Explores the impact of classroom environment on curriculum implementation. Provides historical background for this area of study, describes instruments for assessing prosocial behavior, and examines studies of teacher and student perception of classroom environment. Reports on two studies that combine qualitative and quantitative methods, and…

The effects of single-sex versus coeducational arrangements were compared for 2,332 Catholic high school students representing 21 single-sex boys', 26 single-sex girls', and 33 coeducational schools. Various outcomes during the sophomore-to-senior period were nearly unaffected by school type. These findings contradict those of earlier national…

Describes the development and validation of a short form of the My Class Inventory (MCI) assessing classroom psychosocial environment. Reports a case study involving the use of the short form of MCI in attempts to improve a sixth-grade mathematics class. Provides all 25 items of the short version of MCI. (YP)

Describes an inservice teacher course incorporating 34 competencies identified as important for behavior disorder teachers in rural West Virginia, and featuring 15 seminars tailored to participants' needs, videotaped practicum experience, and use of portable computers to record and analyze student behaviors. Contains 28 references. (SV)

The special needs of young adults with concurrent mental health and substance abuse problems are discussed. This article presents federal initiatives and research findings, and describes state-of-the-art approaches to treatment and rehabilitation. Strategies for training mental health professionals to diagnose and treat dually disabled persons are…

Suggests that differential performances of students in schools may be attributable to teachers' altered communication and teaching strategies in response to perceived student abilities. Investigates the nature of such adaptations, finding that lesson structure changed in low-ranked classes, diminishing students' possibility of attaining the stated…

Eight mildly handicapped young adults were taught to discriminate whether or not possible violations of legal rights occurred in socially validated scenarios and, if so, to role-play a behavioral sequence to redress rights violations. With one exception, participants demonstrated generalization to four community role-play settings. (JW)

Reviews the controversy over the effects that various forms of computer use are likely to have on different children's learning, motivation, and social behavior. Considers difficulties in the current state of empirical research in this area, and offers recommendations for future research. (Author/BJV)

A relatively context-free method of assessing teacher behavior was tested on nine preschool teachers, five elementary school teachers, and seven remedial teachers in Israel. The context is removed via use of extremely brief (10-second) video clips of teacher behavior, separated into verbal and non-verbal channels. (TJH)

Compares belief systems of preservice and inservice teachers, focusing on whether the two groups make instructional choices based on their theoretical orientations. Finds that practices chosen by teachers with reader-based/holistic orientations reflected their beliefs, while the practices of teachers with mastery-of-skills orientations did not.…

Discusses the Pocketful of History project, which uses historical fiction and biographies to fill in gaps in student knowledge and engage children in meaningful learning experiences. Presents examples of seven historical figures featured in the project. (CFR)

Discussion and case vignettes demonstrate defence processes in coping with illness and disability. Differences in the coping process between adolescents physically disabled from birth and those disabled through accident or illness are addressed. Dangers and prospects of lengthy rehabilitation processes are discussed, as are adjustments necessary…

Examines Socratic teaching methods with special attention to the desirability of the approach's objectives. Contends that Socratic teaching attempts to guide the student from complacency to a state of humility and perplexity. Suggests types of situations in which a Socratic approach can be responsibly and effectively used. (CFR)

Posits that gifted, underachieving, recovering students can help deter others from self-destructive acts, and, therefore, warrant special consideration by admissions offices. Recovering students are often motivated to seek understanding and truth and possess a unique passion for learning. They can be an important asset to the campus community.…

Students of group dynamics (n=16) use Systematic Multiple Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG) to rate group leader and group member interaction in the videotape series "Group Work: Leading in the Here and Now." Ratings assignments were the same for all three videotapes. (JBJ)