Examines the effectiveness and assessment of rejoinders in National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) reviews. A study of institutions successful in the accreditation process provided information about rejoinder use by NCATE and assessed factors that did or did not contribute to its effectiveness in the accreditation decision.…

The usefulness of a two-step version of the Mantel Haenszel procedure for distinguishing between differential item functioning (DIF) and item impact was studied by comparing the single-step and two-step procedures using a simulated data set. Results show changes in the identification rate for the two-step methods. (SLD)

Advocates the use by teachers of teaching journals, in which observations, insights, and useful methodologies are written down. Narrates how one teacher became regularly involved in keeping a teaching journal and the rewards of such an activity. Provides excerpts from one journal. (HB)

Studies empirically the effects on reader performance of reduced text structure in technical writing texts. Reveals that removal of cues to local coherence produced reliable decrements in reader performance. Discusses results with regard to questions of information design. (HB)

Develops strategies for encouraging students to read a variety of genres and authors. Shows how a program was organized with this end in mind. Discusses what students chose to read and their attitudes and perceptions of their reading and themselves as readers. (HB)

Reports two studies of students' perceptions of hypothetical teachers' adaptations to individual needs. Found that the Students' Perception of Teachers (SPT) Scale was appropriate for use with elementary students, but procedures for administration should be altered for elementary students. Also found that high-achieving students preferred teachers…

Investigates teacher receptivity to a proposal to relocate year 7 primary classes to secondary schools in the Western Australia Catholic school system. Receptivity was strongly and positively related to the perceived practicality of the change and moderately, positively related to the readiness of year 7 students for secondary school. (27…

Contrasts the ambivalent attitudes of teachers toward television and generalized research on teachers' uses of television, with detailed empirical evidence from primary school history coordinators describing their reactions to and expectations of the medium. The data describes a wide variety of reasons why television is educationally useful in the…

Argues that experts in philosophical and psychological paradigms can and do contribute to revisions of theories of moral excellence and that the study of prototypes has limited value for resolving some important theoretical issues. Describes research topics that can be informed by the investigation of prototypes of moral excellence, such as social…

Addresses the problems related to research design and the improper interpretation of survey results at the institutional level. Analyzes the validity of student opinion surveys. Discusses the importance of response rates. Encourages developmental educators to question results of surveys when outcomes are contrary to the findings of research…

Assessed classroom strategies using literature-based lesson models to facilitate empathy development in kindergarten and second grade. Concluded that commitment to core values such as justice, honesty, tolerance, and concern and respect for others should not be decontextualized but should be developed through direct personal experience. (Author/KB)

Compared attention, behavioral reaction, facial affect, and cardiac responses of 22 autistic and 22 mentally retarded preschoolers to emotional displays. Found that both groups looked more at the experimenter and displayed more interest and concern when the experimenter showed strong distress than when she showed neutral affect. Autistic…

Discusses a study of the moral meanings first through third graders found as they participated in literature-study groups at Valley View Elementary School (Connecticut). Defines morality and four types of "moral talk" observed in the classroom, and asserts that literature analysis offers a powerful tool for fostering moral development. Contains 14…

Explores preservice elementary teachers' literature-circle discussion of a multicultural young-adult novel with a focus on two research questions: how preservice teachers discuss a multicultural young-adult novel, and what are the views and theories that informed their understanding of literature response discussion. Participants in the discussion…

Examines the beliefs about the functions of talk with the relational partner and in social situations. Indicates that there are differences as a consequence of gender, marital status, and "marital orientation." (CR)