Descriptive data were collected over a two-month period on two middle elementary classrooms to which student teachers had been assigned. From this data typical patterns of teaching/learning behavior were identified for each classroom. The student teachers were then interchanged, and the data collection continued for another two months. Comparison…

In order to develop an ecological theory of teaching, the classroom must be viewed as a sociological unit. The unit of interest was the teacher-student learning group. The basic question explored was: What is the relationship between human interactions and the physical and social contexts of the group? Teams of scholars met in seminars, each…

Some children exhibit a pattern of debilitating behavior characterized as helplessness. Within an achievement context, such children can be observed to initiate few constructive activities, to work with little intensity on those activities already attempted, and to persist at a task only moderately--especially following failure. A stratified…

CONCEPTS AND METHODS FOR THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR SETTING ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH THE USE OF PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES FROM ECOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY. THE ECOLOGICAL SUBUNITS WITHIN A THIRD-GRADE CLASSROOM SETTING WERE IDENTIFIED AND THE QUALITIES OF THESE SUBUNITS WERE SPECIFIED. THE SYSTEM, DEVELOPED QUALITATIVELY, DESCRIBES THE…

A study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the Ramirez and Castaneda rating scale used to distinguish ethnic behaviors in schools and to generate a more comprehensive scale for identifying those behaviors. Two hundred and sixty two elementary school children and 39 teachers from Spanish bilingual and English as a Second Language…

The effect of testing on student retention was investigated to determine if it was the actual test taking, the prior preparation for the test, or the combination of studying for and taking the test which actually affected retention. Subjects were undergraduate students (N=90) who were divided into two different study conditions, i.e., test and…

Data concerning the reported offenses of suspended students in a school district in the southeastern United States are examined to determine whether the disproportionate number of black student suspensions is due to ordinary problems of decorum or to actual challenges to the authority of the school. Offenses attributed to males and to females of…

In 1970, 1974 and 1978 similar surveys of alcohol and drug use were conducted using 10% random samples of Vancouver secondary school students (grades 8-12). The reported use of alcohol increased from 61% in 1970 to 71% in 1974 and 78% in 1978, while the use of cannabis increased from 39% in 1970 to 42% in 1974 and 47% in 1978. The use of tobacco,…

The verbal behavior of teachers and students in elementary stenography classes is described. Observational data, consisting of the verbal behavior of teachers and students in 30 elementary stenography classes, were categorized and analyzed. From this initial analysis, a basic model of teacher-student behavior was defined. Deviations from the basic…

Since people do vocationally who they are without recognizing themselves if not educated to do so, the author helps youths educationally become what they want to do. This study reports a strong association between vocational aspirations and the numbers of hours adolescents study per week. (Author)

This study, employing inclusion, control, and affection as independent variables, tests empirically Schutz' (1958) three-dimensional theory of group process, using a Prisoner's Dilemma experimental analogue situation with dyads. (Author)

The school survival skills of 36 learning disabled (LD) high school students were compared with those of nonhandicapped and emotionally disturbed students. Although LD students tended to be ill prepared, inattentive, and not to volunteer comments or questions, their performance was not significantly different from that of the normal control group.…

Student questionnaires and teacher interviews provided data on 123 Chicago third graders to determine the affect of parental rejection on negative attention-seeking classroom behaviors, what particular parent might be more rejecting, and what specific negative attention-seeking behaviors might be overtly demonstrated in the classroom by sex of…

A view of the high school as ecosystem, with implications for the assessment of behavior in the high school culture." (Author/SP)

The results show that interferences occupy an impressive amount of consciousness throughout much of childhood. Despite their ubiquity and their apparent impact on the process of awareness and the content of socialization, interferences nevertheless remain ironically in the background of experience. (Author)