Distance Learning: The U.S. Version

Distance learning in higher education has developed differently in the United States from the way it developed many other countries. Driven by the developments in technology and fueled by partnerships with industry, distance education in the U.S. is charting unmapped waters. For over a century, universities have relied on students coming to them. Now they find that they must go to the students. This article examines some of the history, technology, research, and trends in distance education and raises key questions. What part does the profit motive play in the corporatization of education? How can traditional universities adjust to meet the needs of a changing population, and who will be the gatekeepers? The opportunity is here to improve on existing educational institutions and add flexibility to the monolithic institutions of traditional universities. Distance educators will need to be vigilant to ensure that the strengths of sound pedagogy are not lost in the race to embrace new technologies.     

R. S. Peters: The reasonableness of ethics

Abstract

This article will begin by examining the extent to which R. S. Peters merited the charge of analytic philosopher. His background in social psychology allowed him to become more pragmatic and grounded in social conventions and ordinary language than the analytic philosophers associated with empiricism, and his gradual shift from requiring internal consistency to developing a notion of ‘reasonableness’, in which reason could be tied to passion, grounded him in an idiosyncratic notion of ethics which included compassion and virtue as well as reason. I describe his position on ethics as a systemic one of principled pragmatism.     

Advancement of Preschoolers' Resilience: The A. R. Y. A. Project

While it is well known that resilience develops from a young age, specific interventions that might promote resilience in very young children remain to be developed. The A.R.Y.A. Project addresses 4-year-old inner-city kindergartners. The project comprises individual sessions, 20 minutes each, and group sessions (involving either part of or the entire kindergarten)—lasting altogether for an approximately 8-month period. In both the individual and group sessions, children learned and discussed various topics concerning animal stress and coping behavior. Subsequently, they are guided to adapt this knowledge to their own personal life. First-year evaluation indicates that both kindergarten teachers' and parents' evaluations as well as children's responses support the assumption that the project positively affects children's resilience.