Considers the role of learning accreditation in relation to demand for quality assurance in organizational learning. Develops a four-dimensional management perspective that outlines four pathways of learning: learning needs in relation to aspirations, academic learning, learning to qualify for professional practice, and learning to sustain career…

Reviews research on the effects of world knowledge and text structure variables on reading comprehension. Concludes that text structure variables exert influence only when the subject matter is moderately unfamiliar and are redundant in reading familiar or very difficult material. Suggests knowledge and structure variables should be manipulated…

Quantitative results from a study involving 78 elementary students suggest that content-related attitudes do not significantly affect subjects' reading comprehension. However, qualitative results suggest that attitudes may affect reading comprehension in qualitatively different ways. (IAH)

This article describes a proposed model of self-directed critical thinking that comprises two interrelated and equal components: one cognitive and the other motivational. The model stresses the importance in critical thinking of the child's present store of general information. Examples illustrate the operation of the model. (IAH)

Examines how readers overcome their misconceptions about the principles of motion. Finds that students overcome misconceptions when their prior knowledge is activated, regardless of whether they read text that supports or refutes those misconceptions. Finds that students using several processing strategies have an advantage over students using…

Examined the different influences of comprehension-skill and domain-knowledge components on learning from text. Found that learning from an expanded text with explicit causal relations was related to reading comprehension skill rather than prior knowledge, whereas learning from an unexpanded text that did not spell out causes was a function of…

Describes some recent studies which establish that meaningful learning can be promoted by a certain type of questioning activity, called elaborative interrogation, that leads students to activate prior knowledge and tie it to the new information. (SR)

Describes an intelligent computer-assisted learning system that is able to generate individualized courses of instruction for students with different background knowledge and different purposes. Highlights include system architecture; domain knowledge base and student model; authoring by the teacher; courseware planning; and pedagogical tuning by…

Two experiments studied how preschool children acquire a naive theory of kinship (NTK). Overall, results implicate a type of theory building that involves inferences from preexisting knowledge rather than structural change, use of analogy, or acquisition of new knowledge. (DR)

Examines material imported into emergent readings--material that is not contained in the original written text of a book--as evidence of the types of information emergent readers use. Pinpoints four sources of nontext importations in the emergent readings: material from illustrations, from prior read-aloud sessions, from personal experience and…

A survey was taken on support for park and wilderness fire control policies, examining attitude-behavioral intention relationships for prior site visitation and topic discussion at three levels. At higher levels of experience and discussion, there was improved prediction of intention to support the policy from attitudes; attitudes were frequently…

Describes systematic assessment procedures as alternatives to standardized testing which yield more descriptive records of children's reading abilities. Notes that the assessment procedures are consistent with the contemporary understanding of reading which indicates that prior knowledge and the ability to use predictive skills greatly influence…

Finds that powerlessness, social isolation, dogmatic nationalism, age, and gender significantly predict historical illiteracy (unfamiliarity with historical facts) and that a completed college history course reduced the effects of the predicting factors. (SR)

Investigates how structural variables influence readers' construction of meaning. Finds that textual variables operate differently depending on the extent of the readers' background knowledge and linguistic competence. Shows that variable such as exposure to reading materials (in both first and second languages), background knowledge, and…

Argues that using reading strategies in mathematics classes can help students understand mathematical concepts. Discusses five principles for mathematics teachers to use in incorporating reading strategies in the classroom. (RS)