Describes a model self-improvement reading course for teachers incorporating the communications model, the skills model, and the sustained silent reading model. Concludes that basic reading skills instruction led to improvement in reading skills and that lesson plans incorporating course objectives were produced. (RS)

Compares belief systems of preservice and inservice teachers, focusing on whether the two groups make instructional choices based on their theoretical orientations. Finds that practices chosen by teachers with reader-based/holistic orientations reflected their beliefs, while the practices of teachers with mastery-of-skills orientations did not.…

Three psycho-educational principles are outlined (additive bilingual enrichment principle, interdependence principle, and sufficient communicative interactive principle) to illustrate research on the maintenance of Frisian among native speakers and the development of Frisian fluency among native Dutch speakers. (Author/CB)

A model of providing direct experience of group process for counseling students is provided. Ethical considerations, advantages, and disadvantages are discussed. (Author)

Students of group dynamics (n=16) use Systematic Multiple Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG) to rate group leader and group member interaction in the videotape series "Group Work: Leading in the Here and Now." Ratings assignments were the same for all three videotapes. (JBJ)

Presents models specifically designed to help students build group cohesion, to encourage them to think and act more compassionately, and to provide them with more leadership opportunities. Describes the "just community" approach and moral dilemma methods based on Kohlberg's moral development theory. Examines school counselor's role in…

Five research principles are proposed to increase the utility of studies of college student culture: attempting to discover how group membership mediates member behavior and contributes to valued outcomes of college; using best practices of qualitative research; using flexible cognitive frameworks when collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data;…

Describes parent-child activities during storybook reading, suggesting that interactive reading (constructing meaning) is more developmentally enriching than attending to story. Found that Curacaoan mothers were more concerned with child's understanding of story than with constructing meaning. Argues that parents should be trained in dialog that…

Asserts that ethnography's development out of anthropology left it tainted with biases from colonialism and imperialism. Discusses several contemporary approaches, including critical ethnography, really useful knowledge, and action research. Suggests further incorporation of postmodernist ideas into the field of ethnography. (MJP)

Notes that achieving school readiness for all children by the year 2000 will require a reconceptualization of the concept of readiness. Reviews some of the relevant history of readiness as an area of inquiry, and details the issues surrounding readiness, including school readiness versus learning readiness, and chronological age of entry versus…

Reviews past research on teacher expectations, student motivation, classroom management, and process-outcome research. Discusses the newer trend toward research on teaching for understanding and use of knowledge and its application for curriculum development, particularly in social studies. Contains detailed tables summarizing the author's…

This article describes action-oriented teacher research in which teachers use information students reveal about the competent aspects of their lives as learners to direct their teaching efforts. The article notes methodological considerations of this approach and applications to the study of special education. (Author/DB)

This article discusses the British move towards a skills-based model in special education teacher education. Focusing on the special case of students with autism, the article offers a perspective which stresses the importance of theory, practice, specialized knowledge, and reflective teaching. (DB)

Critiques the 1990 revision of the Slosson Intelligence Test. The SIT-R is an untimed, individually administered screening instrument that assesses the mental ability of children and adults. Many of the problems with the original version have been addressed in the revised version, but with varying success. (LKS)

Graduate teacher education students reported that graduate studies had a positive impact on their views of teaching; that their colleagues resented their "new knowledge"; that part-time study enabled them to try out new ideas in the classroom; and that full-time study resulted in dissatisfaction or inability to cope with the educational…