There is growing consensus among educators and policy makers that the gap in academic outcomes that exists along socio-economic and racial lines is the most pressing educational challenge of the day. Given their daily work teaching in public schools in the nation's lowest-income urban and rural communities, Teach For America teachers--or "corps…

This paper discusses the need for systematic school-wide support of the use of indigenous languages among those who learn them at home and of approrpriate instruction in the same languages for those who do not. The school's role in keeping indigenous languages alive must go beyond native language instruction to encompass dissemination of…

This theme issue focuses on instructional practices, evaluation, and the state of bilingual education. "Effective Implementation of Bilingual Programs: Reflections from the Field" (Abelardo Villarreal, Adela Solis) describes the key characteristics of successful bilingual programs: vision and goals; program leadership; linkage to central…

This educational packet is designed to provide health educators with materials necessary to teach high school students about the facts concerning mental illness. The objectives of the lesson plans are to (1) identify common fears and misconceptions about people who have mental illness; (2) discuss how stereotypes about mental illness are formed;…

Replicates a classic psychology laboratory experiment where students either endorsed or refuted personal statements and estimated how other people would respond. Students always overestimated an affirmative response on the statements they endorsed, thus illustrating the false consensus effect. Includes a list of the statements and statistical…

Maintains that most graduate-level economics textbooks rarely mention the need for consumers to be above their minimum wealth position as a condition for market equilibrium. Argues that this omission leaves students with a mistaken sense about the range of circumstances under which market equilibria can exist. (MJP)

Reports a study to examine careless errors fifth-grade students (n=58) make while solving mathematical word problems and explores the type of student who frequently makes such errors. Results indicated that frequency of these errors was significantly related to the noncognitive variables of the study. Discusses implications for remediation. (20…

Explains how misperceptions of Asian Americans have led to inappropriate conclusions by the public and by policymakers concerning medical school enrollment and financial assistance and health needs research. The article makes recommendations for increasing and expanding targeted data collection efforts in the Asian Pacific American subcategories.…

While most child development experts acknowledge there is no universally agreed upon definition of children's play, there is general agreement that a lack of play, commonly known as "play deprivation" in play theories and research, can greatly stifle the child's normal healthy development. Therefore, the need for daily play experiences and daily…

This study investigated the effectiveness of conceptual change texts oriented instruction accompanied by demonstrations in small groups on students' ecology achievement and attitude towards biology. 78 ninth grade students in a public high school participated in this study. While the control group was taught with the traditional method, the…

In this paper, we examine some modern myths of poverty and special education. Mythology has been a staple of curriculum for many years, particularly in the early grades. Students study mythology to understand historical societies, unearthing cultural values and mores communicated through fables. Not so benign are myths related to poverty and…

One of the most important and difficult challenges facing social studies educators, particularly world history teachers, concerns the role of Islam--one of the world's fastest growing and most dynamic religions--in historical and contemporary domestic and international affairs. What teachers choose to teach about Islam and how they present it are…

Written by a prominent array of scholars and practitioners, this book elucidates the complexities, contradictions, and confusion surrounding adolescence in American culture and education. For too long, harmful public myths and lies have portrayed teenagers as a principal cause of our nation's social ills. Similar unfair charges have been lodged…

This Special Report surveys existing conditions for Latino [superscript 1] language minority students in Indiana's schools and identifies the most significant problems and challenges for improving their learning. The report opens with an overview of recent demographic shifts in Indiana's K-12 student population, and makes an important distinction…

It is estimated that one in every five people in the United States has problems performing daily activities without help, perhaps due to the aging of the population and to more and more children surviving severe birth defects. The importance of library services to the disabled cannot be overestimated; they have the same information needs as any…