This issue has four articles. Maria del Pilar Garcia Mayo and Teresa Pica in "Is the EFL Environment a Language Learning Environment?" address the question of whether the English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classroom is an environment that promotes input, feedback, and the production of output that is necessary for successful second…

This book is the second in a four-book series on habits of mind. It translates a habits of mind approach to education into action using classroom-tested advice. Contributions come from practitioners in literature, math, music, foreign language, reading, character education, and social science. After "Series Foreword: Thinking on the Road of…

Argues classrooms must provide an appropriately stimulating environment that supports learning and provides teachers and students with a comfortable place to learn. Lists requisite factors of the school environment including furniture, aesthetics, color, carpet, building maintenance, decorating detail, comfort, space/design, lighting, classroom…

Proposes recommendations for balancing middle school students' academic, personal, and social needs by addressing personal development through curriculum and instruction, instructional program components, and a culture of assessment. Argues that academic achievement enhances self-esteem, concluding that students' academic achievement and personal…

Discusses four major approaches to teaching about controversial issues frequently cited in educational literature: problem solving, public issues, decision making, and moral reasoning. Provides guidelines for structuring large-group discussions, small-group discussions, and debates within these approaches. Includes a list of instructional…

Advocates utilizing an issues-centered approach to teaching controversial political issues in social studies classrooms. Recommends augmenting this approach with the development of a democratic classroom where student views are encouraged and considered. Identifies useful techniques for this approach, including debates, simulations, discussions,…

Presents the findings of a six-year staff development program for multigrade teachers. Discovers a significant increase in the time on task levels of the pupils and the instructional and classroom management skills of the teachers. Discusses the implications of, and problems with, the study. (MJP)

Reports on a study of the relationships between social categories, defined by ethnicity, gender, and social status, and school-related outcomes among 470 16-year-old Australian adolescents and their parents. Finds that differences in students' learning environments and school outcomes were related strongly to ethnicity. (CFR)

A proposed strategy for colleges and universities to increase the academic persistence of minority group students begins with faculty renewal efforts that encourage faculty to question their cultural beliefs, examine how diversity affects teaching and learning, foster more collaborative classroom interactions, maintain high academic expectations,…

Discusses the origin, development, and current status of a history-geography-English integrated curriculum program for eighth-grade students. Summarizes the "pluses" and "minuses" of the approach. Describes classroom activities and student projects in the program. (CFR)

Reviews experiences teaching diverse groups of college English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. Writing assignments encouraged students to depict a particular aspect of multiculturalism in an autobiographical manner. Until teachers give greater credence to the complex voices of their students, multiculturalism will be an academic discourse the…

Asserts that, although research on Lawrence Kohlberg's "just communities" has received much attention, descriptions of the application of this approach are limited. Describes how Kohlberg's theories are applied to sixth and seventh grade classrooms. Includes recommendations on the classroom environment, student journals, and report…

Asserts that middle school education is a conceptually unique process requiring changed teacher roles, a curriculum of exploration rather than skill development, and student grouping based on developmental factors rather than by age or subject matter. (CFR)

A teacher educator gives a personal account of how her experience in trying to create an egalitarian, communitarian spirit in a graduate education course challenged her feminist notions of power, empowerment, and authority and provided insights into the practical aspects of developing instructor-student collaboration. (IAH)

Describes teaching Western political theory at Beijing University (China) in 1987, a period of political modernization. Suggests changes to enhance education and scholarship in China concerning instructional pedagogy. Notes the need for critical writing skills, finds students limited in their ability to analyze scholarly writing, and recommends…