D.Ed. / In the past number of years the practical training of apprentice aircraft technicians has undergone a major change when it moved over to Modular Criterium Based Training. The theoretical training at technical colleges did not change phenominally over the past number of years. The aircraft industries thus requested that something should be done about the overlapping of the training. This problem could be effectively attended to by the present renewal that is busy occurring in the education and training in South Africa. If the technical colleges' learning programs could be curriculated and presented as outcome based programs, as suggested by the discussion document of the Department of Education (Department of Education, 1997b), it could be to the advantage of apprentice aircraft technicians and the whole aircraft industry in the future. An outcomes based curriculum framework is suggested in this study for the design of a curriculum framework for Aircraft Theory. Guidelines were discussed on how such a curriculum framework could be designed for Aircraft Theory, but these guidelines could be used with good results on the other trade theory subjects in the technical colleges in order that these courses could also be re-curriculated to be presented as outcomes based. The curriculum framework which was determined by the suggested outcomes based framework, have a situation analysis and critical outcomes as a first step in order that specific outcomes could be determined in the next step. The assessment is done according to assessment criteria and range statements as a third step and after this the performance indicators are left to the lecturer/facilitator to, in co-operation with the learners, determine it. These different steps have a close relationship with each other and need not be determined as rigid steps which have to follow each other. A point that should be kept in mind is that the changes in technical colleges could not only be of a cosmetic nature, to present outcomes based courses the daily timetable will be different and it will have many other administrative implications. The course will concentrate much less on subjects like Mathematics, Engineering Science and Engineering Drawing, although these subjects will still be there present in them, but not with such intensity. The writer would prefer a system which is used in Germany (Bayerisches Staatsministerium far Unterricht, Wissenschaft and Kunst, 1994: 4) where the "Fachtheorie" is prominent and the "Fachrechnen" and "Fachzeichnen" are much less prominent. The necessary implications at the National Qualification Framework will have to be addressed in order that the course will enjoy recognition in this setup too. The training of apprentice aircraft technicians could be improved further if the technical colleges and the training centres of the aircraft industry would take the time to determine which training will be done in which organisation and to spell it out clearly. Furthermore they should be closely working together to the advantage of the aircraft technical apprentices and eventually to the advantage of the aircraft industry as a whole.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to make an analysis of the extent of the airplane industry in the immediate area of Fort Worth, Texas, to determine the need, if any, of adding a course in Airplane Industry to the curriculum of the Technical High School of Fort Worth, Texas.

The recent emergence and growth of the regional airlines in the United States has placed a strain on the supply of pilots that are needed for staffing scheduled flights. This present pilot shortage is presenting challenges for 2-year colleges and 4-year universities with aviation programs to produce more pilot graduates in less time to meet the staffing demands made by the regional airlines. With this shortage, the pressing issues of how to train and hire qualified pilots to fly technologically advanced regional airline jet aircraft have forced the industry to demand more aviation skills from a shrinking market of aviation pilot candidates. Colleges and universities with aviation programs have been forced to compete with outside private aviation schools on a larger scale in the training of collegiate students for airline employment opportunities. The primary purpose of this study was to expose any inadequacies in the higher-education aviation curricula and to propose changes needed to better qualify aviation students in the hiring process at regional air carriers. This study concentrated on the principle that higher education is necessary for advancing a pilot's aptitudes and abilities to perform the highly technical tasks of a professional pilot in a regional airline environment. The avenues of obtaining aviation experience along with flight certificates and ratings in an academic environment from 2-year colleges and 4-year universities with aviation programs is examined, along with qualifying these schools with the criteria regional airlines expects from new pilots hired. A survey was used to poll the pilots from two regional airlines that were based in Texas. By analyzing the responses from the returned surveys, the quality of training that existed in higher education aviation programs was revealed. The study confirmed the value of advising a path of higher education for students embarking on an aviation career as a pilot for a regional airline. The study concluded that 2-year colleges and 4-year universities with aviation programs are meeting the present demands made by the regional airlines.

This qualitative study was conducted in a large north Texas school district. The subjects were four elementary teachers who had previously attended a summer aerospace education workshop. The researcher observed in each classroom during science instruction and other areas where aerospace concepts might be taught to determine material usage, practices, and perceptions associated with teaching aerospace. The teachers' lesson planbooks, textbooks, and supplementary materials were also examined by the researcher. Interviews were conducted with each teacher's principal and the district science coordinator to determine their effects on the practices and perceptions of the subjects.