Reviews 12 books related to social studies education in Canada. Includes history and geography textbooks, supplementary materials for student reading, descriptions of effective schools, and recommended instructional strategies for social studies teachers. (CFR)

Two Oakland University (Michigan) peer support programs have helped improve faculty performance in scholarship, teaching, and service by helping faculty cope with professional demands. One group orients the faculty member to the campus community and department and aids him/her in progress toward tenure and promotion. The second promotes…

Explains that, until the decay of the post-World War II consensus on U.S. history, the history of American Indians remained in academic limbo. Contends that the events of the 1960s, including the civil rights and antiwar movements, resulted in a strong interest in American Indian studies. (CFR)

Examines gender and ethnic differences among Jewish and Arab high school students in Israel with respect to their causal attributions for success and failure in mathematics and language examinations. Results from 333 ninth graders show larger effects of ethnicity than of gender, with effects more pronounced in success than in failure attributions.…

An attempt is made to elaborate on the connections and differences between the objective and subjective elements of mathematical knowledge using case study analysis relative to how an epistemological perspective about probability and randomness impacts upon a short classroom teaching episode. (19 references) (Author/JJK)

Discusses concepts of social agency, cultural mediation, and constitutive action for understanding inequality in schools. Describes the sociolinguistic argument about the structure of language, the interpretive school, and the demands of capitalism. Urges transcending the macro-micro or structure-agency dualism by demonstrating the situated…

Examines school district practices which affect student performance. Rather than central offices making decisions for individual schools, districts should provide a framework within which teachers and principals can participate in decision making. The article discusses central office role in leadership, curriculum, personnel, budget, faculty…

A survey of 1,720 students in 71 university science laboratory classes in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, Israel, and Nigeria investigated student and teacher perceptions of dimensions of classroom environment (student cohesiveness, open-endedness, integration, rule clarity, material environment). Results and the utility of the…

The development and administration of practical skills tests in science as part of the Second Science Study of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement are described. Scoring and sampling for Hungary, Israel, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States are reviewed. (SLD)

Examines factors associated with persistence to a second term for 796 first time, two-year college students. Demographic variables correlated with low persistence were taking nondegree courses only, enrolling part time, working full time, and being over age 40. The only academic factor related to low persistence was a first term grade point…

Investigates how the high demand for academic performance in the French school system corresponds to optimal student development. Finds the experience for students less stressful than expected. Clarifies results through analysis of students' opinions. Concludes that educational ideas and systems are heavily dependent on social context and,…

Republican Party platform statements on education address these issues: support of traditional moral values, values and public support of the arts, leadership in science and technology, commitment to space research, research and education concerning Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and civil rights. (MSE)

Proposes a framework to help course developers design criteria for optimal media deployment. The merits of radio, television, audio, video, and print are briefly compared with computer-based media and analyzed in light of six types of media characteristics: symbol system, access, controllability, student reactivity, interactivity, and adaptivity.…

A brief description is presented of the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT), its content, and its use. The SweSAT has been used for college admission in Sweden since 1977. Some related research activities, including studies of sex differences, dimensionality, and effects of test coaching, are described. (SLD)

Describes a study of medical students that was conducted to evaluate measures of performance on factual searches of INQUIRER, a full-text database in microbiology. Measures relating to recall, precision, search term overlap, and efficiency are discussed; reliability and construct validity are considered; and implications for future research are…