This book proposes a plan for higher education reform that rejects the "publish or perish" controversy and stresses strong leadership that elevates the importance of teaching excellence. Chapters 1 and 2, "Agendas," look at the agenda for change and suggest some of the constraints in value conflicts and teacher evaluation. Chapters 3 and 4,…

Educators can learn to use the unique cultural aspects of their students to create a learning environment that fosters the acquisition of mathematics concepts and principles. When teaching students in a multicultural setting, it is important to build on the student's intuition of the subject matter, to base instruction on situational story…

This study examined how three dimensions of college students' experiences affect critical thinking skills: (1) curricular exposure, (2) formal classroom and instructional experiences, and (3) out-of-class experiences. The study used a 1-year, longitudinal, panel study design using data collected as part of a pilot study for a national,…

It is more than a quarter century since Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, the first major Federal legislation authorizing funds for compensatory education for the disadvantaged, came into effect. In 1981, Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) replaced Title I. Some Federal funding…

This conference involved approximately 180 educators and researchers in a dialogue about educational reform and at-risk students. Ten invited presentations organized into general sessions on cultural differences and ongoing reform initiatives provided impetus for discussion. These proceedings are not transcripts of papers, but they do convey the…

This report describes the technical details and rationale behind the decisions in the design and development of the communications network installed as part of a 1991-1993 district-wide construction project in the West Ottawa Public Schools (Michigan). The project called for development of a communications network to carry voice, data, and video…

A paradigm is a way of understanding that includes rules and regulations that: (1) establish boundaries; (2) provide fixed rules for success within the boundaries; and (3) act as filters for data. While a paradigm may help people to operate in terms of things as they are, it also may blind them to alternative ways of looking at the world around…

This report reviews research that demonstrates how gender inequity is not only learned and accepted in the socialization process that starts at home, but is also present in the school environment from the very early years, consciously or unconsciously, reinforcing sex stereotypes. Findings are examined in three areas: (1) interactions in the…

This essay examines the provision of early childhood education and care (educare) for black preschool children in South Africa. After a brief introduction, the essay outlines the demographics of and government role in preschool education. The social and environmental context of black preschool children in South Africa, along with the educational…

This book about teaching in further education (FE) in Britain is aimed at tutors who have come into FE from the professions with no formal training or background in teaching. It is divided into 20 units, each unit focusing on a major theme and its related subthemes. The units are self-contained but are often interrelated or cross-referenced. Unit…

Why dropouts left school, what they thought about school and teachers, what their lives have been after dropping out, and what made them return to an alternative program for school completion were questions examined in a study in progress in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). To date, 88 early school leavers in the Job Corps have been interviewed.…

This study used a social constructivist framework to examine how one at-risk fifth-grader constructed her literacy through social interaction in her nonschool, prior school, and present school experiences. Through open-ended interviews and classroom observations, experiences that fostered and hindered the child's literacy development were…

The tradition of academic excellence in the arts, culture, mathematics, and science in Bulgaria that was set aside under communism remains the goal of the Bulgarian government with legislation designed to replace the ideological doctrine subordinating education under a totalitarian regime and to restore Bulgaria's historical tradition. The new law…

This collection of papers focuses on how adults communicate with children in institutional settings such as public schools and day care centers, and how professionals in the field of communication disorders communicate among themselves. Papers include: "Introduction: Linguistic Theories and Language Interaction" (Madeline M. Maxwell); "Inuit…

This study investigated the relationships between variables affecting the degree to which cooperative learning (CL) was implemented by English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual teachers. A total of 227 ESL and bilingual public school teachers (K-12) of Spanish speaking language minority students responded to a mailed survey questionnaire…