Environmental scanning (ES) is a formal process of assessing trends and forecasting events which can influence an institution so that the potential challenges and opportunities can be effectively anticipated during strategic planning activities. The goal of ES is the implementation of proactive, anticipatory policies that will be robust under a…

The latent structure, reliability, and item discrimination of 33 items on a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) instrument representing knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were assessed. The study sample included 311 adolescents ranging from ages 12 to 19 years. Demographic characteristics of the…

A project was designed to assist older unemployed people in London, England, with the transition to education, vocational training, and employment. The project involved the development of a local tourist guide course at Thames Polytechnic (England), the accreditation of this course, and employment of some of the participants as local tourist…

English instruction is successful when students learn to express significant ideas clearly in discussions, write with verve and grace, read with insight and enjoyment, and practice these skills beyond the realm of the classroom. This report discusses how to teach grammar and select literature in order to achieve those goals. Research and issues in…

This issue of "Network News" focuses on efforts to remedy the dropout problem. The following programs' common goal is not only to retain students through graduation, but to ensure that they acquire the skills necessary to take their place as productive members of society: (1) the Classroom Partners Project, a collaborative effort between…

A study investigated the literacy development of bilingual children as they interacted in the social context of their preschool classrooms. Subjects were 12 native Spanish speaking preschoolers in a headstart classroom. It was hypothesized that what bilingual children bring to the classroom in terms of experience, values, language, culture, and…

A study combined and compared the results of five national mail surveys of commercial radio and television stations conducted at intervals from 1976 to 1986 by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) to see how minority groups have fared in the news work force. Results indicated that in the 10 years studied, the minority share of…

Guided by interpretive ethnographic methods and by instructional leadership concepts, this comparative study of secondary principals in Japan and America discovers characteristics of excellent principals and examines their values in relation to dominant cultural themes. The investigation applies anthropologist Clifford Goertz's assumptions (1973,…

The obsolescence of university research facilities is addressed in this 1985 conference report. Seven of the major topics were potential action items for Congress and federal agencies, including approaches to facilities funding, such as acceleration of indirect cost recovery, provision of credit support, and federal funding of a national facility…

A conceptual framework for the study of teachers' sense of efficacy was used to determine the extent to which teachers believed they could influence student learning. The framework was based on an extensive review of research literature on teaching, an ethnographic comparison of 2 organizationally different middle schools, and a process-product…

This document reports on the Teacher Efficacy Study, an investigation of teachers' sense of efficacy and the extent to which teachers believe that they can have a positive effect on student learning and achievement. Chapters discuss: (1) overview of the Teacher Efficacy Study; (2) the conceptual framework used for the investigation; (3) the…

Prepared by classroom teachers, the papers in this collection synthesize their own teaching experiences with recent writing research revelations. Among the topics covered in the 37 papers are (1) computers in the English classroom, (2) values clarification and the teaching of autobiographical writing, (3) using journals, (4) grammar instruction,…

A preliminary study investigated whether regular periods of sustained silent reading (SSR) would positively affect verified silent reading comprehension scores for eighth grade students. The hypothesis tested was that students allowed 15 minutes of recreational reading (reading self selected material for enjoyment) five times a week for three…

Although there are many retrospective accounts from teachers and professional writers concerning the effect of computers on their writing, there are few real-time accounts of students struggling to simultaneously develop as writers and cope with computers. To fill this void in "testimonial data," a study examining talking-aloud protocols from a…

A substantial body of reading research indicates that poor readers would become much more successful if teachers pretended that they were actually good readers. First, research suggests that teachers should provide poor readers with more silent and less oral reading time, thereby furnishing them with more reading experience that emphasizes meaning…