Editorial statement

This issue of The Educational Forum, while non-themed, will challenge educators to think more deeply about their beliefs, assumptions, and practices. Teaching and learning are complex phenomena influenced by the social context in which they are practiced. The articles in this issue explore the preparation for teaching, its practices, and the outcomes it produces.

Your reflection on this journal may lead to new insights about teaching and learning. It may also lead to dissonance about your beliefs and actions and result in creating new meanings. The most important outcome is thinking about yourself as a reflective practitioner. These articles can help you reflect on action through critical thinking about innovative practices. You may consider taking action to stem the influence of major corporations and legislative agencies and their use of power to control educational practices. Perhaps you'll decide to incorporate some of the strategies discussed by authors in your own work with students and colleagues.

The Issues Forum section contains some truly challenging notions. Brightman and Gutmore discuss the relationships between the corporate boardroom and public school classrooms. The topics of product placement, infusion of technology into schools, and marketing to children offer a platform for reflecting on the influence of business in education. Soares and Soares discuss big issues facing today's educators and identify the various ways that school boards, state departments of education, and regional accrediting agencies control resources and exert authority over teachers. Raimo, Devlin-- Scherer, and Zinicola describe the use of film as learning tools in teacher education. They show how the use of film can lead to a deeper understanding of teaching and learning. Schirduan, Case, and Faryniarz present a variety of ways to teach all students through understanding the conditions each student brings to the learning environment. They focus on using Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory to work with ADHD and LD students.

In the Critical Perspectives section, David Spence gives a personal account of how and why learning works or doesn't work. He questions the current schooling process and its emphasis on teaching and not on learning. Gabbard and L'Esperance have written an open letter to North Carolina's former governor, James B. Hunt Jr., chiding the state for acting too swiftly and narrowly on several reforms affecting teachers and children. Simpson offers insight into constructivist theory and builds a case for teachers holding a variety of anti-constructivist beliefs who find success in the classroom.

The Research in Practice section presents results ofa study by Ramanathan describing the procedures, practices, and issues of establishing a student teaching program in India. Martin, Craft, and Tillema discuss the challenges facing researchers from different nations and cultures. In this age of faster Internet communication and increasing global awareness, they offer greatly needed insights. Finally, Ganser surveyed elementary education majors to determine what behaviors and attitudes of cooperating teachers and mentors are most needed to support student teachers.

Upon completion of your reading, will you think differently about teaching and learning? What will you do to incorporate new insights into your practices? If this journal has stimulated your thinking, we invite you to respond by writing a letter to the editor-yet another way to be a reflective scholar and practitioner.

Copyright Kappa Delta Pi Summer 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved