Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

330 results found

Marshall Islands

(Encyclopedia)Marshall Islands, officially Republic of the Marshall Islands, independent nation (2015 est. pop. 53,000), in the central Pacific. The Marshalls extend over a 700-mi (1,130-km) area and comprise two m...

progressive education

(Encyclopedia)progressive education, movement in American education. Confined to a period between the late 19th and mid-20th cent., the term “progressive education” is generally used to refer only to those educ...

race

(Encyclopedia)race, one of the group of populations regarded as constituting humanity. The differences that have historically determined the classification into races are predominantly physical aspects of appearanc...

Luther, Martin

(Encyclopedia)Luther, Martin, 1483–1546, German leader of the Protestant Reformation, b. Eisleben, Saxony, of a family of small, but free, landholders. At Wittenberg the iconoclasts under Carlstadt had institut...

Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Sicily sĭsˈĭlē [key], Ital. Sicilia, region (1991 pop. 4,966,386), 9,925 sq mi (25,706 sq km), S Italy, mainly situated on the island of Sicily, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the we...

international language

(Encyclopedia)international language, sometimes called universal language, a language intended to be used by people of different linguistic backgrounds to facilitate communication among them and to reduce the misun...

type

(Encyclopedia)type, for printing, was invented in China (c.1040), using woodblocks. Related devices, such as seals and stamps for making impressions in clay, had been used in ancient times in Babylon and elsewhere....

teacher training

(Encyclopedia)teacher training, professional preparation of teachers, usually through formal course work and practice teaching. Although the concept of teaching as a profession is fairly new, most teachers in indus...

Vatican Council, First

(Encyclopedia)Vatican Council, First, 1869–70, the 20th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church (see council, ecumenical), renowned chiefly for its enunciation of the doctrine of papal infallibility. Tw...

vocational education

(Encyclopedia)vocational education, training designed to advance individuals' general proficiency, especially in relation to their present or future occupations. The term does not normally include training for the ...

Browse by Subject