Reviews a research project of 15 years ago that investigated whether children were better or worse off when they attended preschools that emphasized adult-directed instruction and the basics of reading and math rather than preschools that focused on play and exploration. Now, the most effective early childhood classrooms nurture both children's…

Several large-scale research efforts imply that improving instructional quality rather than assessing student readiness is a better way to promote student performance in the early grades. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/MLF)

Unlike the open-classroom movement, which operated on a slim theoretical base, current spiritual pedagogies reflect the work of respected theorists and researchers. The term "holistic" has advanced the idea of universal interconnectedness. Spirituality grows in classrooms when teachers act as agents of joy and conduits of transcendence, rather…

Important classroom management tasks occur during the first several weeks of the year, when the teacher establishes expectations about behavior and teaches the students the classroom procedures. (Author)

Academic press constitutes the schoolwide environmental forces pressing for student achievement, including school policies, practices, expectations, norms, and rewards. This article shows how academic press is created and how high expectations are communicated to students. (Author/JM)

Data on teacher expectation research have revealed that some teachers treat high- and low-achieving students differently and that teachers' expectations appear to be associated with student achievement. (Author)

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: The research summarized here suggests that: Children learn more than academic content from their school experiences, especially how to behave in nonfamily groups. Congruence between the school and community can contribute significantly to a sense of community among both adults and youth, but at some…

Describes how teachers manage multitask classroom activities by defining teacher and student work cycles, sorting students into attention categories by assessing their work daily, and providing assistance to students according to need. Includes figures illustrating student's and teacher's work cycles and the three levels of classroom decision…