The effects of reducing the number of daily social studies homework questions to reward lower rates of inappropriate classroom behavior was investigated with 19 mildly handicapped junior high students and their two teachers. The intervention resulted in significant decreases in inappropriate behavior with no changes in homework accuracy or…

In Israel, there are statistical relationships between students' social orientations and the ability group to which they are assigned. However, the direction of effect between the two variables is as yet undetermined. (LHW)

Determined whether educators' judgments of problem behaviors are influenced by classroom contex (disruptive x nondisruptive) and teacher type (regular x special). After viewing videotaped behavioral segments presented within a disruptive or nondisruptive classroom setting, teachers rated behavioral severity, tolerance, manageability, and…

Reports the results of a quasi-experimental study designed to assess the effects of values development lessons on students' self-reported attitudes and behaviors. Results showed that the 48 10- to 15-year-old students involved in the study improved in the behavioral measure but not on the self-report scales. (JDH)

Discusses strategies that can be used to prevent the five most common behavioral problems in secondary schools: (1) failure to complete assigned work, (2) tardiness, (3) inattentiveness, (4) littering, and (5) failure to bring materials to class. (FL)

Federal regulation protects handicapped students' education against unwarranted interruption without specifying procedures for disciplining handicapped students. This article reviews court decisions in disciplinary cases and provides procedural guidelines to follow in disciplining handicapped students. (MD)

First-year medical students' attitudes toward their free time and how these attitudes relate to self-reported stress levels were examined. Findings suggest a need for educating students about the benefits of well-spent leisure time as a stress management mechanism. (Author/MLW)

Pretend play training was given to an experimental group of 15 children aged three to five years. A matched control group was given mastery tasks. Results showed the experimental group gained significantly on observed make-believe play, non-standard alternative uses, Say-and-Tell total, Self-Concept Empathy Preschool Embedded Figures, and Matching…

This high school's successful suspension alternative assigns disruptive students to an alternative classroom for several days, where they are isolated from the remainder of the student body all day, and excluded from participation in or attending all regular programs and cocurricular activities. (DCS)

Moral instruction was an accepted part of the educational system until the 1930's. More recent approaches to moral instruction are discussed and criticized. The author states that it is specious to talk about student choices, that school is inherently doctrinal, and that the question to ask is, What will be indoctrinated? (MD)

Outlines the program of Bethany Baptist Academy, a fundamentalist religious K-12 school in the Midwest. The school socializes the students to think and behave according to the dictates of its religious doctrine. (MD)

This descriptive study was conducted to (1) measure anxiety levels of geology students (N=49) and earth science students (N=68) about taking these required departmental courses; (2) measure their general anxiety level; and (3) examine factors associated with student anxiety. Results (including those related to sex differences) are reported and…

Discusses: (1) different types of learning (concepts, properties, facts, procedures, algorithms, skills, and problem solving); (2) types of learning behaviors; and (3) types of representational models, considering concreteness, meaningfulness, and manipulation (active manipulation, passive manipulation, and nonmanipulation). (JN)

Using development of a State Event Observation System as an example, the decision rules and procedures for the constructing of standardized multiple behavior observational systems that provide accurate, reliable data for school-based assessment, intervention, and research are described. Reliability and validity data from the SECOS are provided.…

Reports a national survey of vocational agriculture teachers that sought to measure their perceptions of the seriousness of student misbehavior in classrooms and laboratories. Results show that misbehavior is not a major problem in vocational agriculture. (JOW)