Describes the Home Visit Initiative at Socorro Middle School in Texas. Discusses the purpose of home visits; selection of families for teacher home visits; the visiting team; parents', students', and teachers' reactions to visits, and the results of an evaluation of the home visits, especially the impact on parent volunteerism and schooling,…

Provides a series of guidelines for overcoming resistance and problems with cooperative projects in an introductory sociology course. These include coordinating common interests and common free time between team members, requiring allocation of various roles (presider, scribe, coordinator), and ongoing monitoring of the research teams. (MJP)

Provides an extensive recounting of a colloquium convened at the Institute for Christian-Jewish Studies in Baltimore, Maryland. The colloquium brought together Catholic and Jewish educators from the northeastern United States for six intensive, two-day sessions over a period of nearly three years. Discusses the development and implementation of…

Maintains that the Puerto Rican Catholic and Jewish cultural and religious experience emphasizes family, communal values, and rituals. Argues that these commonalities can be a platform for building a comparative analysis and dialog. This dialog holds the possibility of strengthening personal and communal identities, as well as increasing…

By evaluating her use and delivery of praise, an elementary teacher discovered that its quality, not quantity, had the most impact on students. Teachers can increase the positive effects of praise by praising sparingly but carefully, directing it to students who respond well to it, and ensuring contingency, specificity, and credibility. (Author/SM)

Moral educators understand the moral and ethical complexities of their role, possess expertise in interpreting their behavior and discerning its influence on students, and act ethically within the context of professional responsibility. Teacher education programs must concentrate on addressing ethics. The case study method can be effective in…

Examined the role of mainstream pupils in the integration of students with special education needs (SEN), based on accounts from both groups. Found that mainstream pupils control the experiences of pupils with SEN in both positive and negative ways. Results suggest ways schools might guide mainstream pupils' understanding of disability and promote…

Summarizes a survey of over 500 teachers throughout four regions of Russia. Discovers that most teachers feel their skills and development are lacking, particularly in the areas of innovative teaching methods. Outlines a system of steps and goals to be implemented throughout teacher education to rectify this deficiency. (MJP)

The effects of sequential behavior feedback on preservice physical educators' practice teaching were examined. Performance competencies of teacher trainees were analyzed using an alternative opportunities for appropriate action measure. Results indicated that exposure to sequential behavior feedback increased preservice teachers' use of effective…

Summarizes the response to complaints that a class examining the sociology of minorities unfairly emphasized negative behavior. The course was restructured to include an examination of resistance and interracial cooperation against racism. This new perspective was incorporated into writing assignments, class discussions, and instructional…

Determines the level of drug and alcohol involvement of 369 middle and high school students and examines the effectiveness of early intervention. Results of the study underscore the frequency and seriousness of drug use, the need for more prevention efforts in elementary and middle schools, and additional treatment programs for high school…

Evaluates a 10-week drug education and prevention program (DEPP) as a means to increase information about the efficacy of such efforts in deterring college athlete drug abuse. Data obtained from 635 student athletes shows improvements in knowledge, attitudes toward performance-enhancing and recreational drugs, and perceptions of drug education…

Examines research on the influence of classroom design on student learning attitudes and behavior and presents two case studies on the remodeling of five classrooms in two high schools to accommodate new instructional technology for teaching algebra. Highlights include lighting, color, surface materials, noise, climate control, and seating.…

Children born to heroin-dependent mothers (n=83) were compared to 76 children born to heroin-dependent fathers and to 3 control groups with and without environmental deprivation and health problems. Results found that developmental delays and behavioral disorders found among heroin-exposed children resulted primarily from severe environmental…

Society should be particularly concerned about the long-term consequences of excluding (suspending or expelling) primary age children from school for behavior problems. Competition between schools has left behind less-marketable children who can contribute little to a school's performance indicators. Concomitant cutbacks in school and social…