Use and non-use of assistive technology by people with physical disabilities were explored. Also examined were the beliefs subjects held about technology use and the quality of their lives. The study began in 1986 with five women with severe cerebral palsy and five men with spinal cord injuries. All participants were equipped with one or more…

The relationship between teachers' personality factors and their willingness to comply with administrative directives is examined in this report. A random sample of 200 elementary school teachers in Mississippi received mailed questionnaires, of which 158, or 79 percent, responded. Survey instruments included the Wilkes and Blackbourn Zones of…

This guide is intended to help people improve their reading, writing, and numeracy skills within existing organizations, services, or community activities. It is divided into two sections. The first gives some background information on literacy in Canada, adult learners, and the rationale for integrating learning into existing opportunities. The…

Changing the school environment to enhance student motivation and achievement is described in this paper, which focuses on broad structural change within the school. Current motivation theory is applied at the school level for lasting school reform. A collaborative project among university researchers, school leaders, and school staff in one…

As drill and practice programs in computer assisted instruction (CAI) in English give students a chance to test their understanding and free the teacher from test grading, they seem a legitimate if unexciting use of the computer; but what seems less defensible is that, according to some estimates, 90% of available CAI software is of this drill and…

Returning adult students enrolled in graduate programs at the University of Wisconsin's School of Education and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences were studied. The sample of 25 male and 48 female students were 25 years of age and older, U.S. citizens, and had been out of school for 3 years. Students completed a biographical assessment,…

"Teachers Express" (formerly titled "Bright Ideas") is a regular feature carried by the "Instructor" magazine and is designed for the in-a-hurry elementary classroom teacher who likes to stash a few good ideas away before an occasion demands one. These quick tips submitted by teachers are intended to spark interest,…

Changes in attitude, motivation, and values take place in the academic, athletic, and social areas of student-athletes' lives during their freshman year of college. Twenty incoming college freshman athletes involved in "revenue" sports (football, basketball, and ice hockey) participated in this study and were interviewed in the fall and again in…

Arranged into three parts, the paper offers practical and motivating techniques for resource persons, particularly in legal education, who have been invited to make presentations in the schools. The first part of the paper prepares resource persons for giving successful presentations by increasing their awareness of educational objectives being…

Traditional reading placement tests, determining the level at which students can read without teacher mediation, frequently lead to student underplacement. Diagnostic teaching practices, however, can be used to determine students' emergent reading level, the reading level that can be achieved through instruction. After preteaching part of a…

A study in Moncton, New Brunswick, of second language use by language minorities and native language maintenance as it relates to the linguistic groups' vitality and the individuals' attitudes toward these groups is reported. Seven research hypotheses were proposed: (1) The first language group's perception of the second language group's vitality…

Project Youth, an eight-week workshop for poor minority youths, used theatre exercises to improve participants' communication and self-presentation skills in order to improve their ability to work with others. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, a 2-phase study was conducted using a sample of participants (N=32) from 15 to 21 years old.…

Competence feedback has been found to increase intrinsic motivation, defined as those behaviors that are motivated by the underlying need for competence and self-determination. In a study investigating competency and intrinsic motivation, 120 high school males received three types of competence information: (1) expectancy (information that they…

A meta-analysis of science education literature was undertaken to determine the magnitude and direction of sex differences in school age boys'/girls' motivational orientations and science achievement. A comprehensive review of journal articles/reports, large-scale national/international studies, and standardized testing procedures appearing in the…

This paper reports on activities undertaken to disseminate Student Team Learning (STL) processes and curriculum materials in schools and districts during fiscal year 1982. It also presents the results of a survey of people and institutions who ordered STL curriculum materials from the Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools during…