full time students.

We may ask why the qualitative development and scientific products, especially in social sciences and humanities, are not worthy to mention. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology for the academic year 2003, the total numbers of master and doctoral students and available faculty were 68287, 12189, and 25723, respectively. Subtracting from the latter the 50 percent of instructors/tutors, who are not directly involved in any meaningful research activity, there still remain 12861 potentially researching faculty members.

The same source gives the total numbers of national scientific output for 2003 as 3326 counts. This means that each faculty member has produced in that year 0.23 indexed scientific publications. Should we include all those who with their daily work collect the needed scientific data, i.e., the graduate students, each year we end up with a publication per scientific worker ratio of only 0.034. This number is the resultant when we include all academic disciplines. When we now focus our attention to the Social Sciences and Humanities group, the situation seems to be significantly worse (op. cited). In a research conducted by the present author himself, it has been found out that there are only seven research-based scientific journals of education. in our country with maximum publication volume of 10 thousands for about one million teachers and about one hundred thousand educational experts. All these mean that we are confronting huge problems and challenges with regard to the educational research products and publications.

The question is why there is such a shortage in scientific review articles, especially in education, in our country. Our understanding is that there are different problems confronting scientists in Iran. These problems are tremendously larger and much more complicated for researches in social sciences and humanities than natural and pure experimental sciences. Ideological problems are the most difficult ones in human sciences and education as well. The more brilliant the scientists of human sciences, the more frustrated they are from scientific institutions. Medium-range researchers seem to be much happier with the scientific institution to which they belong compared to the brighter scholars. These institutions seem not to play a positive role in the case of the best scientists. Shortage of facilities provided by institutions are one other major problem for research. Another is the tenuous cooperation among scientists.

In such a situation, the Quarterly Journal of Educational Innovations aims to focus on most significant preoccupations and questions concerning educational issues and then to answer them. The articles of this journal explain some problems and challenges of education and try to show the main roots and factors of the problems that the education system is encountered with. As well, it seeks to reach an understanding and offering of the specific and applied ways through which the educational sciences can be grown and developed. In this special issue of the Quarterly Journal of Educational Innovations, nineteen articles are presented in English language to follow its six years of publication in Persian language. We welcome the researchers and scientists of education and psychology to send their articles in English language to be considered and reviewed for publication. As a prospective aim, we are looking forward to publishing the journal in both English and Persian in parallel form to reach the international scientific society as well as the one inside Iran as we have done in the past time.

 

 

 

Introduction

Although educational researches have fundamental role in trimming and improving the education system difficulties, education decision-makers are in doubt about research position and role in compiling the policies and carrying these policies through. This is while roughly one thousand researches are conducted yearly in various levels of the research centers of the ministry of education across the country (The Research Councils of Provinces) and in a national level (The Education Research Center and the Research Centers of Vice-Minister of Ministry of Education). Despite all this, the question still remains, "Why is it that the difficulties and problems with the Education system are still not reduced even with the existence of all these conducted researches?" Most intellects believe that the answer should be seeked in the applicability of the research findings and its obstacles in the ministry.

 

The study findings by Lampert (1985), Wiresma (1991), and Borg and Gall (1996) have shown that teaching research in the education system and especially to teachers, is among the effective elements in applying the research findings through the learning-teaching process and in the class-room. The effective elements on applying educational researches are emphasized differently by different experts: Willinsky (2001) stresses having a applied plan in the research section of the Education system. Newer (2002) stresses on culture-building and setting up a scientific and research information system. Laatter (2004) considers three things with this regard: expansion and teaching of scientific researches, creating positive attitude in order to utilize scientific findings in education, and finally stabilization of the information system for educational researches and contact between researchers, universities, and the education system. Last but not least, Nicebet (2005) has recognized the effective elements to be in the two fields of 1. vocational expansion and teachers training in research methodology and research management expansion, and 2. governmental financial support for educational researches. Also Raid (2005) has pointed out 16 elements in applying educational researches, the most important of which include: The Education Systems collaboration with universities and research centers, conducting research courses for teachers, including lessons in the school curriculum for becoming familiar with research methodology and providing easy-access conditions for the Education system members to the researches and publications.

 

A collection of researches and considerable articles have also investigated solutions and the obstacles for utilizing education research findings in the country. Here we point to the most important ones:

One of the effective solutions in utilizing research-findings for decision-makings and educational plannings is research-management and structure-modification of the research-system of the Ministry of Education. This is the belief seen in the works of the following researchers: Mehrm-Mohammadi (1991, 1998), Mansouri (1991, 1994), Saadati (1998), Bakhshi (2003), Roumiani (2003), Mohammadi (2004), and Alaghe-mandan (2002).

The findings of these researches, and the studies by Bazargan (1993, 2001), Nami (1998), Saadati (1998), Matin (1990), and Hasan-Zadeh (2003) have shown that the establishment and expansion of the research information system in the ministry of Education and in the provinces are effective elements in utilizing research findings in the Education system.

Also, the results of researches by Saadati (1998), Nami (1998), Shariat-Zadeh (2001), Reshad-manesh (2001), Roumian (2003), Bakhshi (2003), and Mohammadi (2003) have shown that the expansion of research culture, and being research-centered, and research-report

 

 

Oral History: A Viable Methodology for 21st Century

Educational Administration Research: National Impact

 

_______________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

 

This article identifies three 21st Century realities that are redefining research in educational administration:  1) the increasing need for relevancy and authenticity in addressing community and school problem solving contexts; 2) the need for a research method that permits the kind of in depth interviewing of knowledgeable individuals with minimal Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight; and 3) a methodology that can be facilitated by emerging technologies. Oral history has been employed in many disciplines but has seldom been used in educational administration. It offers some promise and the authors suggest possible uses and interpretations of one proposed oral history project and one completed oral history project.

______________________________________________________________________________

Purpose of the Article

 

            The purpose of this article is to examine oral history interviewing and historical research as a viable research method within the broad family of research methodologies in educational administration and educational leadership. The evolution of research methodology in educational administration has been influenced by changing paradigms, changing needs, increasing institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight, and changing technology. Educational administration research differs from other academic disciplines in that it involves the opportunity to find new and innovative uses for research findings for problem solving and decision making in school settings.

 

 

Research in Educational Administration Undergoing Transformation

 

            Educational administration research has undergone great transformation during the past century. Business management principles drawn from industry dominated the first half of the 20th Century of educational administration thought.  During the 1950's and 1960's various social science methods and concepts shaped a new generation of educational administration thought and research methodology (Campbell, Fleming, Newell & Bennion, 1987; Murphy, 2003, Fall). By the late 1980's business and social science methodologies were supplemented though not replaced by qualitative methods drawn from anthropology.  Action research fills yet another educational administration research niche. It places less emphasis on formal theoretical constructs while focusing on authentic, campus-based data gathering, and problem-solving. This continuing growth in acceptance of research methodologies from other disciplines was described by Campbell, et al:

 

Educational administration is an applied field rather than an academic discipline. It does not draw upon a single body of literature nor use a single set of scholarly tools…an applied field must maintain a vital concern not only with the extension of knowledge but also with the improvement of practice…Similarly…an applied field must be concerned with problems in their totality – drawing on the methods of many disciplines. (1987, p. 3)

 

            Not all influences on educational administration research in the 21st Century have been methodological.  A national increase in Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight has greatly influenced educational administration research (Herrington & Kritsonis, 2006).  There remains great variance among universities regarding the extent to which educational research is subject to IRB oversight. Some universities exempt educational studies from IRB oversight completely, especially those studies that were intended to examine quality improvement in educational institutions or action research used for classroom instruction. Some universities were requiring complete reviews of every aspect of research regardless of methodology or intended uses of the data. Navigating the maze of IRB restrictions at some institutions has led to avoidance of some research methodologies or populations and in some cases resulted in diminished research activity altogether (Herrington & Kritsonis, 2006).

            Technology has made most forms of research far more convenient and achievable. For example more user-friendly Windows or UNIX based statistical software programs such as Stat-Pac, (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and SAS have replaced hand-calculations, data punchcard readers, and mainframe versions of the statistical software. Qualitative researchers have access to coding software such as HyperRESEARCH 2.6, NVIVO 7, computer-assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (QAQDAS 07) to assist with high volume qualitative data coding capabilities. Audio and video recording equipment, imaging equipment, and related software continue to be developed for oral history recording, however, analog recordings continue to be preferred by most oral history professionals.

            The challenge for educational researchers in the 21st Century is to select a methodology that can provide a relevant context for examining education issues within specific contexts that are reliably and accurately preserved. The methodology must also yield a study that is achievable within a reasonable time frame, is affordable, and must satisfy ethical requirements or minimize the need for IRB scrutiny.

 

A  Methodology-in-Waiting

 

Charlton (1985) defined oral history as "the recording and preserving of planned interviews with selected persons able to narrate recollected memory and thereby aid the reconstruction of the past" (p.2). Baum (1978) defined oral history as:

 

1.      a tape recorded interview, or interviews, in  question-and-answer format,

2.      conducted by an interview who has some, and preferably the more the better, knowledge of the subject to be discussed,

3.      with a knowledgeable interview, someone who knows whereof he or she speaks from personal participation or observation (sometimes we allow a second-hand account),

4.       subjects' of historical [or community] interest…

5.      accessible, eventually, in tapes and/or transcripts to a broad spectrum of researchers. (pp. 389-390)

 

            The value of oral history for educational researchers and practitioners is found in the background that can be provided by credible participants who are able to enrich understandings of the immediate problem-solving context or who can draw parallels with other contexts. Sometimes dramatic events or significant phenomena require giving voice to otherwise silent observers or constituencies that know the true nature of  the problem of interest, but who have never been consulted by historians or decision makers. For example, ethnographic shifts in recent years have created major cultural divides in communities and schools that challenge long held assumptions of teachers and administrators regarding their client student populations.

An example is found in formerly rural/now suburban high school campus that in 1995-2004 comparison revealed the following demographic changes in students and teachers. In 1995 only 17 percent of the students of this inner city campus were Hispanic, 15 percent were African American, 65 percent of students were Anglo. The teacher demographic representations were similar. Ten years later 67 percent of the students were Hispanic, 17 percent were African American, but only 16 of the students were Anglo. The teacher demographics remained relatively unchanged over the same 10 years.

            Conversations with parents, teachers, and administrators reveals that the unexpected demographic gaps that occurred during the preceding ten year period had resulted in an increase of racial tensions wherein teachers/student and teacher/parent conflicts occuring. The achievement of Hispanic students continued a downward spiral, attendance and dropouts were increasing, and disciplinary alternative educational placements were soaring.  These realities placed the district in jeopardy of losing its standing based on statewide criteria and NCLB standards.  This was a phenomenon that could be documented through oral history interviews and the results made available as a case for other districts. In this case a number of interventions might be possible in the short run but a comprehensive and effectively planned longer term plan informed by carefully conducted oral histories would provide some valuable context and community history of the community that can provide answers to working with all parties affected by the problem.

            Another example is the fact that during the 1960's and 1970's the educational and experiential cornerstones for the first generation of Mexican-American college and university presidents and chancellors in the state of Texas and the nation were being established within an educational and cultural environment of South Texas that was hostile to the aspirations and future advancement of Latinos (Herrington, 1993, August). What can be learned about the education and mentoring experiences of these highly successful individuals would be invaluable to educators and other minority individuals making career and education decisions.

These two very real scenarios though unrelated have some connectedness. There are lessons that the teachers and administrators at the high school undergoing dramatic demographic shifts (study proposed but not yet conducted) could learn from the South Texas study of successful Hispanic students who grew up in communities that 30 and 40 years earlier resembled their current demographic and cultural realities. Communities that are just beginning to face the realities of permanently altered demographic landscapes can learn a great deal from their South Texas predecessors, precisely because those experiences have been previously recorded and transcribed for future reference (Herrington, 1993, August). The thoughts and feelings of these successful Hispanic individuals regarding their experiences, parents, teachers, and mentors (many of whom were Anglo as well as Hispanic) are eloquently recorded and transcribed for posterity. Their stories reveal personal strategies and significant persons who once extended a helping hand.

            In both of these cases, oral history methodology presents perhaps the only way to preserve otherwise unobtainable information. Concerning oral history Hoffman (1974) wrote:

 

Its most important advantage…is that it makes possible the preservation of life experience of persons who do not have the …leisure to write their memoirs…Interviews with people who have been foot soldiers in various important movements of social change but have heretofore been unrecorded may now be preserved and hence their impact assessed. (p. 26)

 

 

The Role of History in Educational Reform

 

            Scholars have identified several uses for history in educational research. History can be instrumental in effecting social reform, predicting future trends, or in influencing practice through the training of educators (Borg & Gall, 1983). Comparing the work of historian to that of psychotherapist Borg, et al noted that history has a particularly liberating function for educators:

 

To Freud, neurosis is the failure to escape the past, the burden on one's history. What is repressed  returns distorted and is eternally reenacted. The psychotherapist's task is to help the patient reconstruct the past. In this respect the historian's goal resembles that of the therapist – to liberate us from the burden of the past by helping us to understand it. (p. 802)

 

            It is our common understanding of history and the ability to learn from our shared past that distinguishes humans from all other creatures. Wector (1957, August) wrote:

           

Chimpanzee with a stack of empty boxes and a banana hanging out of reach soon learns by his own experience. But man alone learns from the experience of others. History makes this possible. In the broadest sense, all that we know is history. More strictly, it is the road map of the past. (p. 24)

 

History is our collective memory. The ability to utilize history and extract useful generalizations and theories is uniquely human. Without a record of the past we are left to navigate life's course without the aid of those who have gone before us.

 In a cogent essay published posthumously, Kennedy (1964, February) provided several reasons for examining the historical record. He noted:

 

There is little that is more important…without [history]…[one] stands uncertain and defenseless before the world, knowing neither where he has come from nor where he is going. With such knowledge, he is no longer alone but draws a strength far greater than his own from the cumulative experience of the past and the cumulative vision of the future. (p.3)

 

 

Ethical Oversight of Oral History

And Technological Considerations

 

Historical research and particularly oral history interviewing provides context and clear precedents that can be explored and considered for educational policy as well as practice. Educational researchers and IRB board members might wince at the notion of preserving recorded interviews. Such practice seems to contradict ethical provisions safeguarding anonymity of research subjects.  This is where the difference between oral history interviewing and other methodologies is important. Unlike any other discipline or methodology, oral history interviewing requires the spoken words of a specifically named individual connected in time and place by means of recording data on audio tapes, video tapes, images, documents, and transcripts preserved so as to be accessible for historical verification (Dunaway, D.K. & Baum, 1984).

To address this ethics concern, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) and the Oral History Society (OHS) in October 2003 successfully petitioned the U.S. Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, for a special ruling on oral history research interviewing. They were especially concerned with oral history projects that do not involve the type of research defined by HHS regulations. It was determined that some oral history projects may not fall under the "Common Rule" (45 CFR, part 46) that define research as "a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge."  According to the Organization of Oral Historians (2003, November):

 

This type of research involves standard questionnaires with large samples of individuals who remain anonymous, not the open-ended interviews with identifiable individuals who give their interviews with 'informed consent' that characterizes oral history. Only those oral history projects that conform to the regulatory definition of research will now need to submit their research protocols for IRB review. (p. 17)

 

An advantage of the oral history interview, therefore, if the study is carefully designed, is that IRB oversight has become far less restrictive than for other methodologies.

 

 

Concluding Remarks

 

In conclusion, oral history methodology is technology-intensive. Emerging 21st Century technologies as well as existing technologies continue to simplify and broaden the capabilities of the oral historian, both for gathering information and presenting information in a variety of formats. Digitizing voice, image, video, and text materials have greatly reduced the processing and production time for producing and presenting oral history findings.

Finally, oral history interviewing, more than ever before, has enormous potential for giving voice to silent but important players within the arenas of social change – including community and school. In order make any further changes in our school systems educational leaders and researchers have got to find ways to hear these previously unheard voices. Well designed studies that seek out these voices of individuals who have given informed consent can provide historically and contextually rich information specific to time and place with minimal IRB oversight. Finally, technology is rapidly expanding the repertoire of formats for archiving and presenting very useful and usable knowledge to drive school improvement.

 

References

 

Baum, W.K. (1978). The expanding role of the librarian in oral history. Library Lectures,

6, 33-43. In Dunaway, D.K. & Baum, W.K. (Eds.), Oral history: An interdisciplinary anthology  pp. 387-406). Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History and the Oral History Association.

Borg, W.R. & Gall, M.D. (1983). Educational research (4th ed.). New York: Longman.

Campbell, R.F., Fleming, T., Newell, L.J. & Bennion, J.W. (1987). A history of thought

            and practice in educational administration. New York: Teachers College Press.

Charlton, T.C. (1985). Oral history for Texans (2nd ed.). Austin, Texas: Texas Historical

Commission.

Dunaway, D.K. & Baum (1984). Oral history: An interdisciplinary anthology. Nashville,

TN: American Association for State and Local History and the Oral History Assocociation.

Herrington, D. E. (1993). Barriers, influences, and leadership challenges of selected

Mexican-American upper level administrators in South Texas public higher education, 1970 to 1990. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M Universi

Herrington, D.E.  & Kritsonis, W.  (2006). A national perspective for improving the

working relationship between educational researchers and Institutional Review Board members. National Forum for Educational Research Journal, 19(3), 1-5.

Organization of American Historians (2003, November). Oral history excluded from IRB

review. OAH Newsletter, 31(3), 17.

Wector, Dixon (1957, August). History and how to write it. American Heritage, 8(5), 24-       27, 87.

History
On June 30, 1929, the Cabinet ratified that the government print and edit the primary textbooks exclusively. The responsibility was transferred to the office of Examinations and Programs.
.The activity began in 1967 at the General Office of Studies and Programs under the supervision and management of five foreign advisors.
.The Organization for Research and Educational Innovation was established under the law passed by the Consultative Assembly and the Senate on July 8, 1976.
.In 1977, the Organization for Text-books and the Organization for Research and Educational Innovation joined to form a new organization.
. On March 3, 1979, under the ratification of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution, the new organization was named the Organization for Educational Research and Planning (OERP).
Objectives
.To research and survey on the quality issues of the education
.To develop educational programs
.To write and edit text-books
.To support Schools and educational institutes in using new tools and methods
All of these objectives support the major aim of increasing the quality of the educational system
OERP Responsibilities:
1. To research on the content of the educational
2. To study and develop simple methods for examinations and educational assessments
3. To write, edit and print text-books.
4. To identify and provide educational tools and the list of standards for educational tools and equipments
5. To run pure research on improving the quality and quantity of education
6. To perform other responsibilities issued by
the OERO Council
OERP Vision:
OERP is a scientific, learning and growing organization with qualitative and knowledge- based curricula consistent with the scientific and research findings, technological, national identity, Islamic and cultural values that through constructive interaction with similar organizations at national, regional and global levels tries to prepare the situation for the education of the knowledgeable, strong and religious students who are ready for active participation as dignified citizens

National Council of Education Research and Training in Vocational Education

The National Council of Education Research and Training is concerned so far only with the Hr.Secondary Vocationalization programme in formal schools. Its Department of Vocationalization of Education which is in the process of being converted into a Central Institute of Vocational Education is the nodal agency for all aspects relating to curriculum development, staff development, research, evaluation and monitoring and international contacts.

The scope of the Department extends over the entire country but it has only an advisory and guiding role to perform. Having attained sufficient experience and expertise in Hr. Secondary Vocationalization programmes the department is now actively associated with the development of various types of vocational courses for the under-graduate stage of education under the auspices of the University Grants Commission. In relation to the vocational training component under the Ministry of Labour the NCERT is represented on the National Council of Vocational Training which is t he apex decision making and coordinating body for its institutions throughout the country.

In respect of Technical Education Programme, the NCERT is represented in the All India Council of Technical Education, a statutory body to look after technical and management education in the country.

The NCERT is also directly involved with the programme development of the Indira Gandhi National Open University and National Open School through the participation of this author on their appropriate decision making bodies.

Design Development & Materials

The practice component of a vocational course varies from 50 to 70%. The curricula and instructional materials are also developed by the R&D institutions concerned with each sector. For the higher secondary courses, the NCERT prepares exemplar instructional materials and the states also prepare their own instructional packages. The courses developed by NCERT are based on the analysis of job requirements, and have been grouped under a common title of "Competency Based Curriculum".

Both curricula and instructional materials are developed in workshops in which the employment sector personnel, curriculum experts, subject experts and classroom teachers participate. So far, these materials have been prepared on the basis of annual papers rather than modules or units suited for instruction in a semester system.

The semester system, though accepted in principle for implementation is yet to become a reality in the school sector. However, the NCERT has initiated course organisation in the form of flexible module so as to suit the semester system, and also would lead to the development of multi skill competencies to meet the employment requirements in the rural areas.

All instructional materials, both print and non print, though owned by NCERT are freely available for duplication and dissemination by the states. The copyright permission is invariably granted for this purpose. The higher secondary programmes by design are collaborative in nature. The schools offer theoretical instruction and basics in terms of vocational practice which is followed by on the job training or practical training at the actual work site. In the entire teaching-learning process the full time teachers are supported by a large number of part time instructors and guest lecturers drawn from the respective employment sectors. While the above is the suggested modality, many schools still depend on institutional instruction and training in place of collaboration mentioned above, but, the deployment of part time teachers is almost invariably ensured.

 Information collected and compiled from the printmaterial of NCERT