Thought & Action

Call for Papers

"The Seamless Web of Education "

The Thought & Action Review Panel invites submissions for a Special Focus section in the 2008 Thought & Action. Deadline for submissions: June 1, 2008 .

More than 30 states now have some type of P-16 or P-20 commission to oversee the states' education systems from pre-kindergarten through graduate school. These commissions and, indeed, the concept of the "seamless web" of education itself raise a plethora of issues for educators at all levels of instruction.

NEA members are in a unique position to address the issues raised by this movement toward a more unified educational enterprise for our nation. We are, after all, an organization comprising teachers and education support proffessionals at all levels of learning. Yet there is a good deal of evidence that high school teachers and college teachers, whether they are NEA members or not, are not talking to one another.

NEA supports articulation agreements between secondary and postsecondary institutions and among postsecondary institutions, as long as educators from both sectors are making the academic decisions at the heart of these articulation agreements. In this distinction lies the questions we wish to discuss in this Special Focus. What should be the content of these agreements? How do higher ed members, as well as K-12 members, carry out NEA's commitment to improved access to higher education while ensuring that students are fully prepared for college when they arrive? How effective are early college high school and dual enrollment programs? What about Advanced Placement courses? Which of these programs work and which don't? What should primary and secondary school teachers be doing to better prepare their students for college? What can colleges do to help with this preparation?

There are also questions for higher ed and secondary school faculties-and staffs-about how we can work together within NEA and our state and local Associations. What are the perceptions and misperceptions that separate us? More importantly, where are we working well together, and what can others learn from that? The P-16 or P-20 movement is upon us. If we don't define the issues, someone will do it for us. Interested in sharing your insights?

In addition to Special Focus submissions, Thought & Action welcomes well-written, compelling articles on all aspects of life in the academy, especially issues of teaching and learning and professional development, as well as articles on higher education policy and union issues. Authors should send submission to the address below. Guidelines are available at www.nea.org/he/taguid.html.

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