This document presents reports of three studies focused on cooperative pedagogical strategies. The first concerns individualistic and cooperative goal structures in high school mathematics achievement. Two general mathematics classes were taught a unit on percents, one with a cooperative and the other an individualistic goal structure. The…

Many researchers have demonstrated that student expectations of teacher competence can affect student performance outcomes. The artificiality of laboratory paradigms used in past research, however, may severely limit the generalizability of findings. A field study was conducted to test the idea that students' expectations regarding their teacher's…

Initiated by the Center for the Book, the Library of Congress program that promotes books and reading, this text contains the results of interviews of 1,382 Americans who were asked, "What book made the greatest difference in your life?" and "What was that difference?" The introduction contains the titles and authors of the books named by…

Merit pay for teachers is often proposed as a compensation system that will enable public schools to motivate teachers to pursue organizational goals. Yet the promise of merit pay is dimmed by knowledge of its history: most attempts to implement merit pay for public school teachers over the last 75 years have failed. The first part of this paper…

By focusing on the accomplishments of the Colorado Right to Read Program, this report is presented with the intention of serving as a solution and/or stimulus for those searching for activities that will help them reach local educational goals and objectives. The various sections of the booklet contain the following: (1) a discussion of teacher…

A forum, convened to consider the subject of beginning teacher induction, focused on questions about: (1) the importance of the induction phase; (2) whose domain induction is; (3) what happens to the teacher in this phase; (4) training that is most needed in this phase; (5) how induction is related to licensure; and (6) whether induction is unique…

This paper explores the need for radical reform in the training of foreign language teachers. This change would provide language teachers with an understanding of the social and psychological aspects of language learning, especially motivation; the nature of linguisitc systems and how individuals create and use them; and the relationship of…

The art of effective management is addressed, along with motivational factors that affect the way in which employees respond to management. To meet challenges for better production, organizational systems are taking into account the development of individual employees. Since human behavior must be fully understood to develop human resources, "new…

The process of recruiting and selecting college faculty at a new college, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, is discussed. The university was established in September 1973 to serve students who would complete 2 years at community/junior colleges in the Permian Basin area. The school's mission and the two towns near the college are…

In response to education reform mandates, rewards and incentives such as career ladder and master teacher programs are being designed to break lock-step salary schedules and to retain competent teachers. While these "pay-for-performance" plans seem acceptable to taxpayers, few realize that such approaches have already been tried and…

Children with high self-esteem tend to do better in school. Studies indicate, however, that self-esteem is not a cause of academic success, but an effect. In this review of five recent research studies on the subject of self-esteem, one example of a successful program aimed at raising students' self-esteem is offered by Scarborough school system…

The monograph summarizes research on students' beliefs or ideas about: (1) teachers' instructional behavior, (2) cognitive processes used during instruction, (3) differential treatment by teachers, (4) attributions for student performance, and (5) classroom learning environments. Students' cognitions or thought processes during instruction are…

A study was conducted to determine if dislocated workers in Minnesota felt they had sufficient reading and mathematics skills to obtain new employment or enter retraining programs. A representative group of 168 dislocated workers who had been employed in manufacturing, taconite mining, lumber, and farming were interviewed from June through…

A practicum designed to help 10 first-graders successfully complete their homework, and to involve their parents as teachers at home, was implemented by a school social worker who was a member of a multidisciplinary child study team that assisted students with academic, social, and behavioral problems. Many children referred to the child study…

Two studies were conducted by a New England university during the 1986-87 school year to gain a better understanding of the factors influencing individuals' decisions to attend graduate/professional school. One purpose of the two projects was to develop school-specific databases to: provide graduate school administrators with information regarding…