Summarizes recent ERIC documents and journal articles, and highlights some World Wide Web resources that describe, evaluate, or compare various curricula or instructional methods, such as Creative Curriculum, High/Scope, the Montessori Method, Waldorf Schools, and Direct Instruction. (Author)

Discusses studies that investigated the impact of the Web on student learning and compared Web-based with traditional courses. Focuses on individual differences, including gender differences and generational differences; instructional design, including interaction and electronic learning communities; and skills that are enhanced by online…

Compared conceptions of the transition to adulthood among African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and white, European Americans. Found wide support for individualistic criteria for adulthood among the three ethnic groups, but each held culturally distinctive criteria, and all three endorsed collectivistic criteria more widely than European…

Followed development of children at family risk for dyslexia from 3 years to 8 years. Found that 66 percent of high-risk group had reading disabilities at age 8 compared with only 13 percent in a control group. However, family risk of dyslexia was continuous. Interpreted findings within a model in which problems in establishing a phonological…

Studied the use of a computer-based instructional package called SuccessMaker with disruptive students to determine its effects on locus of control and grade point average. Results of pretests and posttests showed an improvement in academic outcomes when the intervention was teacher facilitated. (LRW)

This study examined influences of maternal HIV on concerns among inner-city minority families. Findings indicated that beyond concerns reported by early adolescent children of HIV-negative mothers, concerns of children of HIV-positive mothers included mothers' sickness and death, adult responsibilities, and uncertainty about their futures.…

Identified groups of economically disadvantaged children showing high externalizing behavior in first grade that persisted (persistent) or decreased (improver) in third grade, or low first- grade levels that were stable (unproblematic) or increased (new problem) in third grade. Found that verbal ability, behavioral impulsivity, parent…

International students who have learned English in the classroom have different writing problems than U.S. resident language minority students who have learned English primarily by listening. Non-native speakers need information and practice in specific areas of academic prose such as content and organization. Many language minority residents also…

Explores cost implications of residency programs within the Veterans Administration health care system, particularly the costs and benefits of residencies in family medicine, osteopathic medicine, and general dentistry, because they resemble optometric residencies most closely. Costs of an existing vision therapy residency are examined, and…

This study found that students who use college rankings are more likely to earn top grades, come from wealthy families, and be Asian-American than any other ethnic group. The survey (n=221,897 students at 432 colleges) found that only 11% of respondents saw rankings as a very important factor in college choice; 60% found them "not at…

A study of the approaches to learning of adult students in nine United Kingdom colleges of further education found them qualitatively different from those of traditional students as determined by a previous study. Results suggest that adult education courses may inculcate an educational culture inconsistent with the dominant culture in mainstream…

Contrasted effects of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) program to those of Chapter 1 programs on fourth and fifth graders' reading achievement, self-concept, and higher-order thinking skills. Found that HOTS is more effective in raising self-concept and some higher-order thinking skills in fifth grade and after two years of treatment, with…

Used grounded theory to study programs integrating special needs children in preschool classrooms. Found that the core variable emerging from comparative analysis was the role of assistant teacher; across all programs, the assistant assumed a primary caregiver relationship with the child, engaged in teaming with other teachers, and interacted with…

Describes a study comparing the characteristics of college-ready and academically underprepared community college students. Reports that underprepared students demonstrated higher levels of test anxiety and a more external locus of control, but did not differ from college-ready students in self-esteem, grade point average, or learning-study…

Effects of differences between home and child care were studied, focusing on expectations and values of caregivers and of parents of toddlers in Australia from Vietnamese, Somali, and Anglo-Australian backgrounds. Preliminary data show that parents from minority ethnic groups selected child care paralleling child's home experiences. Parents using…