The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's strategic plan for 2001 stipulated that a credit-based system should be adopted for all of its programs. The Department of Computing provides service teaching in computing to all departments at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, necessitating the standardization of computing instruction. One of the issues that…

Student interaction and computer-based communication tool appropriation patterns were examined in two different communication assignments requiring active use of computer-based communication tools. University students completed either: a set of communication assignments and activities with the instructor as sole audience; or a set of communication…

This report is the third in a series of research reports on a 4-year study of private and public school-choice programs in San Antonio, Texas. Two choice programs are the focus of the study. The first program is the Children's Educational Opportunity Foundation, which provides partial scholarships to low-income children for use in private and…

This annual report details the effectiveness of the state's program in preparing at-risk children for kindergarten and the early grades in Illinois. Divided into six areas, the report presents statistical data to describe the following: (1) program participants; (2) change in program participation since its inception in 1986; (3) program's ability…

Data from the Spring 1996 administration of the New Standards Mathematics Reference Examination for Middle Grades were used to examine the instructional validity of the Reference Examination, opportunity to learn, and equity in the context of the California Mathematics Renaissance program. Student (n=1,936) and teacher (n=105) responses to the…

The deeply fractured nature of U.S. society is examined, focusing on poor and working class people in cities. Based on data from 154 poor and working class young adults aged 23 to 35, the study reveals the ways in which this urban generation has suffered from social change. The following chapters are included: (1) "Voices of Hope and Despair:…

Changing job market opportunities affect the fields in which males and females choose to earn a graduate degree. This report examines disparities in field choices of the sexes. Highlighted are the following: (1) in 1994 substantially more females than males earned graduate degrees in education and the health professions; males earned a higher…

Designed to convey timely, accurate, and comparative information about Florida's 28 community colleges, this fact book provides descriptive and statistical data on enrollment trends, college personnel, educational finances, and governance for academic years 1996-97 and 1997-98. The report opens with a brief historical overview of the state system,…

Advanced Placement (AP) participation and examination performance data are important in understanding the extent to which Texas students have completed courses that may qualify them for a "head start"--advanced standing, course credit, or both standing and credit--upon beginning college or university course work. A brief history and…

This report is an evaluation of where Hispanic American women rank in the areas of education, employment, compensation, health, and politics. For Hispanics, both men and women, education is vitally important, and this importance is underscored by data that show that Hispanics overall lack the ability to cope economically. High dropout rates and…

This report uses data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 1996 to describe the financing of undergraduate education in 1995-96, with particular focus on student loans and other types of financial aid. The report begins with an essay that describes the role of student loans within the context of tuition, the total price of…

This study used content analysis to investigate the change, over time, in the depiction of Alaskan natives in children's fiction. The analysis was based on four broad categories: (1) physical traits, including physical features and types of clothing; (2) social traits, including language fluency, family associations, amount of formal education,…

This survey was conducted to discover how extensively ARL (Association of Research Libraries) libraries are involved in formal, active programs of collaboration for collections management. Seventy ARL libraries completed a questionnaire focusing on all collections formats and a number of related collections management activities. Results indicated…

In Hong Kong there has been a move toward greater self-management in schools. The government has supported the School Management Initiatives scheme and has stated that the management system calls for teacher appraisal as one of its internal quality assurance mechanisms. This study examined the relationship between dimensions of school climate and…

Formal teacher appraisal was introduced to schools participating in Hong Kong's School Management Initiative (SMI) without prior evaluation of its effectiveness. This study examines the current practice of appraisal and provides guidelines for schools wishing to introduce teacher appraisal. Teachers from SMI schools (n=337) completed…