Defines behavioral and educational contracts as therapeutic instruments that can be educationally and socially beneficial while enhancing students' self-image. Contracts enable schools to monitor students who have discipline problems and involve them in taking educational responsibilities. (JAC)

Summarizes the major constitutional rights of students which are supported by recent court cases in the areas of religion; freedom of speech, expression, and assembly; student government; academic penalties and grades; pregnant and married students; exclusion from extracurricular activities; punishment; police in the schools; student records; and…

Clarifies the legal rights of students accused of cheating or plagiarism. Suggests a procedure which addresses those student rights while preserving faculty ability to grade students only on their own work. Discusses due process requirements and issues related to punishment and academic freedom. (RC)

After a brief description of recent trends in educational discipline, the article notes some common features of disciplined classrooms: mutual respect, clear expectations, organized teaching and learning, materials geared to learning style and ability, warmth and caring, opportunities to release tension, educationally sound penalty system, and…

An inventory of public school teachers revealed a consensus of what they considered the primary sources of stress. As a result of the survey, a cooperative program of stress reduction was organized focusing on stress-producing problems and developing strategies to overcome them. (JD)

Describes the major characteristics associated with "good" schools, presents examples, and tries to derive some prescriptive principles. "Coherence" was the characteristic most commonly associated with the good schools in the study. (Author/IRT)

The US National Paper on the UN Conference on Science and Technology for Development is grounded in the notion of "appropriate technology" and considers future courses of action. The Swedish Lund Letter on Science, Technology, and Basic Human Needs examines this position in terms of technology impact on employment. (JMF)

Reputational ratings were obtained from 1,005 chairpersons in 15 liberal arts disciplines at 67 universities. Analysis revealed a significant difference for universities, for disciplines, and for the interaction between the two. Comparisons were made between the ratings of chairpersons of the top and bottom 10 departments. (Author/GDC)

Describes the course content and structure of a one-credit, elective senior seminar designed to inform a college psychology department about the effectiveness of their instruction. Assessment measures included a faculty-generated multiple choice test, a student-generated multiple choice test, student surveys, focus groups, and a student essay on…

Content and boundaries of business-oriented regional studies are considered, focusing on Germany. Issues discussed include the distinction between explicit business studies and implicit, non-business materials and content in the study of business; relationship between regional studies and cross-cultural management; role of German language training…

Surveys resource sharing among libraries in the cycle of scholarly communication. Highlights include emergence of digital technologies; coherence within disciplines; collection development and innovative solutions; digital works for world knowledge; National Periodicals Center; subscription cancellations; electronic documents; new research areas;…

Summarizes the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, especially changes in the individualized education program process, discipline of students with disabilities, accountability, and procedural safeguards. It also addresses restructuring of the act, issues of assessment as a means of accountability, development of…

Recalls the development of a 1970s high school economics textbook and curriculum titled, "Economics in Society," and how it developed into an adult education curriculum. The curriculum emphasizes a thematic approach to economics focusing on concepts and institutions, industry organization, the national economy, and developing countries' economies.…

Considers problems encountered in researching and writing historical geography (geography focused on some particular time or period in the past). Examines research topics and discusses the problems associated with making geographical interpretations from historical sources. Recommends a continuing dialog between historical and contemporary…

A study of 443 college faculty in English, biology, mathematics, and psychology in 163 institutions found gender, discipline, and some contextual variables to be the most significant predictors of faculty teaching paradigms. In addition, teaching paradigms were reflected in the frequencies of instructional behaviors reported by the faculty…