Education as policy: the impact of education on marriage, contraception, and fertility in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia

Using data from the World Fertility and Demographic and Health Surveys of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, we model the effects of education on three demographic outcomes: the timing of first sexual union, contraceptive use, and fertility. These effects are examined over time and across geographic areas using a multivariate framework. We find substantial improvements in female educational attainment over the last fifty years and a strong relationship between education and the demographic outcomes. Each successive increment in education is associated with declines in the marriage rate, increased contraceptive use, and lower fertility. Education accounts for some of the changes over time in the demographic outcomes, but the pattern varies by outcome, time period, and geographic area. In support of the social diffusion hypothesis, our results indicate that educational differences in reproductive behavior are reduced as the level of development increases and societies pass through their demographic transition.     

留学生医学遗传学教学中教学新模式的构建

以发展外国留学生教育为主要标志的教育国际化,是当今世界教育发展的一大趋势。为了提高我校的教学水平和办学层次,我校医学院自2005年秋季开始招收外国留学生。留学生的学习方法和思维模式与中国学生相比有很大差异,而传统的教学模式不能适应留学生的教学的需求。因此构建新型教学模式在留学生医学遗传学教学中至关重要。     

"And This Is How You Shall Ask": Linguistics, Anthropology, and Education in the Work of David Smith

This article celebrates the life and work of David M. Smith, former Council on Anthropology and Education president and founder of the University of Pennsylania Ethnography in Education Research Forum, tracing his contributions to the fields of linguistics, anthropology, and education through the dual lens of his ten research principles and Walt Whitman's life advice. David Smith's pioneering efforts helped push disciplinary boundaries and generate innovations in sociolinguistics, pidgin and creole linguistics, ethnography and education, sociocultural studies of literacy, and Indigenous studies.     

A Low-Cost,Hands-on Module to Characterize Antimicrobial Compounds Using an Interdisciplinary,Biophysical Approach

We have developed a hands-on experimental module that combines biology experiments with a physics-based analytical model in order to characterize antimicrobial compounds. To understand antibiotic resistance, participants perform a disc diffusion assay to test the antimicrobial activity of different compounds and then apply a diffusion-based analytical model to gain insights into the behavior of the active antimicrobial component. In our experience, this module was robust, reproducible, and cost-effective, suggesting that it could be implemented in diverse settings such as undergraduate research, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) camps, school programs, and laboratory training workshops. By providing valuable interdisciplinary research experience in science outreach and education initiatives, this module addresses the paucity of structured training or education programs that integrate diverse scientific fields. Its low-cost requirements make it especially suitable for use in resource-limited settings.

This Community Page is part of the Education Series.

     

Language policy,language ideology,and visual art education for emergent bilingual students

ABSTRACT

In 1968 the Bilingual Education Act marked the first comprehensive federal intervention in the schooling of language minoritized students by creating financial incentives for bilingual education in an effort to address social and educational inequities created by poverty and linguistic isolation in schools. Since that time federal education policies related to language instruction for emergent bilingual students have undergone a number of shifts that reflect changing ideological perspectives on language and citizenship. These shifts, in turn, frame seemingly neutral educational requirements for preservice and practicing art educators related to language and visual art instruction, implicating art educators in ideological stances toward students and families who primarily speak languages other than English. This article reviews the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in its most recent reauthorization as the Every Student Succeeds Act, and offers insight into ideological implications of standards and assessments that impact art educator preparation and art teaching practices with regard to language in the art classroom, including the National Core Arts Standards and the Education Teacher Performance Assessment. Implications regarding ways art education, framed by ideological policies, might support or undermine social and educational inequities educational policies are intended to address are discussed.     

Ping Pong Dolls

This article examines ways in which music education advocacy efforts have become disconnected from the unified visions and declarations of music educators espoused in the Tanglewood and Housewright declarations and are thus reifying the disconnect between what we value and what we say we value. We first analyze the policies posited by the recently formed Music Education Policy Roundtable and consider several counterarguments. Second, we suggest new directions in music education advocacy by discussing ways to make our programs more culturally relevant and valuable to our schools and communities. Finally, we conclude with a call for our professional organization to take a leadership role in situating the arts as an important element of American public school education by reigniting national aims discussions that lead to liberal and humanistic education policies.     

Getting a head start: the importance of personal genetics education in high schools

With advances in sequencing technology, widespread and affordable genome sequencing will soon be a reality. However, studies suggest that "genetic literacy" of the general public is inadequate to prepare our society for this unprecedented access to our genetic information. As the current generation of high school students will come of age in an era when personal genetic information is increasingly utilized in health care, it is of vital importance to ensure these students understand the genetic concepts necessary to make informed medical decisions. These concepts include not only basic scientific knowledge, but also considerations of the ethical, legal, and social issues that will arise in the age of personal genomics. In this article, we review the current state of genetics education, highlight issues that we believe need to be addressed in a comprehensive genetics education curriculum, and describe our education efforts at the Harvard Medical School-based Personal Genetics Education Project.     

Paul Bert, scientist and politician

Paul Bert worked with Claude Bernard, one of the leading physiologists of the 19th century. In his laboratory at the Collège de France in Paris, Paul Bert carried out fascinating experiments in particular on respiratory processes, leading him to publish "La pression barométrique" in 1878. In this book are recalled his discovery of oxygen pressure decrease with altitude, divers diseases, the improved safety protocols in hyperbaric conditions, and the first development of gas anaesthetics for surgery. He was the third President of the Société de Biologie. Paul Bert was also a politician with strong convictions. Minister of Education under Gambetta's short term government, he initiated the fight for social equality and secular education and became one of the most prestigious figures of the developing socialist party. He received many distinctions and was given a state funeral.     

The Changing Face of Natural Resources Students,Education, and the Profession

ABSTRACT There are many challenges facing natural resources programs in North American higher education today. Pressures exerted by a new generation of students, changing workplace requirements (including undergraduate core-knowledge requirements), and an increasingly specialized professoriate are great but not insurmountable. We discuss each of these issues and pose potential solutions to address each including adopting new pedagogical techniques for content delivery (e.g., adapting courses to be inclusive of new technologies), revising curriculum to meet the needs of a new suite of learners (e.g., developing curricula that allow structured flexibility of choices, designing a core curriculum that is a mix of single-discipline courses and courses that integrate across disciplines), and new strategies for faculty engagement in discipline-specific survey courses. By remaining deliberate and effective in our pursuit of quality higher education we have the opportunity to ensure we are delivering the best possible education to the future professionals of our disciplines.     

Five Minute Dog Feeder

In this article, the author explores music education counterforces, examining whether and how (a) federal and state education policies can better address the in-service needs of special area teachers, particularly music teachers, in the school setting; and (b) policy organizations in the music education profession (i.e., The National Association for Music Education, the National Association of Schools of Music, the College Music Society, the Society for Music Teacher Education, and the Music Education Research Council) might also address the inherent tensions between music education and schooling.     

Perception of Graduating Endocrinology,Diabetes, and Metabolism Fellows on the Benefits of Wearing A Continuous Glucose Monitor and/or Insulin Pump for Their Education

Objectives: To our knowledge, no prior research has explored the prevalence of wearing continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and/or insulin pumps among in-training fellows and their perception of doing so as part of their education. Our objectives therefore were to estimate the frequency with which wearing a CGM and/or insulin pump is used as a learning opportunity and explore the main motivators and perception on its value.Methods: A multiple-choice survey that addressed each fellow's level of training, type of fellowship training program, and use of CGM and/or insulin pump was sent to all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism program coordinators or program directors. We asked them to forward this survey to their graduating fellows. Their perception on the value of wearing these devices was addressed.Results: Fifty-one graduating fellows responded to the survey; 78.43% and 62.5% of them wore a CGM and insulin pump, respectively. A total of 89.48% and 90% of those who wore a CGM and insulin pump, respectively, thought it was above-average value for their education, and the most common reasons were to learn the technical aspects and understand what patients with diabetes go through.Conclusion: Wearing a CGM and/or insulin pump is perceived by endocrinology graduating fellows as valuable to their education, specifically, to learn the technical aspects, understand the patient's experience, and develop empathy.Abbreviations: ACGME = Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; CGM = continuous glucose monitor     

Outcome-based residency education: teaching and evaluating the core competencies in plastic surgery

Through its oversight of residency education in the United States, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has mandated new structural changes in resident education with its newly created core competencies and an emphasis on outcomes-based education. These core competencies represent the central areas in which the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education believes a plastic surgery resident should receive adequate and appropriate education and training. In addition, as part of this outcomes-based education, residents are to be evaluated on their level of mastery in these core competencies. Increasingly, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education will assess the ability of residency programs to integrate the teaching and evaluating of the core competencies in their accreditation process of plastic surgery residency programs. This shift in residency evaluation initiated by the Outcomes Project by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education will have a significant impact in how plastic surgery residents are taught and, as importantly, evaluated in the coming years. The objectives of this work were as follows: (1) to outline the different methods available to foster a core competency-based plastic surgery training curriculum and (2) to serve as a primer to help both full-time academic and clinical faculty to further develop their curriculum to successfully teach and constructively evaluate their residents in the core competencies in accordance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education guidelines. At the conclusion of this review, the reader should have a better understanding of what is necessary to formulate and help foster a plastic surgery core competency curriculum, particularly with an emphasis on the contemporary methods used for outcomes evaluations.     

上海市浦东新区继续医学教育满意度影响因素分析

目的:探讨浦东新区医务人员对继续医学教育的满意度现况。方法:采用自制调查问卷对浦东新区卫生技术培训中心正在接受继续医学教育的155名学员进行调查。结果:浦东新区继续教育总体满意度为61.2%;教育内容满意度为66.4%,教学形式满意度为57.9%,培训教材满意度为53.9%,授课教师满意度为69.7%,教育时间安排满意度为45.4%。结论:浦东新区继续医学教育总体符合区域医学发展与医学人才培养需求,但教学满意度等方面的问题有待改进与提高。     

The Concept of Developmental Teaching

Both theoreticians and educational practitioners have been devoting increasing attention in the past few years to the problems of developmental teaching. Some major scientific works have been devoted to these problems, which are being tackled in various special textbooks and methodological manuals. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation is preparing and publishing special programs on developmental teaching [42]. All these efforts are evidence that the problems of the intellectual, moral, and physical development of schoolchildren are becoming very urgent in our education—moreover, one of the principles of reform of contemporary school education is that authentic developmental teaching be put to ample use (see, for example [20. Pp. 159-160], etc.).     

RELEVANCE IN MEDICAL EDUCATION—Some Thoughts from a Forum

For the past several months the editors of California Medicine have conducted a forum in this journal on “Relevance for Today and Tomorrow in Medical Education.” The participants were from widely different backgrounds and represented many points of view. This statement is a distillate from published and unpublished material contributed to the forum. If it proves useful to any who may be concerned with new developments in medical education it will have served its purpose.     

The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics. Policy Statement No. 12: The present status of Medical Physics Education and Training in Europe. New perspectives and EFOMP recommendations

A recently published EFOMP's survey on the status of Education and Training in Europe, has showed the important role played by the NMOs in the organisation of the Medical Physics education and training in most countries and their efforts to fulfil EFOMP recommendations. However, despite of this, there is still a wide variety of approaches within Europe, not only in the education and training programmes but also in professional practice.There is right now some European issues that can affect not only education and training but also the future of Medical Physics as a profession: 1. the harmonisation of the architecture of the European Higher Education System, arising from the “Bologna Declaration”, for 2010, 2. the recently issued European directive: “Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications”.EFOMP is now challenged to make recommendations for education and training in Medical Physics, within the context of the current developments in the European Higher Education Area arising from “The Bologna Declaration”, and with a view to facilitate the free movement of professionals within Europe, according to the new Directive.     

Promoting proteomics knowledge in Europe: report on the activities of the EuPA Education Committee 2006-2007

The early transition of knowledge from highly specialised and sophisticated proteomics research to a diverse community in need of know-how is a challenge that requires backing from advanced research centres and groups, and a coordinating body for the dissemination of this knowledge. The European Proteomics Association (EuPA) Education Committee signified this as a priority area when the EuPA was formed, and began its program to coordinate proteomics training and knowledge dissemination in 2006. This report serves as an update of our past activities and an announcement of upcoming events. Over the last year the EuPA Education Committee has coordinated or supported different educational activities including basic and advanced courses, a summer school, workshops and tutorials. A new programme of basic courses dubbed "Teaching the Teachers" has been initiated. These courses reach a larger, Europe wide, audience in a short timeframe, thus improving the opportunities for trainees of elementary proteomics techniques. Another important event has been the merger of the EuPA and HUPO (Human Proteome Organisation) Education Committees into a single one in order to combine ideas and ef for ts that will favour global education in proteomics.     

School choice and racial segregation in US schools: The role of parents’ education

We draw on recent developments in the sociology of race and ethnicity and theories of the duality of social structure to explain how the formation of ‘educational identities’ interacts with racial stratification to shape the school choices of highly educated whites in the United States. Analysis of the 1996 National Household Education Survey shows that the racial composition of schools plays an important role in the schooling choices of highly educated whites. As the per cent black in a residential area increases, whites are more likely to select alternative, higher-percentage-white schooling for their children. Importantly, this effect is amplified for highly educated whites (but not highly educated blacks). Ironically, then, despite many positive effects of formal education on racial attitudes, increased education for whites leads to greater negative sensitivity to blacks in public schools, which may in turn have the unintended effect of increasing school segregation and racial inequality.     

Associations among education, cortisol rhythm, and BMI in blue-collar women

Objective: This study sought to test whether a biological measure of chronic stress, Δ cortisol, was related to BMI and whether the relationship between Δ cortisol and BMI varied according to education and positive affect. Research Methods and Procedures: One hundred fifty‐four women from a blue‐collar women's health project in 11 industrial sites in rural North Carolina provided saliva for cortisol assays for a substudy on “stress.” Δ Cortisol, the difference between awakening and midday cortisol measures representing diurnal decline, was calculated (lower values = greater stress). BMI was regressed on Δ cortisol, education, and positive affect. Analyses were controlled for age, race, and worksite. Standardized β‐coefficients were calculated. Results: For participants with complete data (n = 129), BMI was greater (β 95% confidence interval) for women with less than high school education (0.56; 0.18, 0.94) and those who completed high school (0.26; ?0.05, 0.57) relative to women with greater than a high school education (p = 0.009). Δ Cortisol was inversely related to BMI (?0.32; ?0.59, ?0.05; p = 0.022). Education positively modified the inverse relationship between Δ cortisol and BMI (p = 0.047). Positive affect was negatively associated with BMI (?0.44; ?0.82, ?0.06; p = 0.026) and positively modified the inverse association between Δ cortisol and BMI (0.33; ?0.03, 0.69; p = 0.074). Discussion: Education and Δ cortisol were inversely related to BMI, and the magnitude of the association between Δ cortisol and BMI was buffered by higher education. Positive affect was inversely related to BMI. Chronic stress is associated with higher BMI, with this relation attenuated by higher education and, possibly, a positive affect.     

The Medical Library Service of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia

A unique provincial medical library service has been established in British Columbia. Under the direction of professional librarians, the central library in Vancouver is building an extensive, largely clinical collection while 30 smaller branch libraries in hospitals throughout the province are establishing basic, up-to-date collections. Financial support comes from an annual fee of $25.00 per doctor paid to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Photoduplication, mail and telephone services meet many reference needs. Reading is vital to continuing medical education. The library works closely with the University of British Columbia''s Department of Continuing Medical Education to bring current medical knowledge to every doctor in British Columbia.