A review of recent research in child language development examines how this research can be used to inform policy that will enhance the capabilities of English-speaking and non-English-speaking children to develop strong language skills and promote the success of at-risk children. Focus is on the research most applicable to policy planning. First,…

The purpose of a review of course materials and teaching methods in the area of adult development and learning was to identify commonalities that existed in course titles, objectives, content areas, texts, required reading, resources used, course requirements, and instructional processes. Thirty-two course syllabi and 1 curriculum guide from 24…

Intended for practitioners, this book presents a curricular framework for classroom reading and writing experiences that help students understand how reading and writing relate to reasoning and learning. The two sections of the book are organized around three major components of curriculum and how each component was realized in three Indiana…

Data from science and mathematics tests administered to 12th graders in Massachusetts were analyzed to compare the use of multiple-choice items with that of open-ended questions. Specifically, the study was designed to determine the statistical equivalence of the two types of test items, the information yielded by the items, and the grounds upon…

Four experiments were conducted to determine if the California Critical Thinking Skills Test--College Level (CCTST) measured the growth in critical thinking (CT) skills achieved by college students completing approved CT courses. The experiments, conducted at California State University (Fullerton) involved 1,169 college students in 5 courses with…

Intended for teachers in Tasmania, this booklet discusses the importance of providing well chosen books for children at an early age. The booklet suggests that from the earliest years, in home and school, the young child needs a supply of books that are read aloud by adults who encourage the child to talk about the story and the child's experience…

Arguing that the use of peer groups in a writing classroom theoretically supports the goals of the paradigm shift from emphasis on written product to writing process that has occurred in recent years, this paper examines the complexities confronting teachers who attempt to use groups for instructional purposes. Following a brief introduction, the…

A compendium of reading instructional practices from approximately 1950 through 1970, this compilation of essays supplies a theoretical background of the reading discipline for elementary and secondary school reading instructors. The five articles deal with different aspects of the reading curriculum. "The Basics in the Reading Curriculum"…

Commercially developed basal reading programs are used in most elementary school classrooms in the United States. Yet often neither the publishers developing these programs nor the members of textbook adoption committees selecting programs are able to take advantage of the best available knowledge about the reading process and reading instruction.…

The articles in this journal issue explore current theories of the reading/writing relationship and practices in writing instruction. The titles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Cognitive Processes in Writing and Reading" (Roderic C. Botts); (2) "Brainstorming and Writing" (Brock Dethier); (3) "Group Writing:…

To obtain rural school superintendents' assessment of research needs, questionnaires were sent in 1986 to 752 superintendents from schools with less than 1,000 K-12 student population. The questionnaires, adapted from the research agenda of the Rural Education Association (REA), consisted of 51 research topics grouped under 9 thematic categories.…

A study investigated how text features influence the amount of vocabulary knowledge students acquired incidentally while reading expositions. Three sets of text features were identified from studies on comprehension: (1) features associated with the macrostructure, (2) features associated with logical and temporal relations in the microstructure,…

Teachers' utilization of personal practical knowledge in effecting school reform was analyzed in a three-year project in a Toronto inner city elementary school. The major unit of study was the school, investigated through the eyes of teachers, principal, and other people responsible for school policy. The study was pursued in the context of the…

Teachers' utilization of personal practical knowledge in effecting school reform was analyzed in a three-year project in a Toronto inner city elementary school. The major unit of study was the school, investigated through the eyes of people responsible for school policy. The study, presented in four volumes, focused on the school board's Race…

A study examined the nonformal extension education impacts of farming systems research in three prototype areas in rural Lesotho. The extension education programs that were carried out in Lesotho from 1979 through 1984 in conjunction with a farming systems research development strategy were found to have tentative, but indicative, impacts on…