"The Opportunity Gap" aims to shift attention from the current overwhelming emphasis on schools in discussions of the achievement gap to more fundamental questions about social and educational opportunity. The achievement gap looms large in the current era of high-stakes testing and accountability. Yet questions persist: Has the…

The purpose of this case study was to document the journey of three novice career change science inductees as they became middle-level science teachers in urban low socioeconomic status (SES) schools and included post-internship employment status data on all nine science teachers who completed the alternative certification program, up to the time…

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation developed and sponsored the Middle Grades Initiative (MGI), which began in 1989, in five urban school systems: (1) Baltimore (Maryland); (2) Louisville (Kentucky); (3) Milwaukee (Wisconsin); (4) Oakland (California); and (5) San Diego (California). The purpose of MGI was to change the ways schools educate young,…

This paper reports on a study of effective classroom management in British primary schools, with particular emphasis on how teachers deal with deviant or disruptive behavior. The study was conducted through observation of 239 lessons and interviews with 60 teachers and through interviews with 430 pupils aged 5-12. The research found a lack of…

This study examined the relative impact of both student-driven and institutional factors on anticipated academic and career outcomes among first-year graduate students. The study addressed two primary questions: (1) whether significant gender and ethnic differences exist in the academic credentials, expectations, and degree of incorporation within…

A model of preservice teacher education for second language instruction that (1) emphasizes the relationship between theory and practice in the classroom and (2) brings practicing elementary and secondary school teachers and teacher educators together to train new teachers is presented. The program is implemented in three coordinated courses at…

Chapters in this collection on college faculty motivation and teaching effectiveness include: "The Meaning of Human Motivation" (Charles J. Walker and Cynthia Symons); "Wanting to Be a Good Teacher: What Have We Learned To Date?" (Wilbert J. McKeachie); "Beyond Male Theory: A Feminist Perspective on Teaching…

This paper looks at meeting Colorado student expectations of higher education by looking at demographic trends within Colorado's current undergraduate student population and some of the factors that may influence future student needs. Section I looks at the state's student population and notes that, though nationally 33 percent of undergraduates…

The problems encountered in implementing an intensive summer course in English for specific purposes, designed to prepare students for graduate study in urban planning, urban design, and architecture, are discussed by the course's language and content specialists. Positive course results included development of useful classroom communication…

In the 1980s several qualitative studies of midwestern public high schools that serve students of color were conducted. Many teachers attempted to reach these students by adopting culturally responsive teaching strategies. While some teachers insisted that abandoning traditional pedagogy was to give up on socially legitimate teaching, others tried…

This study used qualitative research methods to investigate instructional and noninstructional interactions of Hispanic and non-Hispanic teachers with Hispanic American students. Two monolingual non-Hispanic teachers and two bilingual (Spanish and English) teachers at two public elementary schools were participants. The teachers had similar…

An ethnographic study was conducted of the first year of implementation of the Accelerated Schools Project in a pilot middle school. The interaction between intervention and the existing school culture is studied through multiple interviews with teachers, support staff, administrators, students, and parents as well as observation and review of…

Intended for middle school instructors or teacher education students in middle school methods courses, this guide provides a practical, concise, criterion-referenced, performance-based mastery learning model for effective teaching. The guide is organized around four components: why the rationale to support the components that follow; what the…

Research has shown a decline in motivation and performance for many children as they move from elementary school into middle school; however, research has also shown that the nature of motivational change on entry to middle school depends on characteristics of the learning environment in which students find themselves. This Digest outlines some…

This survey of 316 Precalculus, Calculus AB, and Calculus BC students from markedly different socioeconomic levels in four district high schools in San Antonio, Texas, looked at factors that have traditionally caused women to avoid mathematics, and attempted to discover which of them continue to influence women's decisions to reject the…