Examines formal classroom encounters among Laotian refugee and at-risk American students and their teacher in a lower-track literature course and the influences of community context and school culture. Highlights linkages between student perceptions of self-competence and peer worth, the teacher's role in the social organization of work-related…

This paper discusses the overuse of medications to deal with attention deficit disorder (ADD) in the classroom, offering suggestions related to teaching strategies, classroom environment, school environment, and home environment to help keep students' attention without resorting to medication. A chart shows the difference between ADD and other…

Four key factors contributed to program success or failure of five context-specific, school-based teacher preparation programs in Arizona: university personnel, administrative support, flexibility and risk taking, and a focus on quality. Among individual program goals were preparation of special education teachers for elementary and rural Navajo…

Articulates the ideological and social relationships reinforced by the spatial design of urban children's schools in the early 19th century. Describes the purpose and function of the four types of schools: Sunday, monitorial, infant, and workhouse. Includes numerous illustrations from a variety of sources. (MJP)

Discusses the isolated and uncertain status of geography departments in most community colleges. Identifies the root of the problem as being a combination of community college growth and the shift from an academic to a remedial/vocational orientation. Finds this disturbing in light of community colleges' massive enrollment. (MJP)

A 1996 project examined transition from "special schools" to postsecondary education in the United Kingdom. Students were interviewed concerning their feelings about their change of circumstance and environment, and parents were surveyed about their optimal scenario for the change. A mentoring model to facilitate the transition and a…

A study examining school violence surveyed 819 students in grades 8, 10, and 11 in a rural secondary school in 1997 and 1999. Student feelings toward school safety were not significantly different in the 2 years. However, there was a significant decline in feeling safe at home, which may be a catalyst for future school problems. (Contains 24…

Describes the evolution of a university course from a face-to-face experience to a Web-based asynchronous learning environment. Topics include cognition and learning; distance learning and distributed learning; student learning communities and the traditional classroom; the future as it relates to education and technology; collaborative student…

Introduces the idea that attention deficit disorder is a myth brought about by society's attempts to alter and adapt children's natural behaviors to fit the routines and limits of a flawed educational system. Anecdotes from Albany's Free School describe ways of working with children as unique individuals, based on the faith in every child's inborn…

Grade point average for residence hall freshmen (N=1,167; 52%male, 90% white, 74% in-state) is related significantly to precollege characteristics (high school rank, gender, ethnicity, parental education, divorced/separated parents, self-perception of abilities, expectation of honors or changing major) and environmental variables (learning…

Educator violence against students (verbal and physical assaults and the undermining of students' constitutional rights) erodes rather than enhances school safety. Unnecessarily harsh disciplinary practices create a violence-prone climate mirroring U.S. society--the most retributive of Western nations. Democratic classroom practices can help…

While studying 16 middle schools engaged in "Turning Points" reforms, authors confronted a contradictory American culture that embraces democratic ends for schools, but resists democratic means to achieve them. Three demographically different schools struggled and compromised to incorporate civic virtue, thematic learning, social…

Reports on a study of Web-based learning environments in Singapore that focuses on the cross-validation of the Geography Classroom Environment Inventory (GCEI) which assesses undergraduate students' perceptions of psychosocial aspects of their Web-based instruction. Examines gender equity, instructional innovation, internal consistency…

Discusses student learning behavior in two history classes. Suggests that many students do not understand the culture of college and inadvertently violate simple rules for success. Asserts that many students lack the knowledge of how to be successful in an academic environment and would benefit from a course serving as an "On-The-Job Professional…

Supported by Save the Children, the Mali Community School project helped fund school construction in previously unserved villages and accommodated community priorities: instruction in Bambara rather than French, integration of local knowledge into traditional subject areas, and school schedules adapted to agricultural needs. Project evaluation…