Research has shown a decline in motivation and performance for many children as they move from elementary school into middle school; however, research has also shown that the nature of motivational change on entry to middle school depends on characteristics of the learning environment in which students find themselves. This Digest outlines some…

Describes the art education program in Moncton, New Brunswick (Canada) from elementary school through senior high, emphasizing art as a serious discipline that demands a coherent structure, definite objectives, sequential learning skills, reasonable expectations of both product and process, a regular place in the timetable, and trained teachers…

A year-long ethnographic study of a British multiethnic primary school examined the influence of teacher perception of Pakistani parent involvement and interest in their children's education on teacher expectation of the children's language and literacy achievement. Findings showed that teachers misinterpreted cultural differences in parents'…

A survey of 114 part-time master's degree students in business administration at various stages of program completion identified 5 areas of expectation of the school and their experience there: institutional support activities; academic experience expectations; resources supporting the academic experience; ethical standards and program image; and…

Presents fundamentals of the author's approach to teaching, drawn from her experiences in New York City concerning (1) caring; (2) high expectations; (3) creating interest; (4) keeping students busy to avoid discipline problems; (5) performance-based assessment; and (6) parent involvement. Techniques and tactics for teaching mathematics are also…

Describes the Characteristics of Adult Students in Higher Education (CASHE) instumentation strategy for the self-evaluation of faculty members' beliefs and knowledge regarding adult learners. Reports preliminary results on the use of this self-test among community college and university personnel. Includes the CASHE instrument. (Author/PAA)

Examines young African-Americans' reflections on characteristics causing certain educators to be identified as effective teachers by 47 former students (with wide-ranging educational attainment). Influential teachers possessed good interpersonal skills, ability to communicate subject matter well, ability to motivate students, and high expectations…

Examines students' initiations during teacher-led read-alouds of information books in an urban first-grade classroom. This process allows students multiple opportunities to share authority and direct the classroom's work and talk, thus allowing teachers to view them as knowledgeable, capable discussants speaking as experts about information books.…

Parents, legislators, and even students worry about graduation rates at American public colleges and universities. They compare the statistics they see to their idealized memory of a time when college students enrolled in college immediately after high school and graduated with a bachelor's degree four years later. Although this enrollment pattern…

This ethnography explores teachers' perspectives of the cultural issues affecting academic performance in twelve public high schools in rural Mississippi and Louisiana. From a thematic analysis of the tape-recorded interviews of forty-one mathematics teachers, five categories emerged, each comprising a qualitative aspect of teaching high school in…

In this article, the author talks about the disproportionate gap in the graduation rates in colleges and universities, which highlights the need for the higher education community to rethink strategies for improving the retention of students of color. To increase the graduation rates of students of color, the author suggests addressing the issue…

Recent studies of turnarounds of low-performing schools have focused on the factors that made their successes possible. The author of this article realizes that it would also be valuable to look at what made the schools decline in the first place and the factors that might hinder their transformation. He focuses on some of the aspects of the…

The Community College Survey of Student Engagement ("CCSSE") this year celebrates five years of helping community colleges better serve their students. With its unrelenting focus on using data to improve students' educational experiences, "CCSSE" has established itself as a leading voice in community college improvement efforts. More important,…

The Community College Survey of Student Engagement ("CCSSE") this year celebrates five years of helping community colleges better serve their students. With its unrelenting focus on using data to improve students' educational experiences, "CCSSE" has established itself as a leading voice in community college improvement efforts. More important,…

As societal expectations about attending college have grown, professors report increasing numbers of students who are unprepared for the rigors of postsecondary education--not just more students with learning disabilities (whose numbers have more than tripled), but students (with and without special admission status) who are academically at-risk…