Four general types of literature related to school effectiveness are reviewed in this paper and the more consistent research findings synthesized. The literature types considered are case studies (descriptions of effective schools), comparative studies (comparisons of effective and ineffective schools), program evaluations (examinations of…

Emphasis on the traditional approach in educational research has given way to the scientific approach, and, gradually, the focus of research has shifted from the teacher to include student behavior. Many variables previously associated with teacher behavior are recognized as being associated with student behavior. Future research must use previous…

This module provides guidelines for constructing appropriate day care center environments for school-age children 6 through 12 years of age. One of a series of staff development modules for child caregivers working in military child care centers, the document is divided into two parts. The first part indicates some ways environments affect…

This study was designed to determine whether children's attitudes and interests with regard to computers and computer science vary by sex, residence status (whether students lived in town or in the country), grade level, and computer usage levels. Subjects were 277 students in grades 4, 9, and 11 in the Watertown, South Dakota, public schools. An…

To meet North Carolina's growing need for workers with sophisticated skills, the state's schools should (1) establish partnerships with local businesses and community groups; (2) improve their curricula by setting minimum competencies and helping all students attain them; (3) increase the opportunities, rewards, and growth potential of the…

One of the most important correlates of an instructionally effective school is its climate. Effective schools have an atmosphere that denotes a safe and orderly environment, without being oppressive and where conditions exist that are conducive to learning. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has identified a set of…

For the past 150 years public schools in the United States have, in one form or another, tried to address the presence of children in classrooms whose cognitive, behavioral or physical characteristics have been deemed sufficiently problematic to merit a "special" education. Current federal law identifies thirteen categories of…

This paper reports on an investigation into the changes in students' attitudes towards learning English in a Malaysian college. The main focus of the study is to investigate the changes in attitudes towards learning English during the critical transition period from secondary school, where the medium of instruction is Malay, to college, where the…

Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), or are perceived as such, often suffer from neglect and abuse in schools. School personnel typically ignore the issues of LGBT youth in the academic curriculum and in extracurricular activities (Gray, 1999; Owens, 1998). Youth perceived as LGBT are often called derogatory…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school-wide gender equity efforts and seventh grade girls' and boys' educational outcomes and psychological functioning. In this paper, we detail the components of the study, which included documenting that this school did in fact have a gender equitable environment; measuring…

This article describes the design of a web-based environment that links teaching strategies used in different faculties with graduate attributes. Whilst graduate attributes have existed at the University of Wollongong since the 1990s, this is the first time teaching strategies that enable students to develop these attributes have been articulated…

An investigation was conducted to examine the relationship between goal-setting behavior and the Conceptual Level Model (CLM), an interactive theory of development that considers progression or growth to be determined both by the learner's present developmental stage and by the environment he experiences. Conceptual Level (CL) is an index of…

Active literacy is the ability to inject one's own thoughts and intentions into messages received and sent, the ability to transform and to act upon aspects of the world via the written word. Five things are not working for literacy in Australia; formularistic exercise texts and kits, the media, experts with solutions, habits, and national…

The Netherlands' Basic School Education Act mandated that nursery and primary schools be structurally integrated into "basic schools" for children aged four to twelve by 1984. Inservice training courses, called IVB, were set up to prepare nursery and primary teachers for the new system according to the professional goals of continuity,…

A study was conducted in Spokane, Washington, to determine motivational factors and preferred conditions that would encourage adults to participate in learning activities. Interviews were conducted with 600 randomly selected households (89 percent success rate) distributed across the age, educational attainment, occupational, and socioeconomic…