Three studies explored age changes and individual differences in preschoolers' sustained attention in different contexts. Found that changes occurred earlier for play and television viewing than for reaction time tasks. Results suggest that children have stable tendencies to sustain attention but that attention varies with task demands and…

Explores gender and racial differences on two science alternative assessments, an open-ended paper-and-pencil assessment and a hands-on performance assessment. Significant differences in achievement were noted. Contains 40 references. (DDR)

Presents 30 adult Chinese immigrant women's accounts of their experiences with, and perceptions of, learning English as a Second Language in Canada. Results from interviews with two age groups of adult women reveal the complexity of adult second-language acquisition, which involves factors pertaining both to the learners, and to the social context…

Examines moral education in a postmodern cultural context, where there is a privatization of moral responsibility. Building upon a critique of modernist ethics and moral education, five types of response to privatization are postulated and evaluated. Presents the notion of situational sensitivity as defining an appropriate curriculum for…

Examined a staff-development program in a large urban California school district that exposed participants to African-American culture and features of African-American English. Preliminary findings for 32 teachers show that they easily incorporate display, ritual, and situated enactment into their teaching but have not made many other…

Explores several new school buildings in Virginia that attempt to address today's trends in technology, population shifts, and teaching methods. School designs discussed include a technology-rich library for an independent Norfolk school, a high school that is a model of energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, and a context-driven…

Compares responses to a timed writing assignment by students from South Korea and from the United States. Finds that South Korean texts showed more similarities to than differences from the American texts, and suggests a more complex context situation than the commonly accepted high context/low context model of cultural differences can…

Suggests that to understand the interrelationship between technology and language learning, researchers must investigate the broader ecological context that affects language learning and use in today's society, both inside and outside the classroom. This involves expanding research paradigms to engage in critical qualitative research attempts to…

Provides hypothesized explanations for local item dependence (LID) in a large-scale hands-on science performance assessment involving approximately 55,000 students each at grades 3, 5, and 8. Items that appear to elicit locally dependent responses require examinees to answer and explain their answers or to use given or generalized information to…

Explores the influence of micropolitical factors on school organization and management, drawing on Ball's idea regarding the inevitability of micropolitics in school settings. Using Edgar Schein's small-group perspective, shows how micropolitical analyses of school cultures and teacher behavior can be used to increase school leaders'…

Examines the effect of having a sibling or a dating partner on adolescents' relationships with others, focusing on the social rules used in relationships with peers, siblings, and parents. Data support a model of relationship management using siblings as stepping-stones of egalitarian peer features to the world of friends and authoritative parent…

Two studies examined individual differences in 7- to 10-year-olds' contextual facilitation. Findings indicated that poor readers showed more contextual facilitation than good readers but the relative context benefit was greater for good readers. Comprehension was a better predictor of contextual facilitation that decoding. Dyslexics showed greater…

Examines verbal and physical intimidation and physical violence in high school athletics by program and sport. Antecedents were identified via principal component analysis, including contextual setting, attitude, pressure, and coaching. Coaching was the only significant overall predictor and only significant predictor of verbal intimidation in…

This study of 51 Australian elementary school students found that information seeking, driven by a contextual and practical need, resulted in greater retention. Research in the use of electronic information sources has shown that while students can retrieve information, they often fail to retain the information. Attributes the gain to an increased…

Analysis of matched samples of Swiss (n=443) and U.S. (n=740) women found important differences. Labor force participation of the Swiss was more strongly influenced by family configuration. Associations between educational credentials and occupational sex typing was more persistent in Switzerland. Results show how cultural, institutional, and…