The hypothesis that faulty classical psychometric and sampling procedures in test construction could generate systematic bias against ethnic groups with smaller representation in the test construction sample was studied empirically. Two test construction models were developed: one with differential representation of ethnic groups (White, African…

This report presents the results of the evaluation of multicultural education programs conducted by the Office of Educational Research of the New York City Board of Education. The Board had required each district to appoint a coordinator to organize, coordinate, and facilitate multicultural activities. In all cases, however, this was only a…

A case study approach was used to analyze the commercial training markets for further education (FE) colleges in Sheffield, England. The following aspects of training supply and demand in Sheffield were examined: regional employment market (occupational structure and economic outlook); size, value, and segmentation of the training market;…

Teacher educators have become increasingly interested in the beliefs preservice teachers bring to their undergraduate methods courses. S. Lortie (1975) posited that the major influence in shaping future teachers' conceptions of teaching is their previous years of experience as students. A study of students in preservice reading methods courses…

This book describes the steps and tools of Total Quality Management (TQM) and their use in the academic units of colleges and universities for Total Quality Improvement (TQI), illustrated by a case study from the School of Arts & Sciences at a state university. Section 1 explains how to: (1) identify problems contributing to non-value-added…

This report provides information and conceptual tools needed to foster development of an interdisciplinary pedagogy geared to solving of environmental problems. It describes several procedures to further educational activities aimed at the solution of environmental problems. The approaches presented include the following: (1) The discussion group…

Research and controversy continues to surround the principles that underpin the teaching of English. English teachers, nonetheless, must understand and be able to articulate a rationale for what they believe to be important in the teaching of English. In Great Britain the introduction of a National Curriculum for England and Wales has produced a…

Qualitative approaches in educational research are challenging traditional postivistic, psychometric paradigms by emphasizing: (1) close contact over detachment; (2) multiple techniques in obtaining data; (3) bottom-up inductive frameworks; and (4) phenomenological approaches. Section 1, "Ethnographic Investigations into High Schools," includes…

This research project proposes a counseling framework for Asian parents of children with special needs, based on the dynamics of the Filipino family. As Filipinos are the biggest ethnic minority group in California and the second largest Asian group in Santa Clara County, the Filipino group was selected to represent all Asian groups. The project…

Faculty concerns about integrating computers in teacher education courses were studied for 26 members of the education faculty at a northwest university. Faculty members responded to the Stages of Concern about an Innovation Questionnaire and discussed their concerns in interviews. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model, which provided the conceptual…

The development of Community-Centered Learning (CCL), an approach to using the classroom as a community, is described, with the writer's experiences in using the model in three classes over a semester. A community is regarded as a group of people who share common goals and traditions, who realize their interdependence, and who strive to care for…

This guide outlines a prototype for using hypermedia to help students in secondary-level family and consumer education courses develop higher-level reasoning skills. Chapter 1 examines the nature and potential of hypermedia, with special emphasis on its relevance to family-focused curriculum efforts. The following aspects of designing a local…

It has been demonstrated that the individual variation in the level and rate of learning for a cohort of students over time can be estimated by hierarchical linear models. Models of this type can also be estimated using widely available structural modeling software, which provides a flexible framework for model explorations, including the use of…

The role of prior knowledge in skill acquisition is to enable the learner to detect and to correct errors. Computational mechanisms that carry out these two functions are implemented in a simulation model which represents prior knowledge in "constraints". The model learns symbolic skills in mathematics and science by noticing and…

The Advisory Committee on Federal Workforce Quality Assessment was chartered to examine various work force quality assessment efforts in the federal government and provide advice on their adequacy and suggestions on their improvement or expansion. Objective data in recent research suggested that a universal decline in work force quality might not…