This monograph reviews the literature in three key domains (home, school, and public policy), each of which appears to foster achievement in African American children. Three core sections comprise this review. The first section looks at the research on family influences, including socioeconomic factors, the socialization of achievement, the…

A study was done to examine student opinion of the campus advising services at the University of California Davis campus in Spring 1990 as a follow up to a similar study conducted in 1987. The study used the Student Opinion Survey and mailed it to a stratified random sample of 1,649 students. Of the surveys sent, 57.7 percent were returned. The…

The mattering scales are designed to assess the perceptions of adult learners about their educational environment. They answer these questions: Do I feel I matter to the institution? and Do I feel noticed, appreciated, welcomed? To determine the extent to which adult learners feel they matter, five scales are designed to assess their perceptions…

This discussion of an urban professional development school (PDS) partnership between Milwaukee Public Schools (Wisconsin) and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee documents changes made and experienced by teachers, particularly changes related to moving from an ineffective basic skills approach to reading, in a school context focused on student…

The Toronto (Canada) Board of Education has conducted system-wide surveys of its students seven times since 1970. This document is the first report of the 1991 data, and includes comparisons with 1987 data. All secondary school students were asked to fill out one of two forms of the survey questionnaire. Both forms asked for identical demographic…

A Canadian study of student orientation (integrative, instrumental, or other) and its relationship to second language learning motivation and sociocultural factors in the learning environment is discussed. The study compared the orientations and stated reasons for studying a second language of over 800 grade 11 students with data on three…

As more and more middle school students come to the classroom with no real, stable connections outside the school setting, it is increasingly important for educators to reach out to them in a variety of ways. This paper addresses that need by offering educators suggestions in the following five areas: (1) comprehending the unique characteristics…

Research results appear inconclusive as to the relationship of student attendance to student achievement, although most practitioners cite increased student attendance as an extremely desirable school outcome. The purpose of the examination of student attendance in the Louisiana public schools was twofold: (1) to determine the relationship of…

This report envisions Texas schools using one another as resources and the campus planning process as a vehicle for implementing research-based concepts and practices in the middle grades. Since Texas' restructuring effort will not succeed without commitment to staff development from all levels of the education community, the need for teacher and…

This bibliography provides a recommended list of research and theoretical literature in school restructuring. The literature, chosen to be of interest for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers, is organized into five areas: (1) General References on School Restructuring is divided into proposals for school reform, how schools work, and the…

Educators working with elementary school children need to consider the impact of unstructured and structured hypermedia on the learning occurring in computer-assisted instruction. This paper discusses a case study of a collaborative group of four boys during a summer science camp. Their interactions with two different examples of hypermedia are…

This booklet contains nine 1-hour training sessions related to the components of family literacy programs. Each session may stand alone or be used in combination with any other. This provides trainers with the flexibility to base workshops on participants' needs and interests. Titles for the sessions include: (1) the process of literacy learning;…

This report describes the first year evaluation of the implementation and effects of the Project SELF HELP, a family literacy program located in two urban elementary schools and run by a community organization. The program was available to 15 adults from each site who had lower than a fifth grade reading level and whose children were experiencing…

A 3-year program was implemented in eight middle schools in the Charleston County School District (South Carolina) in fall 1986 to cope with high rates of student misconduct. The program sought to improve the clarity of school rules and the consistency of rule enforcement, classroom organization and management, frequency of communication to the…

While Online Learning Environments (OLEs) can potentially support learning that is more autonomous and authentic in nature than traditional instructional environments often allow, students do not always use OLEs in the ways expected or desired by their tutors. This paper examines the findings of a recent evaluation of an OLE designed for…