The philosophy known as Total Quality Management (TQM) is frequently presented as a way to change and improve public education. This issue of "Focus in Change" examines Deming's original 14 TQM points and their application to education. Myron Tribus lays out the core philosophy of the movement and discusses its possible application to…

An instructor's effort to internationalize a business communication course taught him much about the relationships between cognitive egocentrism and cognitive ethnocentrism. Cognitive egocentrism is the chief obstacle to be overcome in learning to write, even within a culture, while cognitive ethnocentrism is the chief obstacle to be overcome in…

In the present study, task instruction and lab data format were manipulated to explain the discrepancy between the positive linear recall function with expertise (reported by van de Wiel and others, 1993), and the generally found intermediate effect in clinical case recall. Sixteen second-year medical students, 16 fourth-year students, and 16…

A study was conducted to determine the role of technology teacher education programs in preparing new and experienced teachers for teaching and managing programs for students at risk of dropping out of school. The first part of the study focused on the methods of data collection and preliminary findings. Data were gathered through a…

The 146 instruments in this bibliography describe a variety of attitude measures designed to assess teacher-student relationships and attitudes toward various school subjects, peers, and other school concerns. Separate bibliographies on attitudes toward reading and mathematics are available. Although all ages are represented, the tests target high…

Acknowledged or not, students are curriculum theorists and critics of schooling. Useful lessons can be learned by drawing them into the dialogue about the purposes and practices of education. The addition of children's perspectives can help education become an adventure in which teachers, researchers, and children together learn new questions as…

This paper discusses implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) tactics for faculty development at Ursinus College (Pennsylvania). Emphasis is on the use of TQM to improve the marketing of faculty and institutional achievements. The paper reports that the administration's use of informal meetings has enhanced faculty initiatives in such…

Since 1991, the problem-based learning (PBL) approach has been incorporated into the distance education program culminating in a Bachelor of Building degree from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Newcastle, Australia. The Newcastle conceptual PBL model for on-campus courses was adapted to the special needs of distance learners. The…

The mother of a 16-year-old daughter with autism offers a parental perspective on coping with a child's disability. The paper emphasizes that through direct interaction with the child and the child's teacher and through taking an active role in the child's activities and achievements, the child's potential can be discovered and the child can be…

This paper describes a summer remedial program for third- and fifth-grade students administered by Valdosta State University in Georgia. The program utilizes a multi-age, multi-ability, thematic, and full-inclusion approach. Assessment of the program was based on data collected through interviews with 18 students and a survey of 28 parents. Both…

This paper uses the analogies of the Iliad and the Odyssey to examine different types of college student withdrawal behavior in the context of a study an integrated model of student retention at Angelo State University (ASU) in Texas. The study selected 824 first time freshmen of whom 343 responded to the mailed ASU Freshman Experiences survey.…

Research that identifies factors that facilitate information processing and enhance performance without reducing group confidence and decision satisfaction may influence future development of groupwork systems. This paper contains a review of the literature on cognitive and motivational issues in both group decision-making and learning contexts…

The field of instructional technology is characterized by its products, such as instructional media, and its processes, such as instructional design. The process of instructional technology has been shaped by advances in learning and instructional theory over the past 50 years. Much of the development work of the field to date has been on direct…

This collection of articles is one of several published by public television's "One PLUS One" project, a special media emphasis on mentoring and its effectiveness in helping young people. The articles reflect the belief that providing youth with adult support and guidance can strengthen their self-esteem and encourage them to achieve. The…

Working from prior findings on the relationship between transgression, intent, guilt, and other factors, researchers reviewed a series of studies of undergraduate students. The students were offered varying hypothetical scenarios in which a member in a heterosexual relationship meets a friend of the opposite sex in a bar. In each case, after…