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This year's volume of the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (CSCTFL) Report centering on the conference theme of MultiTasks, MultiSkills, and MultiConnections focused on the importance or world language use within the classroom and beyond with articles extending the conversation on target language use in instruction, on 21st century skills and accompanying Web 2.0 technologies that faculty and students can access and use to connect to the larger world, and applications of standards based instruction at K-16 levels of instruction. The profession's K-16 "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" are well represented in this year's volume as all articles connect in some manner with one or more of the 5Cs in meaningful ways, demonstrating how the profession has embraced the national conversation on what "students should know and be able to do in a second or multiple language". The collection of articles in the MultiTasks section, share the theme of instructor target language (TL) use with recent attention placed on the role of the target language in instructed situations. In the MultiSkills section of this publication, readers will find a focus on the Partnership for 21st Century skills and technology integration in three articles. Articles in MultiConnections integrate various aspects of language learning usage for various purposes including connections to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), to service learning for collegiate intermediate Spanish students not necessarily pursuing a major or minor in the language, and to innovations for providing more literature exposure into language learning. "Innovative Approaches to teaching Literature in the World language classroom," examines the need to provide and support literary texts in language instruction by bridging the gap between developing language proficiency for interpersonal communication and developing literary understanding of authentic literary texts.

The first of two volumes, this book contains complete texts of 61 papers presented at a 1988 symposium on geographical education. The papers cover many aspects of geographical education in several countries in Western Europe, Africa, and Asia, and are divided into eight sections: (1) "Developing Skills for Living through Geographical Education"; (2) "Developing Learners' Skills and Abilities in Geography"; (3) "Curriculum Developments in Geography for the 1990s"; and (4) "Research in Geographical Education"; (5) "Developing Skills through Continuing Education"; (6) "Curriculum Developments in Geography for the 1990s"; (7) "Teaching Styles in Geographical Educations"; and (8) "Developing Learners' Skills and Abilities in Geography." Many of the papers include figures and additional references. (AS)

This paper deals with a problem of digital competence acquisition and certification. In order to overcome the problem of still inadequate number of digitally competent students and the tools that merely focus on skills acquisition, this paper proposes the CRISS platform which is a unique cloud-based digital learning solution, based on the most advanced pedagogical methodologies and technological solutions Its purpose is to allow guided acquisition, evaluation and certification of digital competence in primary and secondary schools in Europe. The platform is based on the CRISS Digital Competence (DC) Framework created as an adaptation of a well-established European digital competence framework, DigComp. The platform's architecture includes seven different modules that support the CRISS DC Framework and employ advanced techniques such as learning analytics, intelligent tutoring and certification. The platform will enable teachers to track the work of their students acquiring the digital competence with a detail insight into their learning paths. CRISS platform is piloted in around 90 schools, with 600 teachers and 3400 students during the school year 2018/2019. [For the full proceedings, see ED621557.]

Constraints of the pandemic and rolling lockdowns eliminated opportunities to gather in person. Yet, for the learning cities movement, this period of coronavirus curtail was also a time of increased networking and creative collaboration. Where once human energies expended in "process work" left little retrievable trace, now artifacts accumulate apace in electronic clouds. What might a little excavation through material collected since the onset of COVID-19 reveal about ways localities and learning city networks mobilized to address the pandemic? For those on the resourced side of the digital divide, openly available content grants access to a gallery of community responses, transnational strategies, and future forecasting. [For the full proceedings, see ED625421.]

The increasing popularity of tablets in society generally has sparked much interest in their educational potential and while a number of studies on the use of tablets in schools have been conducted world-wide most of these have been conducted in English-speaking and well-resourced education jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Studies conducted on the use of tablets in non-English speaking and educationally under-resourced countries are less wide-spread. This research conducted as part of an EU Erasmus+ Project (Micool), focusses on the introduction of iPads in a remote, rural region of Portugal where persistent under investment in education, particularly educational IT, has been acutely felt for almost a decade. Using a case study methodology this study reveals how many of the benefits associated with using mobile technologies in other educational jurisdictions were also replicated here, and how innovative teachers, despite working within a very traditional and rigid system, used the devices to suit their specific curriculum and classroom needs. Furthermore, this study will also reveal how international events such as the financial and economic collapse of 2008/2009 negatively impacted national education policies in a European country, the effects of which were acutely manifested in this school, particularly when it came to IT provision and support. [For the complete proceedings, see ED579282.]

In Great Britain, it is not unusual to find primary schools staffed almost entirely by women, but managed by men. This paper argues that more women should manage education in western Europe and explains why. It examines the stereotypes of "gendered" management styles. For example, both Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton have encountered public criticism because they used combinations of feminine and masculine styles. It is argued that even when women are in positions of management, they remain at a disadvantage because they are expected to manage differently. Feminine management styles are often seen as inefficient and lacking in decisiveness. The paper describes the approach used by the Management Development Centre (at the Institute of Education, London University), which takes account of women's professional experiences and learning styles. The program seeks to develop a women-friendly pedagogy, which is based on the following cycle of learning--concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The formation of a European women's management-development network is suggested. (LMI)

The content and assessment of the curriculum is under discussion in many educational systems. Because the curriculum is a product of authority relationships, the role and position of several actors executing the authority relationships in the education system are under question as well. Traditionally, inspectorates, as part of the authority structure and examination systems, have the function of guaranteeing the quality of education in general and the curriculum in particular. This paper examines how inspectorates in Germany and Russia contribute to the development of new checks and balances regarding the curriculum. It examines roles and functions of the inspectorate, trends in educational reform, the curricular content and provisions, and the educational tradition in both countries. In Germany, regulation of evaluation (quality) does not appear to be a focus of concern for reform. Centralized regulation of the curriculum guarantees a certain quality, and the inspectorates do not play an explicit role in testing and examinations. In Russia, there are many more reform activities that concern the content and quality of curriculum. Functional decentralization to nongovernmental agencies can be found in Russia, and territorial decentralization can be found in both Germany and Russia. The redistribution of power implies a reduction of the political influences in the former socialist education systems. It appears that Russian inspectorates will fill a monitoring role, with elements of control and administration. (LMI)

Orthopedagogisch Centrum Michiel is a multifunctional institution in the eastern Netherlands for youth with emotional problems. The staff of the institution's residential treatment center has gradually become involved with outdoor experiential education through training programs, conferences, special projects, and supervised programs. Activities in experiential outdoor programs are incorporated in the treatment of various special populations such as adolescents with behavior disorders, drug addictions, and criminal records. The staff aims for youth self-discovery and personal growth through activities such as trekking, rock climbing and rapelling, caving, and white-water canoeing, followed by journal writing or group reflection. Some problems have been encountered with regard to effectively structuring group processes. Outward Bound was the first institution running experiential outdoor programs in the Netherlands, beginning in 1961. De Dreef, a center for the intensive treatment of adjudicated youth, uses outdoor activities to support its program. Other residential programs in the Netherlands use extensive trekking, sailing, or farming. Project philosophies and results are poorly documented in the Netherlands, but the few studies or reports that exist generally find positive results for these programs. Programs in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are comparable to those in the Netherlands. (KS)

Orthopedagogisch Centrum (OC) Michiel is a multifunctional regional institution in the Netherlands that serves troubled families and youth at risk. Outdoor programs are used as a treatment modality for adolescents with behavior disorders, drug addictions, or criminal records. Outward Bound was the first experiential outdoor program in the Netherlands, beginning in 1961. Today there are several residential treatment centers using outdoor experiential learning. Although the focus of the programs have changed over the decades, goals generally involve self-discovery and personal growth to stimulate behavior change. Research and program documentation in the Netherlands is often neglected. In the United States, more than 300 organizations run experiential programs. Examples include Outward Bound, Project Adventure, and the National Outdoor Leadership School. Programs in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are generally based on humanistic psychology. Kurt Hahn is considered the father of outdoor experiential education. Kurt Lewin, a German social psychologist, provided insights into factors related to adventure education. A review of research on outcomes of outdoor programs is noteworthy for the absence of negative results. The staff at OC Michiel is experimenting with experiential outdoor education through activities such as trekking, rock-climbing, caving, and white-water canoeing. Although they see clear progress in the group process and personal growth, there are areas for improvement. (KS)

The Central European countries are currently in transition in all sectors. In education, the greatest challenge is providing sufficient English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction to meet the expanding demand, particularly after many years in which English was not taught widely in Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. High pedagogical standards are being challenged by serious shortages of well-trained ESL teachers and materials. In some cases, teachers weak in English language skills or lacking language teacher training are being hired to fill the gaps. Native English-speaking English language training professionals can make a substantial contribution during this time of expansion, but collaboration with local experts will be important to ensure that the methodologies and materials that are developed are appropriate to local cultures and expectations. There are many challenges and difficulties to overcome. Response to these needs in the next few years will lay the groundwork for the future of English language development in the region. (MSE)

Based on four standards of measurement, it appears that the educational systems of Western Europe fail to provide a significant equalizing influence. The four criteria are: (1) equality of educational access, (2) equality of educational participation, (3) equality of educational results, (4) and equality of educational effects on life chances. Although the distribution of education shows a universal trend toward increasing equality of educational attainments, data indicate that persons from lower social class backgrounds are likely to follow less prestigious and remunerative courses of study. Moreover, they lack the social or political connections to obtain better jobs. This pattern is a result of the perceived role of schooling, which is to prepare students for filling the needs of capitalistic wage-labor. There is a basic contradiction between this function and that of increasing social mobility. Moreover, the post World War II reduction in economic growth has created an educated, underemployed proletariat. The increasing disjuncture between the values and expectations of the educated worker and the realities of work is creating a new working class of revolutionary youth. Educational reforms must include increasing the selectivity of universities, absorbing enrollment increases through alternative higher education, developing an alternative educational pattern, and emphasizing career education. Work reforms call for changing the organization of work, increasing the prestige of blue collar work, and providing more jobs in the public sector. (KC)

The structures of primary and secondary general education in a number of industrialized countries are compared to show that there are all possible combinations of educational "systems" that are, in most cases, the outcome of a remote historical legacy. This legacy, regardless of its merits, should not be considered as inviolate, but rather should be subjected to new thinking time and time again, to allow for new factors (political, social, economic, cultural, scientific, and so forth) conducive to its evolution. The countries under consideration are the six member countries of the European Economic Community and the United States, Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R. The organizational structures of vocational and technical "secondary" education are not considered. The problems of reforming the structures of secondary education are not abstract: the difficulty does not lie in conceiving a system considered as ideal, but in conceiving transitional systems, concrete ways of changing over from the present parallel stream system to the reformed system, and in accepting the difficulties arising from this transition. (Author/IRT)