Describes a Spanish ethnic institution in Florida as an example of one way in which knowledge about foreign people and places can be obtained within the local community. Outlines are provided for unit development, concept teaching, and evaluation techniques in the areas of ethnic and area studies. For journal availability, see, SO 505 790. (AV)

Describes a program to increase teacher skills and attitudes in interpreting geographical concepts to children. Reservice teachers were taken for airplane rides to (1) identify from the air natural and man-made geographical features and (2) use the information in developing lesson plans for elementary pupils. For journal availability, see SO 505…

Describes a simulation in which students take roles of environmentalists and politicians to debate industrial development and pollution. For journal availability, see SO 505 790. (AV)

Lifestyles of three cultural groups (Amish, Hutterites, Bedouins) illustrate social stability isolated from change. Students should study stable cultures in order to understand the role of tradition, minority group contributions, and different ways people achieve common goals of food production, housing, and personal satisfaction. For journal…

Offers a model of social-work education that infuses multicultural content into the field curriculum and enhances faculty diversity. One school's field-practice seminars integrate diversity training by pairing community facilitators with faculty facilitators to increase instructors' awareness of diversity; offering ongoing workshops to train…

Describes a quasi-experimental study comparing students' perceptions of empowerment in two sections of a graduate social-work course. One section was taught using a traditional format of lectures, exams, and papers. The other was taught with techniques intended to empower students: learning contracts, formative evaluations, and narrative…

Presents a cultural framework for viewing alcohol/drug abuse to promote increased awareness among social-work students. The framework helps teachers illustrate the powerful role of culture in shaping behaviors in several cultural/ethnic groups simultaneously, and can be used to discuss cases and clinical problems in the classroom, compare cultures…

Examines the current and future projections for the federal budget and the two processes affecting fiscal policy: authorization/appropriation measures and budget resolution/reconciliation. Knowledge of the federal budget process shows social-work students how fiscal constraints have been used as weapons against social-welfare programs, and allows…

A study of manuscript submissions and acceptance among 509 faculty of 45 graduate social-work programs found that although faculty of all ranks made regular efforts to publish and achieve success, higher academic rank was negatively associated with frequency of manuscript submission and positively associated with acceptance. Results suggest…

A survey of 346 faculty in 38 graduate social-work programs explored their educational orientations (mentor vs. master teacher) and their educational philosophies. Results indicated faculty tended toward a master-teaching approach in imparting essential knowledge and empowering students, but incorporated elements from the mentoring approach.…

Reports on a 1995-1996 national survey of master's in social-work (MSW) programs, focusing on nonacademic admissions criteria and procedures used to assess candidates. The report assesses the commonalities found in the responses and sample materials used, describes challenges in using nonacademic criteria, and presents a model for defining and…

Examines relationship between admission criteria and academic performance among 654 master's in social-work (MSW) students in one state university, 1985-1992. Test scores on a pre-graduation comprehensive exam measured academic achievement. Results indicate two admissions criteria, undergraduate grade point average and Graduate Record Examination…

Study investigated the association between university social-work students' ratings of teaching ability and several course, student, and instructor variables. Analysis of over 5,000 standard evaluation forms indicated strong positive relationships between ratings of teaching effectiveness and ratings of skills, as reflected by course organization,…

Results of a national survey of 51 social-work doctoral-program directors indicate that although the majority of doctoral programs include preparation for teaching as a program objective, they offer limited formal course work and few opportunities for supervised teaching experience. Recommendations are made for better preparing doctoral…

Social work students (n=57) enrolled in two University of Georgia graduate-level practice courses were exposed to approximately equal amounts of live, in-class instruction, and two-way interactive televised instruction. Post-course evaluations significantly favored live instruction over televised distance learning. More empirical research…