The apprenticeship model can be adapted to teaching and learning cognitive skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, as illustrated by three successful examples. A cognitive apprenticeship framework is presented for the design of learning environments incorporating content taught, pedagogical methods, sequencing of learning activities, and…

Compares school, classroom, and student level data for matched pairs of high- and low-achieving rural schools and matched pairs of urban schools. Finds that organizational and interpersonal processes sustaining effective schools vary by rural/urban context. Includes three longitudinal case studies of rural schools. Contains 26 references. (SV)

Interview data from 40 inner-city seventh graders challenge the stereotype that adolescents' peer conflicts (APCs) are senseless, wasteful, and destructive. Rather, these conflicts raise important micropolitical concerns about power, conflict, coalition, and policy. APCs can increase the relevance of education, play an important role in social…

Reports on a survey of preservice teachers regarding their perceptions of gender and ethnic disparity in academic achievement. Most of the subjects recognized the ways that society and school contribute to gender disparities, and over half mentioned society and school as factors contributing to ethnic disparities. (SM)

Provides an explanation of the notion of fit and the role it can play in the assessment of principals; examines a theoretical basis for the notion of fit; uses cases of principals who experienced problems to illustrate the multidimensional nature of fit; discusses fit and literature on role theory. (GLR)

Examines a model and provides possible causal explanations for the increasing number of acts of racial violence, the rise of racism on college campuses, and the attendant implications for public policy. Causes for increased racial violence are complex and can be outlined in the Holistic Model of Ethnoviolence. (JB)

Explores relationships among school contextual indicators, principal leadership, and student achievement outcomes through a survey of 156 secondary school teachers in 26 Singapore schools. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical significance for the study of principal's leadership and the ways it influences outcomes of…

The degree to which teachers' sense of efficacy and other hypothesized influences on commitment to teaching predicts responses to the question of whether they would enter teaching again was studied for 170 elementary school teachers. General and personal efficacy were the two strongest predictors of commitment to teaching. (SLD)

Describes a teacher inservice program promoting instructional improvement, more effective schools, improved school climate, and application of current theory in the Nipawin School Division in Saskatchewan (Canada). Results with 49 teachers between 1986 and 1990 suggest positive effects of this 21-day Host Classroom theory, observation, practice,…

Reports on a case study of a rural school district in the U.S. northwest that coped with declining school population and loss of revenues because of closure of mining operations during the 1980s. The report analyzes the problem-solving and decision-making activities which encouraged grass-roots leadership and community cooperation. (SM)

Ways in which experiential learning theory can be used to teach introductory world politics at the college level are discussed. Student learning styles and modes are considered in course design and student evaluation, with the objective of creating a learning environment that facilitates active participation and reflection. (Author/MSE)

Reports on field study of school rituals in two U.S. southern private schools. Finds one school's rules and procedures promoted scientific analysis, abstract thinking, and individualism, whereas other saw itself as nurturing community, seeking organic and interdependent relationship with world. Concludes both schools engender commitment and belief…

The book "Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation" (Ernest I. Boyer) outlines a plan to help achieve the national goal that every child will begin school "ready to learn," suggests that early education by parents is the crucial element in children's success in learning, and provides recommendations for improving children's…

Describes the philosophy and operation of schools based on the ideas of Celestin Freinet, founder of the Ecole Moderne movement. Discusses the child-centered approach, cooperative-learning techniques, and participatory decision making that are characteristic of these schools. Points out that the curriculum frequently emphasizes contemporary social…

Data from the Colorado Adoption Project for 493 first-grade adopted and nonadopted children are used to separate parental intelligence quotient (IQ) from the effects of school environment. Several of the variables show direct environmental associations with reading and mathematics achievement independent of effects of parental IQ. (SLD)