High school English teachers (N=48) in four schools in two districts in Florida and Wisconsin analyzed behavioral teacher evaluation systems used in Florida. Comparison of judgments of teachers who actually used particular systems with those who had not indicated the importance of considering the context and the evaluation system. (TJH)

This study found that, in a task context, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) effectively reduced problem behavior and increased task performance of 2 adolescents with severe disabilities (ages 15 and 19), whereas a time-out procedure was ineffective. In a leisure context, time-out was effective while DRO was ineffective.…

Develops failure indices and analyzes student teacher failure through snapshots of individuals unable to fulfill either their personal and professional expectations and/or those of their teacher preparation program. Research at three university sites found several relevant factors (age and gender distribution, poor interpersonal skills,…

Science teachers implementing educational research findings must choose between instructional prescriptions from Piaget's theory of cognitive development and from alternative conceptual frameworks theory. Contextual teaching using large context problems or science stories addresses both. The paper outlines a program that designs historically based…

Three studies explored age changes and individual differences in preschoolers' sustained attention in different contexts. Found that changes occurred earlier for play and television viewing than for reaction time tasks. Results suggest that children have stable tendencies to sustain attention but that attention varies with task demands and…

Explores gender and racial differences on two science alternative assessments, an open-ended paper-and-pencil assessment and a hands-on performance assessment. Significant differences in achievement were noted. Contains 40 references. (DDR)

Presents 30 adult Chinese immigrant women's accounts of their experiences with, and perceptions of, learning English as a Second Language in Canada. Results from interviews with two age groups of adult women reveal the complexity of adult second-language acquisition, which involves factors pertaining both to the learners, and to the social context…

Examines moral education in a postmodern cultural context, where there is a privatization of moral responsibility. Building upon a critique of modernist ethics and moral education, five types of response to privatization are postulated and evaluated. Presents the notion of situational sensitivity as defining an appropriate curriculum for…

Examined a staff-development program in a large urban California school district that exposed participants to African-American culture and features of African-American English. Preliminary findings for 32 teachers show that they easily incorporate display, ritual, and situated enactment into their teaching but have not made many other…

Explores several new school buildings in Virginia that attempt to address today's trends in technology, population shifts, and teaching methods. School designs discussed include a technology-rich library for an independent Norfolk school, a high school that is a model of energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, and a context-driven…

Compares responses to a timed writing assignment by students from South Korea and from the United States. Finds that South Korean texts showed more similarities to than differences from the American texts, and suggests a more complex context situation than the commonly accepted high context/low context model of cultural differences can…

Suggests that to understand the interrelationship between technology and language learning, researchers must investigate the broader ecological context that affects language learning and use in today's society, both inside and outside the classroom. This involves expanding research paradigms to engage in critical qualitative research attempts to…

Provides hypothesized explanations for local item dependence (LID) in a large-scale hands-on science performance assessment involving approximately 55,000 students each at grades 3, 5, and 8. Items that appear to elicit locally dependent responses require examinees to answer and explain their answers or to use given or generalized information to…

Explores the influence of micropolitical factors on school organization and management, drawing on Ball's idea regarding the inevitability of micropolitics in school settings. Using Edgar Schein's small-group perspective, shows how micropolitical analyses of school cultures and teacher behavior can be used to increase school leaders'…

Examines the effect of having a sibling or a dating partner on adolescents' relationships with others, focusing on the social rules used in relationships with peers, siblings, and parents. Data support a model of relationship management using siblings as stepping-stones of egalitarian peer features to the world of friends and authoritative parent…