Examined individual growth rates in definitional skill over a period of 3 to 6 years, for 68 low-income children. Results of the study support the notion that definitional skill is related to being part of an academic culture; low-income mothers, whose formal schooling is complete, generally do not give oral definitions to simple nouns as well as…

Presents a word and number puzzle designed to familiarize students with law terms and their definitions. The puzzle consists of definitions followed by a sequence of numbers. The law term fitting the definition can be revealed by applying a number-letter key that is provided. Suitable for copying as a handout. (MJP)

History (embodied in Horace Mann's "nonsectarian" Protestant practices) reminds us that today's "generalized spirituality," if encouraging students to explore the inner life and ultimate questions, will not free public schools from anti-Establishment Clause claims. However, First Amendment neutrality does not mean being neutral…

A study explored the extent to which the characteristics and experiences of 46 mental-health professionals, 48 legal professionals, 60 medical professionals, 49 educators, 61 parents, and 59 nonparents, influenced their definitions of abuse and neglect. Results indicate professional experience with child maltreatment has greater influence than…

Provides definitions of various types of studies used to measure the impact of interventions with children having speech, language, and hearing disorders. Describes studies initiated by the American Speech Language Hearing Association to evaluate various interventions. (DB)

Explores principals' leadership role by examining the business and general leadership literature. Applies Robert Katz's framework of technical, conceptual, and human skills to key organizational concepts and themes described by several writers (James MacGregor Burns, John Gardner, Stephen Covey, James Kouzes and Barry Posner) and the U.S. Managers…

The new curriculum for South Africa's schools is used to examine the use of the terms "paradigm" and "paradigm shift" in education. It is argued that, in this case, the scientific characteristics of the terms are being violated: that no macro-paradigm shift has occurred as a result of the introduction of outcomes-based…

A data-management system adhering to seven principles (concerned with defining and measuring characteristics and their interrelationships) is feasible and exists in parts, if not as an integrated whole. Present data-collection and reportage systems lack the real-time, analytic longitudinal characteristics that contemporary technology promises and…

An administrator trainer/former superintendent's experience suggests that corporate governance models don't fit the reality of school governance in many districts. Elected board members define their roles differently than their business counterparts and derive little or no monetary benefit from public service. The "new breed" resemble…

This article argues that British Received Pronunciation (RP) is inconsistently defined, arbitrary, and anachronistic, and that it should be replaced as an instructional concept by British Pronunciation (BP), which would be based on an actual and adequate descriptive phonetics, called here "Realphonetik." Contains 77 references. (MDM)

Describes and distinguishes between symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder without (ADD) and with hyperactivity (ADHD). Notes that confusion exists in distinguishing between problems related to ADD and ADHD and problems related to other causes. A fictitious case study demonstrates problems of families with children with ADD and ADHD. A multimodal…

Examines how the word "professionalization" is used within the social and political contexts in which teaching occurs, both historically and in current debates over educational reform. Argues that professionalization itself has no intrinsic meaning but is defined by the social, political, and economic relationships of a given society.…

Outlines the Association of Departments of English's position on: (1) the balance between teaching and scholarship in the lives of professors; (2) the use of outside reviewers for personnel decisions; (3) class size and workload for college and university English teachers; and (4) use of part-time and full-time adjunct faculty. (TB)

This study evaluated 150 elementary students previously referred to school study teams for possible learning disability (LD) as defined by a discrepancy between IQ and performance on a standardized achievement test. Comparison with actual school-based decisions found fewer than half of students certified as LD by local schools evidenced the…

Discussion of J. Renzulli's Enrichment Triad and School Enrichment Models finds them supportive of broader inclusion of students from diverse backgrounds yet notes the continued under representation of such students in programs for the gifted. It suggests that addressing the models' implications for access, generalization, long-range impact, and…