Presents findings of a national survey regarding high school psychology instruction. Identifies the personality-developmental orientation of most courses. Reveals that most schools have one psychology teacher. Concludes that most of the teachers majored in social studies or history, and less than half are certified separately to teach psychology.…

It is argued that science's reputation as a "hard" subject can be attributed to four intrinsic features of science and/or learners. The reasons for a link between abstraction and difficulty are briefly explored. It is suggested that certain extrinsic features of science education, resulting from choices by science educators, exacerbate these…

Explores two ways of critically examining scientific knowledge in the context of a current socioscientific dispute: the unsterilized spacecraft in NASA's Galileo Mission to Jupiter. (PR)

The basic rationale for incorporating information about instructional experiences in the design and analysis of assessment data is that student ability, topic exposure, and forms of instructional exposure each contribute to student performance as measured at a given point in time. The purpose of this study is to investigate the degree of…

Questions a hypothesis from creation science dealing with mammals. Claims that, when tested, the hypothesis fails in two ways. (TW)

Examining National Center for Health statistics, questions whether fictional television accounts of teenage suicide affect the teenage suicide rate. Assesses four films about teenage suicide, nationally televised in 1984 and 1985. Accounts for holiday and temporal effects, television new stories, and large city influences. Finds that the films did…

Described is the work done with preservice science teachers in a course that aims to increase students' abilities to reflect on their own pedagogical understandings. A description of the context of the course, a clarification of the notion of reflection, and a discussion of interviewing activities are included. (30 references) (KR)

Serious attention should be paid to analysis of the ideological, social, and educational factors that influence Israel's secondary school curriculum. The values of the kibbutz and its educational system are not included in existing school courses and should be integrated into the social studies curriculum. More than 400 curricula, used in schools…

Examined is the extent to which trends found in high school biology textbooks are also found in earth science texts. Procedures, book lists, and summaries are presented. It is recommended that more emphasis be placed on the theory of evolution in future editions of earth science textbooks. (CW)

Reports on a study of 1,119 students in introductory college economics courses to determine the impact of high school economics on student achievement. Finds that prior high school economics was positively and significantly related to students grades in both introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics courses. (CFR)

Grade 11 students enrolled in a science/technology/society (STS) course, students not enrolled and their respective teachers were profiled. The results indicate that STS education rather that STS "doctrination" is the norm, the goal of "STS-literate" students has not been achieved, and the long-term retention capability of the established and…

Contends that great strides were made in improving economics education after 1961, with the release of the National Task Force on Economic Education report. Asserts that infusing economic concepts into other social studies courses is much less effective than providing a separate economics course. (CFR)

Asserts that the term "basic design" has become well known as a type of design education practiced at England's King's College and Leeds College of Art in the 1950s and early 1960s. Describes the work of James Bradley, who brought the basic design approach to Sidcot School, a secondary school in Avon. (CFR)

This paper describes a project designed to create a student literary magazine that would explore and compare the childhoods and the cultural rites of passage of Romanian, Bulgarian, and U.S. students. The time line for the grant project and the methodology used are also included. A materials list for English classes and history classes, assessment…

Described is a two-year course for non-college-bound high school students called Principles of Technology. The goals, design, and units of the course are discussed. Criticism of the course is reviewed. (CW)