Presents a response to "School Psychology from an Instructional Perspective: Solving Big, Not Little Problems" (this issue). The author considers specific obstacles toward problem solving, particularly in a public school system that knowingly and unknowingly throws up obstacles for school psychologists. (GCP)

Presents a response to "School Psychology from an Instructional Perspective: Solving Big, Not Little Problems" (this issue). The author supports Shapiro's arguments but worries much about the barriers that would have to be overcome to enable such a paradigm shift to occur. (GCP)

Investigates the related characteristics of asynchronous learning material used for distance education and Web-based instruction and proposes a material characteristics model. Discusses the relationship among the degree of difficulty of the material, student characteristics, and student abilities; social factors; suitability of teaching materials…

Presented are the results of surveys given to high school science students measuring their beliefs regarding four kinds of study strategies, three types of motivational orientation to science, their reported ability, and attitude toward science. (CW)

The effects of asking 48 undergraduates to generate personal examples of target concepts on learning of psychological concepts from prose were evaluated. This elaboration activity produced a significant positive effect. Elaboration processes seemed to influence the transfer of concepts to problem-solving, especially for lower ability students.…

Investigated the high academic achievement of Chinese and Japanese children as compared to American children. Members of the three cultures differed significantly in terms of parents' interest, standards, and expectations concerning academic achievement; family involvement in children's education; and parents' and children's beliefs about the…

Data from 10,000 college applicants, who had taken the Scholastic Aptitude Test-Verbal, were used to assess claims that guessing improves formula scores. Number of items attempted, a guessing index, the formula score, and an approximation of an ability score were obtained. Success in guessing is proportional to examinee ability. (TJH)

This study revealed that outstanding teachers in Indiana exhibited high academic ability in high school and college. Higher entry and retention standards in teacher preparation programs are suggested. (JD)

Explored is a practical method to measure the success of special education students using regular curriculum materials. The approach involves a strategy called Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA). CBA utilizes skill probes to provide data on a child's acquisition of basic skills. (six references) (SI)

Reviews research on the practice of ability grouping (the grouping of students for instruction by ability or achievement to create homogeneous instructional groups). Notes several negative effects of ability grouping, and discusses the implications of this research for classroom practice. (MM)

Group interviews and observations of 477 British secondary students in a personal development planning (PDP) project were analyzed. Both male and female students were highly motivated toward career success, but males had greater confidence in their self-knowledge. The quality of the PDP process was highly influenced by the skills of tutors who…

Examined differences in attainment, subject choice, attitudes toward career and family, interest and confidence in traditional and nontraditional occupations, and psychological variables between adolescent girls (n=240) categorized as careerist or noncareerist. Findings suggest that work orientation and importance of life domains may be useful…

Examined the academic literacy experiences and coping strategies of five English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students during their first semester at an American university. Results found that the students came to the United States with a battery of well-elaborated strategies for dealing with the academic work load they would face. (contains 34…

Reviews the research on cocaine use and its effect on newborns; examines the popular misconceptions, including the background of children who are exposed; and discusses interventions. The author concludes with a discussion about looking beyond prenatal drug exposure and focusing on the child. Studies looking at these children longitudinally are…

Discusses the polarized educational system that emerged in Great Britain between 1770 and 1850, based upon student mentality levels. Explains that the differing treatment of higher and lower mentalities was incorporated into a system of separate schools. Describes the system as an institutionalization of the mental and manual divisions of labor…