This digest summarizes the problem of over-representation of minority students in special education and offers suggestions to reduce this disproportionate representation. It notes concerns of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that minority students are being misclassified and receiving…

The most persistent question in the field of school facility planning relates to that of the relationship between the built environment and the performance and behavior of users, particularly students. Ways in which the built environment affects two student variables--student achievement and student behavior--are explored. The first variable is…

This program for the 1995 Association for Learning Technology Conference summarizes the presentations of the discussions, demonstrations, workshops, and poster sessions. Abstracts of the following papers presented at the conference are included: "New Structures for Learning" (Patrick Allen & Kate Sankey); "Multiple System…

Ethnographic studies of multicultural education in classrooms and schools are reviewed, emphasizing studies that have made self-conscious attempts to be culturally inclusive by modifying classroom organization, discourse patterns, or the curriculum. Studies of desegregation and ethnographies of urban schools are not included. The first part of the…

This document contains the following full and short papers on computer-assisted language learning (CALL) from ICCE/ICCAI 2000 (International Conference on Computers in Education/International Conference on Computer-Assisted Instruction): (1) "A Computer-Assisted English Abstract Words Learning Environment on the Web" (Wenli Tsou and…

The Sudbury Valley School was founded in 1968 by a group of Massachusetts parents who felt that a child is a person, worthy of full respect as a human being. It was intended that a nurturing environment be created in which the children themselves chose what they wished to do and scheduled their time. Democracy was a cornerstone of the school's…

Rising demand for schooling on the part of many Pakistani parents has immediate implications for the cost of children. To fulfill their educational aspirations, parents must invest more than they have in the past in each child both directly, in terms of various costs associated with school attendance and indirectly, in terms of missed…

A case study of Oneida High School (Oneida, Tennessee) in December 1997 examined influences and unique circumstances that sustained the school in the face of possible closure and enabled it to "flourish." The study included structured interviews with over 70 individuals in the school and community, focus groups, and informal…

The developments in information technology and multimedia give new opportunities to increase the efficiency and quality of skills education. This paper presents three applications developed in the Netherlands to enhance professional skills learning in different areas of psychology: (1) BioPsy, an application developed to teach and train the…

This study investigated whether some school boards create higher student achievement than others, studying districts with schools that ranked very high or very low on standardized achievement tests for three academic years. Achievement indicators included percentage of students meeting proficiency standards on the statewide curriculum based…

Although there are no simple solutions for how to turn around a school with serious discipline problems, schoolwide approaches have been effective, according to this report. The report examines research on schoolwide approaches to discipline and discusses the characteristics of programs that promote a culture of safety and support, improved…

This report examines performance differences between Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White students in Delaware on the mathematics portion of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R). Data analyses show that the mathematics performance gap across ethnic groups is significant. The lowest 100 Black and White performers were…

The participation of parents in their children's education has positive impacts on school achievement, yet minority parental participation is decreasing. Parents and teachers have different perceptions of what constitutes parental participation. School personnel often misread the reserve, nonconfrontational manners, and noninvolvement of Hispanic…

This document contains the proceedings of a hearing held on May 16, 2000, before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families. The hearing addressed issues and concerns on the use of ritalin among youth with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). Following opening remarks of the congressmen, the…

This document is comprised of weekly newsletters, compiled by month, for family child care providers for the year 2003. Each theme-based four-page newsletter contains: (1) creative activities for use with mixed-age groups of 2- to 5-year-olds; (2) ideas on guiding behavior, organization tips, and Monthly Planning Calendar; (3) special sections for…