This annual theme issue is devoted to articles on educational research pertaining to the Mexican American child. In addition, there is an article proposing strategies for recruiting Hispanics in teacher education, and a poem recalling a childhood experience. Titles and authors are: (1) "Motivation for Learning English: Differences Between Non- and…

A study evaluated the Early Literacy program that served 2,278 underachieving pupils in grades one (1,655) and two (623) who appeared unlikely to learn to read successfully without additional reading instruction. The Early Literacy program teacher and each small group of pupils worked together each day for 40-45 minutes on reading and writing…

This study applies reader-response criticism to investigate subject positions of gender, age, ethnicity, and profession through the poststructural analysis of an art work entitled "A Book from the Sky," and examines the relationship among viewer, text (the art work), and artist. A description of the art work is provided as an…

In 1979, the Indian Institute of Education launched the country's first comprehensive project in part-time, non-formal primary education. Now in its third phase, PROPEL (Promoting Primary and Elementary Education Project) is training the inhabitants of 137 villages to take responsibility for the quality of education in the non-formal stream. This…

This paper, which is intended to assist adult literacy practitioners interested in conducting research about their programs, discusses the four stages of the action research process: identifying questions to guide the research, collecting information to answer the questions, analyzing the information collected, and sharing the results with others.…

Sharing concerns and interests of New York State educators in the improvement of literacy, this annual journal raises educational issues such as appropriate, effective instruction and assessment for all of New York's children. A central thread found in many of the articles is the importance of authenticity and inclusion. A second strand reflects…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a portfolio strategy to assess reading in the early primary grades. For a 12-week period, college students implemented portfolio assessment as they completed their reading block field experiences as part of their literacy/reading methods courses. Data included the portfolios, teacher surveys, journals of the…

Effects of introducing performance-based assessments into the classroom were studied by examining instruction, student learning, and teacher attitudes and practices. As part of the larger study, workshops were conducted with third-grade teachers from three schools engaged in constructing performance assessments of literacy. Data from transcripts…

A study explored the role of peer collaboration in literacy development as a case study in the broader inquiry on the social nature of learning and cognitive development. Fourteen low-achieving 7- to 9-year-old children in a third-grade urban classroom used a word processor to write four stories individually and three stories collaboratively with…

This document examines educational reforms that have occurred in Mongolia and Laos. Both nations have expanded educational opportunity drastically over the years. Both had extensive literacy campaigns following the establishment of socialism. Laos has undertaken development projects with the support of the USSR, Eastern European countries, and…

In March and April of 1992, 60 representatives of state-funded workplace education programs in New York attended day-long regional workshops to identify ways of improving program planning and evaluation methods. After the workshops, the participants returned to their home programs, organized local evaluation teams, and developed action plans to…

Adult Literacy and Basic Education (ALBE) teachers face many challenges as they attempt to reconcile the demands of educational providers, learners, and government agencies with their own values and beliefs about the aims and purposes of literacy. Recent research on ALBE programs was examined from the standpoint of their relationship to the…

What difference should sociocultural difference make in early literacy theory and practice? In response to this question, this paper argues that such differences should lead to a reconceptualization that highlights the social nature and cultural meaning of child literacy development. Drawing on a recent ethnographic study of child composing in an…

An ethnographic study examined the experiences of Karim (a member of the Ismaili cultural community in Canada), enrolled in an urban grade two multi-lingual classroom comprised of Canadian-born children who are second generation immigrants and whose daily lives are conducted in a language other than English. A researcher participated in the…

This collection contains 13 selected papers presented at the 1992 conference of the International Association of School Librarianship. Titles are as follows: (1) "The Difference of Literature: Writing for the Future of Young Adults" (Aidan Chambers); (2) "Managing School Library Change" (Peggy Heeks); (3) "The Power of…