This report is an overview of recent research on the effects of class size on the academic performance and behavior of students at risk. In several ways it is not a conventional literature review. It emphasizes one recent large-scale investigation, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student-Teacher-Achievement-Ratio), begun in 1985. It is more evaluative…

This monograph examines the issue of school violence and the ways to eliminate it. The goal is to return schools to their status as safe havens for children to learn, achieve, and acquire the skills they need to become successful and productive adults. Section I defines school violence and reviews data on its prevalence. Section II discusses…

The author of this study collected data from occupational students in a large urban community college. All students were participating in a vocational skills laboratory (SAIL) supported by state funding. The Study Behavior Inventory (SBI) was administered to 100 students and demographic data was collected. Individual reports for each student…

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the 10- to 19-year-old population in Oregon. The suicide rate has increased more than five-fold in the last three and one-half decades. This trend can be reversed by developing an understanding of the characteristics, behaviors, and events associated with suicide in at-risk youth. The Youth Risk…

The purposes of this study were to describe the validation of a new instrument, the Teacher Communication Behaviour Questionnaire (TCBQ) and to show its use in assessing students' perceptions of their interactions with their teachers by focusing on their teachers' communicating behaviors. Participants were 1,202 students in grades 7 through 9 from…

This study analyzed base-year student data files from the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) cross-sectionally to identify relationships between school violence and student achievement in reading and mathematics. The analysis identified student behavior variables related to three measures of school violence: (1) personal…

Studied the effects of implicit instruction, explicit instruction, and values clarification instruction. All treatment groups reported significantly higher knowledge scores than did the control group, but only the explicit instruction treatment was able to produce any changes in attitudes or behavior. (Author)

Reviews the social-psychological research pertaining to female-headed families published between 1970-1980. Literature indicates that theoretically children do not need the presence of the same-sex/opposite-sex parents in the family to develop sex-role behavior. Suggests children in female-headed families are likely to have good emotional…

Measured the impact of counselor trainee stereotyping of ethnic groups. Anglo-American and minority counseling psychology students made judgments about the relationship between ethnicity and stereotypic characteristics. Findings suggest Anglo-American trainees were more susceptable to the influence of stereotypes when processing information about…

Discusses questionnaire survey of parental concern about childrens' behaviors, attitudes, privileges, and practices, and some of the factors which influence their social values and behaviors. Suggests that parental surveys can help in determining norms of behavior for specific communities, age groups, or schools holding particular philosophies.…

The assessment of behavior patterns and levels of functioning of visually handicapped students is essential for establishing effective educational programs. The article discusses the factors in formative assessment, the types of data to be collected, and the most appropriate measurement instruments that are available to evaluate a variety of…

A study of 443 college faculty in English, biology, mathematics, and psychology in 163 institutions found gender, discipline, and some contextual variables to be the most significant predictors of faculty teaching paradigms. In addition, teaching paradigms were reflected in the frequencies of instructional behaviors reported by the faculty…

Proposes a four-step plan for a child care center director to defuse a parent's anger: listen carefully; make sure the problem is well understood; acknowledge the parent's feelings; and explain the plan of action. Suggests that directors should let teachers and parents work together to correct and prevent problems. (AA)

Sixth graders (n=192) participated in a study that compared the effects on behavior and achievement of cooperative learning with group members trained to facilitate each other's learning and cooperative learning in which members did not receive such training. Training resulted in positive effects on achievement and behavior. (SLD)