Parent involvement in their children's educational experiences enhances student achievement. Low socioeconomic status (SES) and Black families often lack the human and material resources needed for a positive academic environment at home; however, positive learning environments do exist in some low-SES Black homes. More developmentally oriented,…

Protests the trend to turn cultural analysis into a managerial tool by arguing that our research on school culture has only skimmed the cultural surface, and demonstrating the promise of language analysis for research on school culture. (BJV)

Suggests that social interactions which call for self-expression in language play an important role in the development of an independent self-identity. Points out that schools rarely allow such opportunities, and thus produce people lacking in self-identity. (ARH)

Identifies components of a comprehensive assessment of an educational institution's external environment; i.e., demographic trends, social indicators, economic trends, political change, technological advances, changes in the workplace, advances in information technologies, and value shifts. (DMM)

The article describes how a British residential school for hearing-impaired children tackled difficult behavior and became more conscious of its ethos by employing a problem-centered methodology. Problems such as intra-school communication and students' inappropriate social behavior were the focus of a teacher workshop and resultant task groups.…

English-as-a-second-language programs must have as their central intent the enabling of people to make meaning in English. Dimensions of context and vision and the tensions which may exist between them are explored, and an effort is made to point the way to curriculum as human praxis. (Author/CB)

Argues that building respect for the core value of diversity should be a prime motivation and consideration in determining the instructional programs as well as the governance of the classroom and activities of the middle level school. (SRT)

To provide the conditions for a lasting equality of educational opportunity and results, schools should: (1) enter into a partnership with each family for the educational and social development of the child; and (2) lead a cooperative effort involving other agencies and organizations to create an educative community. (RDN)

Argues that mismatches between home and classroom environments play an important part in accounting for the low academic performance of many low-status, especially minority, students. Discusses approaches emphasizing cooperative learning and individualized instruction for use with culturally different students in desegregated settings. (RDN)

Reviews effective schools research and asserts that achieving effectiveness by focusing narrowly on testing and curriculum objectives can have detrimental effects. Provides a listing of characteristics of schools that achieved grade-level success with low income students for several years. Intended as a practical guide for other schools wishing to…

Compares effects of three school types: single-sex Catholic, mixed-sex Catholic, and mixed-sex public. Results indicate that Catholic single-sex school are nearly twice as effective as Catholic mixed-sex schools, suggesting that there are important differences between these types of schools and that comparisons between public and Catholic schools…

Describes attempt to add new subject, "Design and Technology," to the curriculum of the national high schools of Papua New Guinea using the curricular-consensus model of curriculum development. Detailed review of events that resulted in nonimplementation illustrates need for thorough understanding of the context and meaning of a proposed…

Examines setting-culture interaction as a force contributing to the real or imagined ineffectiveness of vocational programs for American Indians on or near reservations. Uses a program serving the Mississippi Band of Choctaws as a case study to discuss potential effects of setting-culture interaction on program design and evaluation. (SB)

Successful curricula are not collections of isolated elements; rather, effective learning environments function as coherent systems (Brown & Campione, 1996; see also Papert, 1980; Shaffer, 1998). The theory of pedagogical praxis begins with the premise that computers and other information technologies make it easier for students to become active…

Many young people learn a discouraging set of lessons between the ages of 16 and 24. They come to see secondary school as irrelevant, available jobs as demeaning, and their prospects and choices as diminishing. Some continue to "drop in" to school long enough to get a diploma, but leave lacking the skills or interest to pursue further education.…