This article provides a historical overview and comparison of intensive English (IE) and intensive French (IF) programs in Canada. Comparisons are made in terms of the total time allotted to the intensive period, the selection of students, the number and types of schools offering the programs, the models of delivery, and the type of pedagogy and…

This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4-5-year-old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play-based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern…

From a comparative perspective, this paper analyses Chinese learners' intercultural experiences in Chinese and British educational contexts. In the Chinese context, interview and questionnaire research was carried out in 24 universities that hosted the British Council's English teaching development programmes. The research uncovered perspectives…

Peer support interventions are emerging as an effective alternative to traditional paraprofessional models for assisting students with moderate to severe disabilities to access the general curriculum. To contribute to the refinement of peer support interventions, we evaluated the impact of altering the number of participating peers on the social…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

Using a comparative-cultural perspective, this collection of essays examines the co-constructivist nature of human development in culturally organized environments. The contributions also cover a large age span--infancy to adulthood. Chapters in part 1 cover two different directions in the study of early adult-infant interaction from a comparative…

Efforts to link schools and workplaces in Australia, Sweden, and elsewhere were examined to identify preconditions and effective strategies for linking school to work in Australia. An Australian program that combines applied, contextualized learning structured according to industry standards with students' general education was shown to produce…

This study investigated the degree of communicative competence of 8-year-old (n=45) students in five Welsh language immersion programs or Welsh-medium schools, comparing the children's skills with those of 10 native Welsh-speaking children. All were asked to retell a story show previously on video, and to participate in a group discussion task. In…

This study investigated apsects of state regulation of public research or doctoral universities in all states and territories of the United States. The study examined: (1) dimensions of state control and administrative flexibility, and changes occurring between 1983 and 1995; (2) the extent to which state regulation of public universities is a…

Mathematical performance of young Chinese children in Taiwan as compared to American children beginning as early as first grade has been well-documented. A similar study by Huntsinger, et al, 1995, demonstrated the same phenomenon in comparisons of Chinese-American young children with Euro-American children. Parents influence young children's…

This report is the sixth in a series of annual reports identifying the number of students who drop out of Nevada schools during the course one school year, in this case, the 1993-94 school year. Data were derived from school records, and information from every public school with grades 7 through 12 included. Some 5,950 individuals dropped out of…

While the publication of school report cards and profiles is common in a number of states, their contents and formats vary as they represent the concerns and initiatives of policymakers. Over the past several years, detailed analyses have been conducted of the report cards of southern and southeastern states. This report compared report cards and…

Based on responses by 405 public two-year colleges in the United States to 2 surveys, this report provides comparative financial information for fiscal year 1994-95. The report provides space for colleges to compare their institutional statistics with national sample medians, quartile data for the national sample, and tables and graphs of…

Although the forces that are globalizing the economy, democratizing political life, and ushering in a knowledge society promise to improve humanity, they are also exacerbating the marginalization of individuals and the polarization of entire nations. Many individuals in developing nations are at risk of systematic exclusion from meaningful…

A naturalistic study looked at the acquisition of English by two Japanese boys, aged 4 and 8 years, during a 2.5-year stay in the United States. Data were collected through observation and transcription of spontaneous speech in daily life. Analysis included a variety of features of language use and of the acquisition process, including attitudes…