A project to improve the leadership competency of personnel responsible for program development and implementation in ABE is presented. The intent of the program planners was to help the ABE administrator discover new patterns of need, to search for new teaching formats and content, and to reassess the relationships which exist in the world of…

Present school programs place considerable reliance on the results of standardized language tests both as placement and diagnostic devices, yet the validity of these tests is open to question. Certain questions arise in light of current theory and research. To what extent are currently available measuring techniques useful for identifying the…

This paper discusses the need for foreign language students to develop positive attitudes about regional and social dialect variation, while learning dialectal patterns that will best facilitate their widest acceptance into a community of target language speakers. The latter issue was tested in a study in which native speakers of American English…

Spontaneous speech performance of ethnically diverse children was investigated by linguistic measures and teacher evaluations. Interview data was collected from 144 elementary school children, comprising equal white, Chicano, and black subsamples evenly divided among lower and higher grades. Speech evaluators were 60 white teachers. Analyses…

The objectives of this study were to examine a body of data collected by five graduate students at the University of Texas at San Antonio and to determine, after a careful analysis of the transcribed utterances, whether all instances of language alternations can be truly considered code-switching strategies and whether those that can be so…

The interlanguage of 25 Francophone Zairean students, second-year undergraduates in economics, is examined as the students attempt to write an essay in English on economics. A very high tolerance of transfer is discribed. Areas where research is needed are outlined. (Author/LMO)

The British Columbia French Speaking Test, administered to grade 3 immersion students, measured their speaking skills through a story- retelling and group discussion task. When 110 immersion children were compared to 25 Francophone children, results indicated that the immersion children were comparable to the francophones in communicative skills…

A systems approach to educating autistic students which is employed as a working model in Dallas (Texas) incorporates individual needs within the context of the family and educational environments. Early childhood, elementary, and secondary issues are delineated in the three major areas of communication, socialization, and independent functioning.…

Karal describes the psychodynamics by which children learn to fear and distrust long-term commitments. Vaines proposes a conceptualization of the home economist as transforming actor. LeBow addresses methods of treating obese youth. Fewster and Kuhonta offer insights on communicating with Third World rural women. (SK)

Describes program of a southeastern Washington rural community mental health center to promote preventative interventions in five rural elementary and high schools and to improve coordination between county social service agencies and rural schools. Discusses implementation, acceptance, continuation, and evaluation of the program. (LFL)

Explores outcome differences associated with types of after-school care among third graders from a suburban school system. No differences were found between latchkey and mother-care children. However, significant differences were found for children who attended day care centers after school. (RJC)

Twenty mentally retarded individuals placed in competitive employment were compared to a matched group in sheltered workshop settings concerning their quality of life. The competitively employed individuals experienced greater advancement; improved hand strength and weight control; and increased community participation, social vocational skills,…

Describes an attempt made at the University of Reading to support or discount claims made about the pedagogic value of communication games. Some evidence was found in support of games' roles in encouraging students to practice language skills. (Author/CB)

Describes study of 837 campers aged 8-13 at 1 day and 5 residential camps, 546 parents, and 274 counselors to document effect of camp experiences on group-living/interpersonal skills, prosocial outlook, outdoor living skills, personal enjoyment, and environmental appreciation/understanding. Three figures show survey results, four photographs of…

Describes an experimental course in communication offered to nonnative English-speaking pharmacists at the University of Maryland and reports the results of an evaluation of the course. The course was team-taught by a pharmacist specializing in communication for pharmacists and by an English-as-a-second-language specialist. (Author/SED)