For the past 2 years, a pilot program to reduce student absenteeism has been implemented in a medium-sized city participating in the New Futures Initiative. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the outcomes of the Chronic Absenteeism Pilot (CAP) project. The New Futures Initiative engaged in interagency efforts to provide…

This study examined background factors in children that influence teachers' ratings on the Classroom Adjustment Rating Scale (CARS). Sixteen classrooms in five schools were selected to include a range of socio-economic and cultural groupings from Inner London, England Primary Schools. Teachers used the CARS and an additional short scale of overall…

This digest identifies some of the cultural factors that can influence learner and teacher behavior during classroom English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Four topic areas are discussed: roles of learners and teachers, gender-related issues; appropriate topics for instruction, and behavior at the site of instruction. Given the diversity…

This guide presents questions that parents frequently ask about their children's school along with answers to those questions. The questions and answers were prepared based on the results of studies conducted by the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, the U.S. Department of Education, the GTE Foundation, and by the National Center for…

Although education in England is dominated by the rhetoric of "standards," this paper attempts to show that the overall shape and drive of English education reform has remained largely consistent. The annually published School Performance Tables continue to be assigned a special place in the reforms, as a means to and as an index of…

This manual, written by a classroom practitioner, addresses concerns frequently voiced by beginning teachers. It is designed as a practical approach to what works in the classroom. The chapters focus on the following issues: Classroom Management; Classroom Discipline (student behavior, easy ways to establish control, major issues, calling home,…

Although Allan Bloom in "The Closing of the American Mind" and Mike Rose in "Lives on the Boundary" reveal an almost endless list of obvious differences of perspective on literacy and higher education in America, both take divergent yet similar routes to create a permanent place for liberal education. Both Bloom and Rose use…

In the process of classroom teaching and learning, feeling something in one's body, as a basis for thinking, represents the uncertain area which can never be physically seen. Yet, this area calls for reaffirmation as "knowledge" and needs to be recognized as one of the major factors composing a knowledge base for the promotion of teacher…

This publication is intended to serve as an ongoing source of teaching fundamentals benefiting aspiring teachers as well as those who periodically feel something is missing from their day-to-day teaching. It also acts as an aid to teachers in order to improve their skills, jobs, and lives. The text suggests student-centered teaching methods and is…

This report examines the importance of an individual's linguistic capability and its impact on academic achievement. Main areas of examination include an historical perspective on linguistics, descriptions of formal linguistics and psycholinguistics and their role in understanding academic achievement, and the educational implications of…

In 1986, a study was conducted of the level of job satisfaction among full-time faculty in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). Questionnaires were distributed to 1,000 randomly selected full-time faculty in the nine colleges in the LACCD. A total of 439 surveys were returned, for a 43.9% response rate. Study findings included the…

After 2 years of promoting more integration of academic and vocational curriculums, the Southern Regional Education Board identified 15 educational practices that may raise the basic competencies of vocational students: (1) positive practices can be collected and implemented; (2) vocational completers from pilot sites requiring competency tests…

This research assessed the impact of the experience of academic success and failure on the causal attribution patterns of low income Brazilian elementary school students. The sample consisted of 147 first, third, and fifth graders, previously classified as success or failure students. Causal attribution was measured through individual interviews…

This paper synthesizes a study designed to identify the factors that contribute to primary school repetition and dropout in Honduras. Data were collected by record reviews; teacher, student, and parent interviews; and a test of Spanish. The sample included 1,253 students in grades 1 and 3 in 40 schools in rural Honduras. The main findings of the…

Offering insights into the effective use of writing to teach students to think like professionals in various fields, this book is the result of a 7-year naturalistic study. The book documents how a writing specialist paired with an experienced professor in another discipline (business, history, psychology, and biology) to study: (1) teachers'…