The study investigates mathematics lesson plans that teachers produced for re-teaching purposes. Its goal is to determine which aspects of mathematics-content knowledge are expressed in lesson plans on the topic of fractions prepared by primary math teachers and intended for underachieving students, and to see how these aspects are manifested. The…

Researching students' responses to tasks at different year levels and in varied curriculum contexts can provide insights that relate their understandings to prior learning experiences and teaching approaches. In this article, we discuss evidence of students from three curriculum contexts (English, Australian, and Israeli) (n = 350) ways of…

The present study is embedded in the contextual approach of acculturation research. It examines teachers' attitudes and behaviors, teachers' expectations as well as their teaching practices as risk and resource factors in minority students' school adjustment. The study applies the method of content analysis and uses a deductively developed and…

Examined Israeli secondary school teachers' beliefs regarding low-achieving students and instruction in higher order thinking. Interviews indicated that nearly half of the teachers considered higher order thinking inappropriate for low-achieving students. Their beliefs related to their general theory of instruction. Viewing learning as…

The United States identifies a far larger percentage of students for special-education services than do other developed countries, including Israel, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Japan, and Korea. Looming behind the U.S. figures are the possibility of lawsuits, mounting paperwork, student discipline problems, lower expectations for student…

Describes the development of the Readiness Inventory (RI), a measure of readiness for first grade. The RI was completed on 139 first-grade children and analyzed using a model of Item Response Theory. Findings indicate that behaviors dealing with academic skills are less indicative of readiness than abilities dealing with role-governed behaviors or…

Study investigated the detection of teacher expectancy effects across language and cultural boundaries. Students and teachers rated taped samples of foreign teachers talking about or to high-expectancy and low-expectancy students, focusing on facial expressions and body language. Teachers had distinctive nonverbal styles, even when language and…

This study investigated the within-classroom uniformity of elementary students' perceptions of teachers' differential behavior, examining students at different achievement levels. Surveys indicated that achievement groups differed in perceptions of learning climate, negative reactions to teachers, and perceptions of teachers' differential behavior…

This Israeli study hypothesized that elementary teachers would make more instructional efforts toward pupils needing little control, i.e., high achieving pupils, and more efforts at socialization of low-achieving pupils. Students completed mathematics and reading tests. Teachers completed a survey about how they directed their instructional and…

Using an environmental approach, Israeli researchers compared an experimental high school that emphasized respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness to a conventional high school. Social climate surveys of students and teachers indicated experimental classes had more perceived teacher support and less competition. The environmental instrument…

Teachers of low-achieving homogeneous, high-achieving homogeneous, and academically heterogeneous classes in elementary and junior high schools in Israel were interviewed to determine their allegiance to academic, personal, and social goals for students. In contrast to results of U.S. research, academic goals dominated for teachers in all…

The purpose of this study is to elaborate the issue of exemplary teaching in chemistry in the context of a centralized educational system, in which chemistry curriculum development and implementation are also centrally controlled. Students' perceptions of the learning environment were also investigated. (KR)

Examines children's perception of themselves and their social world when experiencing academic failure. Studies showed that after academic failure various groups demonstrated higher levels of disruptive and hyperactive behaviors, reported more loneliness, less coherence, and lower peer acceptance than others. Discusses the possible impact on…

Changing demographic patterns present teachers with students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, learning abilities, family structures, and linguistic traditions. This study assessed the impact of classroom diversity on Israeli teachers' perspectives of the their workplace. Generally favorable perceptions of multiculturalism in the abstract conflict…