Current challenges to the more traditional orientations of higher education are apparent in the debate between educators who seek to broaden the student's perspective and develop scholarship and students who seek to find the relevance of their course material to their current perspective. This debate is similar to problems encountered within…

This study is a cross-cultural comparison of elementary classroom climates on a multi-method, multi-score inventory (The Barclay Classroom Climate Inventory). Subjects of the study were 438 children in grades 3-6 from two elementary schools in Taiwan and 512 children from the same grades in two Indiana classrooms. Utilizing multivariate…

The failure to find strong instructional effects of simulation is usually attributed to poor measurement and faulty research design. However, weak implementation of simulation into the classroom, rather than methodological inadequacy, is presented here as the primary reason for finding insignificant effects. The types of environments under which…

Poor lighting conditions in classrooms result not only from low intensity light but also from too high intensity light, an uneven distribution of light, and glare. Since visual tasks in a classroom constitute 62 percent of a student's time in school, suggestions are made of ways lighting conditions can be improved. The principles and…

A selective view of recent major areas of research into school processes related to language outcomes supports the contention of the Bullock Report and of many educational theorists who say that there is no one best way to improve language and literacy, but that schools and school variables can and do make differences. The research that is…

A year-long case study was made of an elementary school teacher and her first and second grade students in a classroom considered typical of a learning community, an environment that emphasizes collaborative planning between teacher and students. Three aspects of planning were found directly related to this sort of collaboration. First, the…

A student's belief in the value of literacy is essential to effective teaching and successful learning, but can result only from a local culture whose aim is to produce literacy. The social identity and cultural norms of the young are registered in their use of language, and if literacy, as defined by others, calls the norms and identity into…

This report documents a preliminary effort to compile, analyze, and present data relevant to the feasibility of implementing a comprehensive preschool program within the St. Louis public school system. Sections of the study aim to provide (1) definition of and perspective on preschool education, (2) determination of the demographic…

Special Education programs at nine Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools were investigated to establish and identify priorities for improvement and to determine the effectiveness of each program. The monitoring procedure involved random sampling of files of identified exceptional students and an in-depth examination of the documentation…

The observations of a teacher educator who spent a semester teaching in a mainstreamed elementary classroom are recorded in this monograph. Case studies of students form the framework for the consideration of the broader implications and problems involved in mainstreaming. Illustrative classroom practices are offered to clarify such concepts as…

A study examined the relationships between cognitive tasks and social skills that are relevant to prereading or beginning reading instruction by observing lessons given to small groups of children. Four preschool children--one with many prereading skills and three with few skills--participated in the study. Student-teacher interaction that…

This report explores the question of what constitutes success in teaching from the perspective of the teacher. A survey of elementary and secondary teachers was conducted using both questionnaires and interviews. Responses were classified as cognitive, affective, or other. Responses were judged cognitive when pupil learning was indicated as a sign…

Qualitative methods were used to analyze the social environments--or webs of interaction--in reading groups of varying ability levels. Ethnographic observations were conducted for 15 to 30 hours in each of eight first and second grade classrooms with ability-divided reading groups. A code scheme was developed to categorize the quantity and quality…

To create the conditions necessary for students to learn basic skills, teachers should facilitate interpersonal situations that will encourage learning. Teachers should operate less on a defensive basis and allow more student-teacher involvement, careful thinking, and demonstrated relevance of knowledge to create a dynamic learning environment.…