For the last half century, higher spending and many modern reforms have failed to raise the achievement of students in the United States to the levels of other economically advanced countries. A possible explanation, says Herbert Walberg, is that much current education theory is ill informed about scientific psychology, often drawing on fads and…

Improving Schools to Promote Learning is a concise and common-sense examination of all the moving parts that drive student learning. The book ties together the research, policies, and practices relative to the state, district, school, classroom, and family, and explains their effects on student learning. The author covers an array of topics,…

Research was carried out on Japanese children in the United States to test the hypothesis of early age sensitivity in second language learning. The results did not support this hypothesis. Acquisition proceeded at a fast rate initially, but the amounts of gain diminished with time. (CFM)

To test the hypothesis that learning depends on the influence and interaction of three primary variables--instruction, learner aptitude, and learning environment--an explanatory model was tested during the 1967-68 school year in an experiment conducted with the cooperation of a simple random sample of 56 teachers drawn from the National Science…

To examine the relationship between time and in-school learning, the authors review a number of empirical and theoretical studies covering all educational levels. They discuss the methods and interpretations of the empirical studies, the effects of time on learning outcomes and of other variables on time-on-task, and the incidence of diminishing…

Fourteen dimensions of the social climate of learning of high school classes were examined in their relationships to the size of the classes concerned. Two data samples included in the study were 149 classes participating in the 1967 evaluation of the Harvard Project Physics course and 61 classes in the Montreal Metropolitan area in a variety of…

Presents the procedures, results, and conclusions of a study designed to determine (1) the relations between physics teachers' knowledge of their subject and student learning on 17 cognitive, affective, and behavioral criteria, and (2) the interaction of teacher achievement with prior student achievement. Subjects were 36 teachers and their…

A synthesis of 15 empirical studies shows that homework consistently benefits elementary and secondary students' achievement and attitudes, especially if it is commented upon or graded. (MCG)

Eight of the hypotheses supported by the Harvard data were again supported in the Montreal sample, though only two of the replications reached statistical significance. (Authors)

Desegregation does not appear to be a significant factor promoting learning. Rather, more individual attention to students in the schools and educational support and stimulation at home (irrespective of race or social status) can greatly boost student achievement. (Author/GC)

To gauge the relationship between intellectual ability and learning, the authors review the work of 20 theorists and analyze empirical correlations at both the elementary and secondary school levels. Intellectual ability is defined in the paper as including intelligence, prior learning, special aptitudes, and other cognitive characteristics. The…

Reviews science education research in grades 6-12 related to the constructs of student motivation, home or family environment, and peer-group environment. Science education literature (1964-1979) from several sources was examined and correlations made between construct variables and science learning. (CS)

The purpose of this analysis is to provide an estimate of the mean correlation of home environment measures with learning measures across studies and to indicate sample and study characteristics associated with different magnitudes of correlation. University of Chicago studies of behavioral processes and British investigations of parental…

Identifies and estimates the influence of educational, psychological, and social factors on learning, using evidence from 61 research experts, 91 meta-analyses, and 179 handbook chapters and narrative reviews. Results suggest an emergent base for school learning, with proximal (psychological, instructional, and home environment) variables exerting…