Biotechnology, inquiry, and public education

Education of our children is arguably society's most important task, profoundly shaping the communities in which we all live. Achievement and success in many facets of our culture depend critically on formal education. Education is widely perceived as the only viable weapon against the poverty, drug abuse, crime and teenage pregnancy that derail many citizens, particularly in the inner cities, from realizing their productive human potential. Beyond its value to individuals, education is the cornerstone of societal advancement.     

Bioethics, bridge to medical education

INTRODUCTION: Research in education assumes that every intuition regarding the improvement of the educational process is followed by one demonstration and foundation. Creativeness and rigour with the relative implications in the context of research and difficulties are the two main elements. OBJECTIVES AND DIFFICULTIES: The knowledge that features the transition from a PHOG approach in teaching: prejudice, hunches, opinions, guess to an evidence-based education is not easy to collect, to document and to generalize. But this is still not easy to apply in a context that is very difficult to improve, to know and to check. To obtain high quality education research activity is needed, because the costs and consequences of the non quality are very high and serious and the relapsing could be very important from the assistance, social prevention and clinical research point of view. CONCLUSIONS: In the university research is done in everyone's cultural area, but it should also be done in the teaching area. This is important especially in a faculty of medicine where education depends on continuous improvements in assistance and also in the prevention to be carried out through projects aiming at education to health.     

Health education, recent and future trends

During the past, Health Education has been taking place in a variety of ways: prevention, monitoring and control of potentially epidemic diseases. New trends have been arising (such as 'health corners', interdisciplinary activities, exhibit, 'mini-university' for children, etc.). But it is important to discuss what 'Health Education' means, and define 'health' and rethink educational strategies. Several evaluations have highlighted the limited impact that communication activities, or one-off awareness campaigns, may have.     

Family physician anesthetists: continuing education,observations, evaluation

A method is described whereby continuing education for family practitioner anesthetists is taken to community hospitals, where patterns of practice, local problems and facilities are different from those of larger urban areas. Five Ontario communities were visited for 4½ days each, by invitation, providing the visiting clinician with an opportunity to observe the quality of anesthesia services and to measure, through a self-evaluation test, the deficiencies in applied basic and clinical knowledge thought to be necessary for modern, safe practice. These programs were well received and thought to be of real benefit to the participants. Similar programs could be provided in general medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology, pediatrics and psychiatry.     

Invertebrate models for biomedical research, testing, and education

Invertebrate animals have been used as medicinals for 4,000 years and have served as models for research and teaching since the late 1800s. Interest in invertebrate models has increased over the past several decades as the research community has responded to public concerns about the use of vertebrate animals in research. As a result, invertebrates are being evaluated and recognized as models for many diseases and conditions. Their use has led to discoveries in almost every area of biology and medicine--from embryonic development to aging processes. Species range from terrestrial invertebrates such as nematodes and insects to freshwater and marine life including planarians, crustaceans, molluscs, and many others. The most often used models are the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the minuscule nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Topics in this article are categorized by biologic system, process, or disease with discussion of associated invertebrate models. Sections on bioactive products discovered from invertebrates follow the models section, and the article concludes with uses of invertebrates in teaching. The models reviewed can serve as references for scientists, researchers, veterinarians, institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs), and others interested in alternatives to vertebrate animals.     

Intersections between music education and music therapy: Education reform,arts education,exceptionality, and policy at the local level

In this article, a music teacher educator and a music therapy clinician and educator discuss special education policy and arts instruction at the district level. To illustrate the gulf between federal and local policies with regard to exceptional learners and arts instruction, we examine the intersections of music therapy and music education with regard to self-contained classes of students with moderate to severe disabilities. Our discussion focuses on provision of services and opportunity to learn, and results in specific policy suggestions, including: (a) increasing administrators' understanding of music therapy, adaptive music education, and music education, so that decisions regarding arts instruction can be better-informed and more child-centered, (b) treating music therapists as allied health professionals who do not need to be certified teachers to practice in schools, and (c) improving initial music teacher preparation and providing opportunities for professional development to increase awareness of necessary information and effective strategies to improve music teaching and learning for students with special needs.     

The politics of race,culture and education

Mike Cole (ed.), EDUCATION FOR EQUALITY, London: Routledge, 1989, 237 pp., £9.95 (paper)

Peter Foster, POLICY AND PRACTICE IN MULICULTURAL AND ANTI‐RACIST EDUCATION, London: Routledge, 1990, 208 pp., £10.99 (paper)

Alrick X. Cambridge and Stephan Feuchtwang (eds), ANTI‐RACIST STRATEGIES, Avebury: Gower Publishing, 1990, 162 pp., £25.00

David Gillborn, ’RACE’, ETHNICITY AND EDUCATION, London: Unwin Hyman, 1990, 245 pp., £9.95 (paper)

Elizabeth Grugeon and Peter Woods, EDUCATING ALL: MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL, London: Routledge, 1990, 244 pp., £9.95 (paper)

Barry Troyna and Bruce Carrington, EDUCATION, RACISM AND REFORM, London: Routledge, 1990, 139 pp., £30.00 and £8.99 (paper)

Kenneth J. Meier, Joseph Stewart Jr., Robert E. England, RACE, CLASS AND EDUCATION, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989, 194 pp., npl