This study assessed factors contributing to global program quality in 180 community-based child-care centers in North Carolina. Inclusive early-childhood programs scored higher on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. Other predictors of global program quality included teacher education, professional experience, and teacher self-ratings of…

Examined whether indexes of verbal imprecision could be quantified and used to predict changes in fifth graders' problem-solving performance. Found that four types of verbal imprecision predicted improved performance: false starts and self-repairs, deletions, long pauses, and metacognitive comments. Results suggested that adopting a new approach…

Examines the extent of attainment of managerial skills through distance education, the impact of multimedia on career of learners and the influence of acquired managerial skills on the managerial performance. Findings revealed that the multimedia materials helped greatly in the development of managerial skills, which facilitates the performance of…

Determines when U.S. children begin to self-handicap, that is, to reduce preparation effort before evaluations. Finds that the high-self-esteem third graders acted adaptively by practicing more for the evaluation task, while the high-self-esteem sixth graders prepared more only if they had been reminded of their personal resources beforehand. (CMK)

Studied 8- and 11-year-olds as evaluators of peer group entry and limited resources. Found older children evaluated peers more positively than did younger for limited resources conflicts. Found all children evaluated the focal peer's intentions during group entry more negatively than intentions during limited resources and evaluated peer responses…

Compared the rational quality of fourth-graders' discussion of literary texts with an ideal model and over the course of the academic year. Analyzed the collaborative reasoning capabilities of 6 three-student groups using a graphical coding system with an analysis of the literary content of the students' argumentation. Identified important…

Discusses the Essentials Project that began in 1994 involving 20 teachers in creating standards for history and social science in secondary education in Ontario (Canada). Provides the standards, learning outcomes, and performance tasks focusing on why the particular learning outcomes were chosen and issues for social studies teachers. (CMK)

Discusses English acquisition in children with severe to profound hearing impairments. Components that should be integrated during language acquisition are discussed and include phonology, semantics, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics. The mixture of learning conditions that influence the progress of language development in sign, speech, and text…

Describes the factors that influence children's competence when they are being interviewed about sexual abuse and discusses ways in which investigative interviewers can maximize the quality and quantity of information they obtain from alleged witnesses and victims. Strategies for developing rapport and eliciting factual information are described.…

A five-year longitudinal study compared postschool outcomes for 1985 and 1990 graduates with behavior disorders and their peers. Employment rates for graduates with behavior disorders were lower at two of the 10 data collection points, engagement rates were lower at six points, and rates of postsecondary degree attainment were lower. (Author/CR)

Interactions and performances of 10 high-achieving third- and fourth-grade students on complex mathematics tasks were studied as a function of paring with other high-achieving (homogeneous) or low-achieving (heterogeneous pairing) students. Homogeneous dyads operate more collaboratively, generate more cognitive conflict, and create better quality…

Investigated gender differences in the spatial abilities of mental rotation, spatial visualization, spatial perception, and relationships between spatial abilities and spatial activity participation in 161 Norwegian technology students and 293 social science students. Implications of results for occupational performance are discussed. (SLD)

A study investigated the motivational characteristics of 36 adolescents with learning disabilities (LD), 26 students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD), and 53 typical students. Students with LD appeared more alienated and oriented to avoiding work, whereas students with EBD reported significantly more feelings of test anxiety. Gender…

A comparison of 33 Australian adolescents with Down syndrome who did not receive early intervention services and 41 adolescents with Down syndrome who had received early intervention services found no significant difference between the two cohorts in cognitive functioning. Socioeconomic status, mothers' education, and gender were predictors of…

Examined whether motivational goals influence the participation and performance of low-achieving students during collaborative problem solving with a high achieving partner. Results for 35 pairs of fourth and fifth graders indicate that low-achieving students for whom results were more salient learned more than low achievers who showed no such…