I take up Silliman's challenge to explore the "moral logic" of "structural racism" largely absent in my book, "I'm Not a Racist, But..." I criticize and build on Glenn Loury's account of the normative assessment of racial inequality by examining three factors generating such disparities in educational achievement--stereotyping, performance-based…

The analysis of calls to a help desk, in this case calls to a computer help desk, can serve as a rich source of information on the real world problems that individuals are having with the implementation of a new technology. Thus, we propose that an analysis of help desk calls, a form of problem-based inquiry, can serve as a fast and low cost means…

The authors of this study used the structural equation model (SEM) approach to test a model that hypothesized the influence of student learning strategies, internet and campus technology, quality of instruction and overall college experience, and student-faculty interaction on student academic achievement. Further a SEM model was developed to link…

Educational administrators are spending considerably more time and effort on issues involving special services for disadvantaged and special needs students than they have in the past. In light of current school improvement initiatives to improve the academic success for all students, it is likely that this will even increase. Passage of No Child…

Activity Theory has often been used in workplace settings to gain new theoretical understandings about work and the humans who engage in work, but rarely has there been sufficient detail in the literature to allow HPT practitioners to do their own activity analysis. The detail presented in this case is sufficient for HPT practitioners to begin to…

Teachers and administrators interested in special education topics are seeking educational opportunities for professional development in order to better meet the needs of students, but face obstacles such as time and distance in attending face-to-face instruction. Distance delivery and more specifically offering courses online, is a very viable…

The present study examined prisoner perceptions of effective teacher behavior. A survey was administered to prisoners (N = 371) containing ten statements of teacher behavior. Results revealed significant differences between ratings of teachers perceived to have taught the prisoner the "most" and teachers perceived to have taught the…

In September 1998, the California State Legislature passed SB 2042, legislation that authorized the reform of teacher recruitment, certification, and licensing in the state. Its provisions are unique in that they represent the first time in California's history that almost all of the standards dealing with teacher preparation and induction were…

Information technology infuses all aspects of modern life, and the growth of digital information continues at an unprecedented rate. Widely influential documents, such as the National Research Council's "Being Fluent with Information Technology" and the American Library Association's "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher…

Recent legislation from IDEA 1997 to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act--Revised of 2002 (No Child Left Behind) and the pending reauthorization of the IDEA--present challenges for administrators of special education programs and building-level administrators that oversee educational programs for all students on a daily basis. This article…

Elementary teachers engaged in weekly conversations about their students' writing. Conversations were guided by a protocol that began with an assessment of students' writing samples and then moved to the generation of instructional ideas. The conversations were analyzed for what the teachers talked about and the extent to which they generated…

Many school districts (SDs) use the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) to disseminate a wide variety of information about things such as district events, policies, and a wide variety of student information. On-line barriers limit the accessibility of the WWW for persons and students with disabilities and thus can limit their access to vital information.…

This study explored the role of student characteristics in studying micro teaching-learning environments. The overarching hypothesis is that teachers teach differently to micro environments in their classrooms. This study is the first of a series exploring the following four questions: (1) What student profiles are identified at the beginning of a…

As a result of the pressures of educational reform and high-stakes assessment, some schools run the risk of foregoing active, student-centered learning activities for building test-taking skills and the memorization of discrete facts (Gredler, 1999; Jackson & Davis, 2000). Coupled with the additional pressure to fulfill the expectations of…

Introduction: For postgraduate training of doctors there is a need for valid and reliable instruments to assess their daily performance. Various instruments have been suggested, some of which use incognito simulated patients (SPs). These methods are resource intensive. Computerised Case-based testing (CCT) is logistically simpler and may still…