Exploring multilingualism as a complex, context-related, societal and individual phenomenon, this book centres around perspectives on how multiple languages are made (in)visible within educational settings in the Global North. The authors of each chapter compare and contrast findings across geographical contexts with the goal of understanding the…

Background: The relation between academic self-concept and achievement has been examined in a large number of studies. The majority of these studies have found evidence for a reciprocal effects model. However, there is an ongoing debate on how students' achievement should be measured and whether the type of achievement indicator (grades, tests,…

The present study explores teachers' attitudes toward the gifted and gifted education. Specifically, the authors examine whether teachers tailor their responses about attitudes toward the gifted to fit the perceived interests of the researcher. In addition, the authors examine several potential predictors of attitudes toward the gifted: training…

Nationally, disabled persons have more than twice the college drop-out rate and only half the attendance rate of the non-disabled population. In 1990 a study was conducted at Gavilan Community College to investigate the relationship of five self-concept constructs to students' academic ability, persistence, disability status and other selected…

Psychological predictors of self-concept, behavior problems, and social competence of 55 siblings of developmentally disabled children were compared with those in 55 siblings of nondisabled children. Distinct psychological predictors for children with developmentally disabled siblings included parental stress and resources, perceived family social…

Twenty-four children (aged 7-16 years) with seizure disorders (SD) were compared to 30 children with diabetes mellitus (DB) and 30 children with no chronic illness. Using a variety of assessment devices, the children were compared on intelligence, academic achievement, attention, memory, perceived competence, and parents' perceptions of child and…

Free speech of subjects with somatization and paranoia was analyzed to identify and compare self-concept dimensions reflected in their lexical choices. The somatization disorder group conveyed a sense of negativism, distress, and preoccupation with an uncertain self-identity. The paranoid patients portrayed an artificially positive, grandiose…

This study found that, although the mental representations of 20 sexually abused and 20 physically abused females (ages 7-12) did not differ, the internal images of the abused groups differed from images of 20 nonabused but distressed children. Thus it is abuse, and not simply family distress, that results in impaired object relations. (Author/JDD)

This article reports on a study that investigated the dual characteristics of willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2): trait-like WTC and situational WTC. By adopting methods of classroom observation, participant interviews and questionnaires, consistency between L2 learners' self-report WTC and their actual WTC behavior in an…

Derives a positive personality profile of model school media specialists through a modified case study approach and compares this profile with stereotypical views of librarians from previous research. Communication abilities of media specialists are examined, and recommendations for further use of the methodology are made. (CDD)

A study in a remote, rural, mid-Atlantic school system assessed how teachers regarded the curriculum and their instructional needs; 226 personnel directly related to instructional services responded to the questionnaire, 42 were interviewed, and 72 were observed in classroom settings. Teachers generally rated themselves much more favorably than…

Discusses a study that compared the effects of selected aspects of a discipline-based approach to ceramic instruction with a child-centered approach. Makes comparisons in relation to fifth grade students' self-concepts, attitudes toward art, knowledge of art, and the aesthetic quality of modeled human figures and ceramic vessels. (KM)

Cognitive and communicative skills of library school students and health science students were compared using two self-reporting cognitive style inventories. Differences were found between the groups in oral, written, and nonverbal communication, and reasoning patterns, which may result in poor communication when librarians deal with health…

Interviews with 15 ninth and tenth grade students with learning disabilities (LD), their parents, and their resource teachers determined that the Self-Advocacy Plan is an effective program clarifying students' perceptions of their roles as learners with LD, increasing their understanding of LD as a condition, and developing awareness of…

Findings are presented which provide information about the extent to which fundamental schools (learning in a highly structured setting with instructional emphasis placed on "basic" subjects) at the elementary and junior high school levels in a large school system in Virginia have achieved their objectives. In this report, four schools…