The character of academic disciplines profoundly influences the curricular organization and pedagogical practices of undergraduate education. A critical interpretation of liberal arts disciplines and their place in undergraduate education is discussed, with a positive rationale for a different approach to undergraduate education outlined.…

Some of the factors federal investigators and arbitrators use to distinguish between a voluntary quit and a constructive discharge are examined. Several guidelines university administrators can use to preempt and defend such claims are offered. The best way to avoid constructive discharge, it is suggested,is to conduct supervisory training. (MLW)

Discusses the negative aspects of suspension from school, especially its disproportionate impact on non-White students, and surveys some of the most commonly employed alternatives to suspension. (ST)

In the last 25 years, educational psychology has changed and expanded as a discipline. The major educational reform movements have increased the need for research data and for psychological services in the schools, thus expanding the role of the educational psychologist. (SJL)

Information systems are becoming more than computer systems, with new equipment and techniques combining with data processing to form a new field called information technology. The emerging discipline of systems engineering is discussed along with nine systems engineering techniques. An organization chart of an information services department is…

The report of this New Jersey state task force is part of a proposed legislative package. This article cites some of the task force recommendations for restructuring the juvenile court system, dealing with violence and vandalism in the schools, and providing alternative schools for disruptive students. (SJL)

A shift in the nature of colleges and universities has increasingly been reflected in judicial decisions. The doctrine of in loco parentis described student-university relationships until the courts began to emphasize the contractual relationship and the constitutional rights of individual students. (RC)

Investigates the influence of the student teaching experience on the change in attitude toward classroom management in secondary preservice science teachers (N=19). Two measures of classroom management orientation administered before and after the student teaching experience were examined, along with demographic dimensions of gender, science area,…

Recent court cases are cited that indicate courts are now beginning to require that students be informed of academic (including clinical) deficiencies and be provided the opportunity to correct the problem. When the dismissal is for disciplinary rather than academic reasons, more procedural due process is required. (Author/MLW)

Discusses need for social scientific research, clinical social scientists in pharmacy, and specialists in pharmaceutical sociology and the other social sciences. To illustrate, patient noncompliance with drug regimens and the use of sociology to analyze the problem are examined. Includes a sample program in pharmaceutical sociology, course…

The development of a coherent and recognizable teaching and research field devoted to the development of the behavioral and social sciences in pharmacy is proposed. Topic areas of a well-rounded behavioral pharmacy curriculum, research areas, and research methods are discussed. (JMD)

Educators tend to make complex evaluations of the behaviors of colleagues. A study of teacher perceptions of three "brinkmanship" behaviors indicates that educators employ at least five attitude dimensions in characterizing such behaviors and that there are systematic and meaningful differences in the ways they perceive their colleagues'…

Sex differences in GCE 'O' level examination performance are reflected both in the number of boys and girls entering for different subjects and in the numbers obtaining the higher grades. From a review of possible factors, it seems that sex-role stereotyping is the most influential. (Author/SJL)

The author describes and gives examples (from Boston schools) of a nonpunitive approach to classroom discipline designed by William Glasser. The Glasser approach involves getting the student to make a commitment to change his undesirable behavior through class communications. (MF)

Reports on a large-scale study which found that sixty percent of students are labeled as "behavior problems" by their teachers at least once during their elementary school careers. Discusses the questions this raises about teacher judgments, school behavior standards, and the impact on student self-concept. (SJL)