Reviews one teacher's experiences teaching sexuality issues within the context of a second-year social and cultural geography course. Considers the complex issues that surround teaching about sexuality and "coming out" as a homosexual teacher or tutor. Includes a brief description of materials useful for teaching sexual geographies. (MJP)

Though performance assessment has its place, it is not always appropriate. Standardized testing is sometimes preferable. The paper describes states' roles in shaping statewide student testing, discusses state assessment to compare schools and school systems, and suggests that improving teaching environments and increasing the value attached to…

Case study of a small elementary school in rural New South Wales (Australia) found that the community's history, the size of the school, and the relationship between school staff, students, and stakeholders contributed to development of a learning community. Suggests that becoming a learning community involves an ongoing, developmental, and…

Summarizes recent developments in student-centered open-ended learning environments, which provide electronic tools and resources for students to use in addressing authentic situated problems and to support students' thinking and problem-solving processes. Also analyzes issues in design and utilization and presents implications for teaching,…

Describes how Norfolk (Virginia) Public Schools formulated, implemented, and benefited from a mandatory student uniform policy. Student benefits include enhanced self-image, improved academic indicator ratings, and increased participation. School benefits include a dramatic decline in discipline infractions, improved attendance, and an improvement…

Examined the impact of common planning time (CPT) on middle grade students' self-concepts and both teachers and students' perceptions of their school climate. Results indicated that students receiving instruction from teachers on interdisciplinary teams with CPT had higher self-concepts and both teachers and students had more positive perceptions…

Examined the quality of different forms of care for 4-year-olds in England. Studied local authority and private day nurseries; assessed quality with the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale, child-to-adult ratio, and group size. Found that private nurseries had higher scores on ECERS, whereas local authority nurseries fared better on…

Examines the growth of understanding of citizenship in young children, particularly children's grasp of rules of school life. Explores development of citizenship by studying children's representations of school life and adult-child relationships in pretend play. Touches upon Dewey's, Piaget's, and Vygotsky's theories of child development. (BGC)

Questions the use and adaptation of computers in the classroom as a panacea for all educational ills. Specifically notes that much of the nature and content of social studies instruction requires class interaction rather than computer instruction. Praises computers as instructional supplements rather than substitutes. (MJP)

Surveys of 504 educators in northeast Arkansas examined their attitudes toward recommendations for educational practice made by the Association for Behavior Analysis Task Force on the Right to Effective Education. Results indicated educators strongly supported recommendations for changes in curriculum and instruction but strongly opposed…

Investigates listening performance in a computer-based multimedia environment. Learner success rates were compared on comprehension of English as a Second Language and language recall tasks while using audio, video, and multimedia. Results of performance on tasks reveal more effective comprehension and recall while using multimedia than either…

Explores particular characteristics that better secondary schools might possess. The exploration is based on five conditions of better schools, all of which support teachers and students in developing effective schools. The author moves the responsibility for school reform from the school to the life and behaviors of the community in which the…

Examined the influence over time of demographic variables and perceived family and friend support and school climate on changes in psychological adjustment among Black, Latino, and Asian American adolescents from low-income families. Found a greater increase in self-esteem in students reporting more positive perceptions of school climate and,…

Examines the development of a class at Brigham Young University (Utah) that blends distance and face-to-face students in a synchronous class. This case study focuses on how this blended learning environment was experienced by the distance and face-to-face students, as well as by the instructor. (MES)

Examines the relationship between a journey and a destination in terms of the educational experience, where learning is the journey but test scores have become the destination. Focuses on the loss of curriculum areas that are untested in favor of the destination of math and reading scores. Asserts that middle school students deserve both measured…