Examines whether low-income preschool children's peer play interactions relate to learning behaviors and problem behaviors, and differ according to age and gender. Positive interactive play behavior was associated with active engagement in classroom learning activities, whereas disconnection in play related to inattention, passivity, and lack of…

Factors that make teaching and teacher education so difficult include: client cooperation; compulsory clientele; emotion management; structural isolation; and chronic uncertainty about teaching effectiveness. Issues that make teacher education particularly difficult include: the long apprenticeship of observation; ordinary skills and knowledge;…

Discusses problems with the zero tolerance policy and exclusionary discipline in schools, describing how one Kentucky school district formed a continuum of services to support students with behavioral problems, using exclusionary models as a last resort. Students are taught the skills they need to solve their problems and get along with others…

Discusses the limitations of "The Academic Ethic and College Grades: Does Hard Work Help Students to 'Make the Grade'?" by William Rau and Ann Durand. States that it is partly a replication of the author's research, performed with three colleagues, on the association between the amount of studying by students and their grades. (CMK)

Responds to the article "Students' Effort and Reward in College Settings" by Howard Schuman. States that there were two reasons why the author and Ann Durand did not copy Schuman et al.'s research design: (1) key questions on study hours contains serious flaws; and (2) the research lacks a theory. (CMK)

Offers cultural explanations of communication reluctance in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language classroom in Vietnam. Investigates what actually happens in the mind of the students when they first join a course, and explores how the lack of verbal performance in the language classroom reflects what they deem appropriate in their own culture.…

Studied how early childhood teachers think about and use child observation in Australian and U.S. classrooms. Uses in U.S. settings included assessing academic progress and adjusting curriculum/teaching strategies. Uses in Australian settings included identifying individual strengths and weaknesses, and informing work with parents and other…

Argues against a definition of poststructural theory as generating inaction and as antithetical to concepts such as "agency" and "choice." Suggests that poststructuralist theory may have implications for practice by examining the practices in regular schools and a school for "behaviorally disturbed" children. (CMK)

Coaching behaviors can be modified to improve the coach-athlete relationship. Systematic observation can provide positive feedback to athletes/physical education students. Seven steps in the process of systematic observation include deciding what behaviors to observe, defining those behaviors, selecting appropriate coding techniques, determining…

Investigates relationships among a diverse sample of elementary students' social skills, problem behaviors, academic competence, and academic achievement. Results indicate that social skills are positively predictive of concurrent levels of academic achievement and problem behaviors are negatively predictive of concurrent academic achievement.…

Examines the reciprocal nature of contributions made by 36 pairs of English infant school peers as they worked in classroom task groups. Indicates that year two children were significantly more responsive and demonstrated a great capacity for extended reciprocal interaction. Discusses the relational findings that children develop the ability to…

Presents a study where 33 children with a range of intellectual disabilities who participated in a transition program embedded within a model inclusive preschool program were enrolled in mainstream kindergarten classes from 1995 to 1999. Explains that classroom survival skills, on-task behavior, and following teacher directions were measured.…

To determine the extent to which teachers typically employ praise in their classroom teaching, provides a review and analysis of the research literature on teachers' classroom use of approval/praise and disapproval/reprimand. States that praise for appropriate classroom social behavior is rarely observed. Includes references. (CMK)

Discusses federal district court decision dismissing suit brought by three Texas high school students claiming that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when police, at request of administrators, entered school and rounded up, handcuffed, and detained them and 11 other students who "hung out" with a student arrested…

Reviews research that finds teachers assigned to smaller classes do not significantly alter the instructional methods they used in larger classes. (PKP)