Describes a study of Norwegian college students that investigated whether gender, group composition, or self-efficacy in computing has any impact on cooperation, giving or getting task-related help, and level of activity in student groups. Results confirms gender differences in self-efficacy in computing. (Author/LRW)

Investigates the history of Japanese postsecondary education systems prior to the American-influenced educational reforms of 1945 and the post-war development of junior colleges. Examines implications for women's social status, based on the development of junior colleges, and makes recommendations for the academic and career advancement of…

Determined best practices for enhancing preservice teachers' knowledge of gender equity and use of innovative instructional methods for developing classroom democratic social values. Found that development in understanding and application of appropriate, equitable classroom practices emerged over a semester in which preservice teachers were…

Norwegian girls' experiences in secondary school forestry courses were analyzed in terms of the "hero's journey" archetypal myth. Interviews with 12 girls and 11 boys in forestry courses indicated that girls were capable and fit for practical forestry work, gender attitudes were not a barrier, and girls did not meet opposition from male…

Reports on the results of a study of business undergraduates in Australia that was conducted to determine whether or not perceived knowledge of software, microcomputer experience, overall knowledge of computers, programming experience, and gender were predictors of computer anxiety. Use of the Computer Anxiety Rating Scale is discussed.…

Investigated whether elementary school girls' attributions about computer use follow a pattern of learned helplessness. Results from drill-and-practice and tutorial tasks involving 220 children show girls benefited from increased exposure time and that attributions to ease of task and ability predicted performance for both boys and girls.…

Describes a study that investigated a home/school computer project and its effects on reading, language, and mathematics achievement on 142 fourth- and fifth-grade students as well as equity issues relating to gender, academic aptitude, and socioeconomic status. Results indicate that participation was not associated with increased academic…

Explores gender issues in school board membership through interviews with 13 male and 5 female school superintendents and 28 male and 26 female school board members in Arizona, New York, and Pennsylvania. Responses represent the beginning of a database of experiences of female school board members. (SLD)

Suggests that library media centers and public libraries are among the main institutions responsible for providing information on teenage pregnancy. Argues that the treatment of teen pregnancy as an "epidemic" by the United States government and the media, and the representation of pregnant girls in young adult fiction contribute to gender…

Based on analysis of discussions of fiction using Dedalus Interchange in literary analysis classes, it was found that synchronous electronic conferencing exposed students to more viewpoints, deemphasized traditional authority, increased metalinguistic awareness, decreased inhibition and gender barriers, and facilitated increased social…

Examines possible gender-related criteria for "good schools": (1) How far can schools counteract stereotypes of sex-role specific behavior? (2) How far do developments integrating parents take account of necessary changes in traditional gender-specific role patterns? (3) How do schools ensure equal participation by male and female…

Explores gender differences in the use of computer-mediated communication in a specific learning context by a small group of postgraduate distance learners and their tutors at the University of Sheffield. Uses content analysis of online dialog to investigate learning and socioemotional behavior. (Author/LRW)

Classroom experiential-learning activities help college students understand the social-justice issues implicit in their service-learning projects and become culturally dexterous leaders. Classroom exercises described cover trust building, communication, consciousness of power and class issues, differentiating between social service and social…

Reports on a two-year ethnographic study focusing on gender, science education, and the introduction of networked digital media for learning in middle schools. Describes how learners become active participants, exploring gender attitudes, when studying socio-scientific issues related to an endangered rain forest and using video, the Internet, and…

Investigated graduate preservice teachers' perceptions of urban students and schools, exploring how they arrived at these perceptions through personal experiences/contacts and other means. Students completed surveys about their image of urban schools and students and examined commercial Hollywood films, discussing their role in shaping…