This report explores the status of the teaching of psychology as a separate course on the pre-college level and examines the nature of the differences between urban-suburban and rural teachers, their courses, and their classes. One hundred sixty-two urban-suburban and 166 rural school teachers in Illinois were surveyed via questionnaires. Students…

The purpose of this study was to describe elementary preservice teachers' difficulties with understanding algebraic generalizations that were set in an authentic context. Fifty-eight preservice teachers enrolled in an elementary mathematics methods course participated in the study. These students explored and practiced with authentic, hands-on…

Following a widespread national trend, in 1996, a new two-credit hour course titled "Introduction to Civil Engineering" was introduced at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). The class has a one-hour lecture per week, and a two-hour lab or small group session. One reason for the introduction of this class was to provide earlier…

The purpose of this study was to determine the most effective way to prepare teacher candidates to work with English learners and students with disabilities by surveying teacher candidate perceptions regarding their preparation. A forty-item instrument was developed probing teacher candidates? perceptions of their level of preparation for working…

The Task Force on School Health and Teacher Education presents a a report on the accomplishments of the objectives for which it was formed: (1) to develop a position statement on School Health and Teacher Education; (2) to identify states that incorporate health/health education as a requirement in their programs for the preparation of teachers;…

This paper looks at the state of education in knowledge management (KM). It reports findings from a study of knowledge management courses included in the curriculum of academic disciplines of business, computing, and information that was conducted at the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Based on a review of course descriptions…

Recent research on the effects of women's studies courses has indicated that there are two general approaches to teaching: a concern for competence or mastery and a concern for personal change and advocacy. It was hypothesized that students taking a psychology of women course would become more androgynous and masculine in sex-role concept, more…

Learning style is a composite of those elements that serve as a relatively stable indicator of how a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment. This paper presents quantitative data related to learning styles and qualitative data related to learning environments which could suggest changes in biology courses and…

As the number of microcomputers in schools increases, it becomes more important for staff to provide opportunities for student use. When viewed as an innovation, student use of computers in schools can be susceptible to the same implementation problems as any innovation. Attitude is one factor that can influence success of implementation. In order…

This study examined effects of a Dalton Junior College (Georgia) student success course, Dalton College Studies 101 (DCS 101) since it was first offered in 1987. The course meets twice a week, is strictly elective, and carries institutional credit. All students were first-time students and since most students enroll during the Fall quarter, only…

Despite increasing graduation requirements and the limited vocational offerings in rural schools, many rural high school students still enroll in vocational education courses. This study examined factors influencing the decisions of rural Ohio high school students to select vocational education courses. In spring 1988, an interview and…

This study was conducted to determine how to know what online students learned in an educational administration program and whether it was comparable to what students learned in traditional (on ground) classes. The focus was on the educational administration program at National University, California. Surveys of 21, 47, and 11 online students were…

This study measured the extent to which physical education student teachers demonstrated each of 39 role competencies. Eighty one college seniors were assigned to public schools for teaching experience. The student teachers, cooperating teachers, and college supervisors pretested and posttested the competency statements for each student teacher,…

The purpose of this research was to describe and better understand the ethical experiences of graduate and undergraduate, male and female college students attending a university in a rural location of a mid-eastern state. A survey was created to determine the ethical activities of college students. A total of 2,718 surveys were completed.…

The relationship between attrition and choice of major was studied at Western Illinois University. A secondary purpose was to determine whether measures of accademic ability, as well as curricular choice, will provide a basis for determining if attrition is likely to occur. Entering freshmen in the summer and fall terms of 1974, 1975, and 1976…