This paper examines the history of Finnish didactics and the professionalization of teacher education. In Finland, didactics is an emerging academic discipline--the science of teaching or educational science for teacher education--and includes both the subject and contextual knowledge of teaching. At the same time, the context of teaching and…

Sorting practices in the public schools place students, especially those from poor and minority families, at risk. The "talent-development" model is based on the assumption that all students, with adequate support, can learn. This report describes outcomes of the first Talent Development High School, which was established in September 1995 at…

Resilient Asian American students, who have shown outstanding performance and achievement in spite of adverse life conditions in urban schools, were compared with nonresilient, or marginal, students who have not done well academically. The focus was on the students' perceptions of their learning environments in mathematics. Other background…

The nine papers in this anthology present cases studies showing how culture influences the social role of higher education in various nations. It examines how environments get defined and how they shape universities , and how knowledge and academic work interact in national contexts. This book focuses on how both developed and developing…

This annual, national study of student charges at public, four-year institutions of higher education in the United States surveyed 572 colleges and universities in 1994. Approximately 93 percent, or 533 institutions, responded. The findings included the following: (1) college and university tuition and fees remain on the rise though rates of…

Creating a safe, open environment for discussion is a critical first step in examining topics of diversity. Because public schools may be the only social arena in the United States where different social classes, ethnicities, and genders come together on a regular basis, it is important to involve preservice teachers in discussions involving…

Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality (ASQ) is a five-step process which guides program staff as they evaluate the quality of their program so they can develop priorities and improve achievement of goals. The five steps in the ASQ process are: (1) preparing for program improvement; (2) gathering information; (3) building the Action Plan; (4)…

The "bear" sitting in the middle of the classroom, on the seminar table, or prowling around the edges of a discussion group arises from the subtext that is created whenever teachers and students interact with a curriculum, lesson, or topic. The situation in the postmodern classroom has been destabilized by the unprecedented intrusion into the…

This study evaluates an alternate model for middle school education, which was introduced into depressed urban settings in the 1970s by the Jesuit religious order, in two parochial middle schools, one coed and one all-male established in 1993 in an Eastern city. Comparisons of school structural characteristics, attendance figures, report card…

The effects of academic self-concept and the learning environment on science and mathematics achievement were studied in remote and rural Western Australia. The Western Australian School Effectiveness Study explored achievement in 28 urban and rural high schools. In the first phase, survey instruments were developed and piloted in two schools, and…

This guide, which is intended for General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ) tutors, coordinators, and INSET (In-Service Education of Teachers) trainers, provides a framework within which GNVQ course teams can choose learning resources suited to their particular program's context. Section 1, which explains how to use the document as an…

Many young students are not finishing high school and even fewer are entering college. This book demonstrates how some teachers have created classrooms that work for children at risk. They use an integrated, inquiry-driven curriculum to create holistic, language- and literature-based classrooms. Chapter 1 describes the nature of being at risk for…

This study examined the extent to which an individual doctoral student's characteristics and involvement in the academic and social life of the department influences the student's perception of growth and development during graduate school, and thus the student's persistence in pursuing a graduate degree. The study surveyed doctoral students…

This paper examines the relationship between a school's grade configuration and student performance in Louisiana. Student performance was measured by academic achievement (standardized test scores) and student persistence (attendance, suspensions, expulsions, and dropouts). Elementary schools, middle schools, secondary schools, and combination…

In 1990 the Lilly Endowment committed $6 million to a competitive grants program for four-year independent Midwest colleges interested in enhancing racial and ethnic diversity and building a more inclusive community within their institutional settings. The initiative aimed to improve the overall campus climate, to increase the number of racial…