This study compared the success of traditionally prepared student teachers with contextually prepared students from Project Opportunity, which was designed to develop a sense of community among student teachers and between student teachers and college faculty and the faculty, staff, and students of partner schools. Groups of students were surveyed…

As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study focuses on the early implementation of the Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) school improvement process in Aniak and Kalskag, two villages of Kuspuk School District in southwestern Alaska. District residents are primarily Yup'ik Eskimos, although the hub…

This overview examines recent research and thinking about school size and bases discussion on two key assumptions: good schools can differ widely in size, and there is no such thing as "optimal" school size. Rather, the "right" size for a school depends on local conditions and contexts. School size means more than total student enrollment. Grade…

"Zero to Three" is a single-focus bulletin of the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families providing insight from multiple disciplines on the development of infants, toddlers, and their families. Noting that America's babies and toddlers live in a world full of television sets, VCRs, computers, videogames, and interactive…

This study looked at the effect of contextual advisement and competition on transfer of mathematics skills in a computer-based instructional simulation game and simulation in which game participants helped their "aunt and uncle" fix up a house. Competition referred to whether or not the participant was playing against a computer…

Explores how community characteristics of socioeconomic class; rural, small-town, suburban, or urban location; and culture shaped the principal's expectations for student progress, educational goals, recruitment and retention, supervision and staff development, and teacher collaboration in five elementary school programs for preschool students…

Describes a model for exploring the multidimensional relationship between staff development and improvements in student learning. The model is based on the premise that the quality of staff development is influenced by many factors, including content characteristics, process variables, and context characteristics. (SM)

This study explored judgments and reasoning of Chinese 13- to 18-year-olds regarding making decisions involving children in peer, family, and school contexts. Findings indicated that judgments and reasoning about decision-making varied by social context and by the decision under consideration. Evaluations of procedures became more differentiated…

An ethnographic case study of teacher collaboration and decision making in restructuring a junior high school (750 students, 49 teachers) is presented, and implications for low-achieving African American students are discussed. The study suggests that school, community, and national contexts influence educators involved in restructuring efforts.…

Examines empowerment as an art education goal from a feminist perspective. Challenges Elliot Eisner's cultural capital theory, arguing that it disempowers students by homogenizing culture. Identifies three goals by which a feminist conception of art education celebrates cultural diversity and empowers students with personal autonomy and critical…

An ethnographic study of one elementary bilingual special education classroom found three profile types of students, ranging from severe language learning disabilities to normal abilities. Results show the inadequacy of the medical model and support a contextual performance view that acknowledges the role of instructional context in revealing the…

Four third-grade bilingual-program students were observed repeatedly as they engaged in group discussions of reading comprehension questions as part of a cooperative learning curriculum. Rather than being an exchange of ideas, the discussion activity mimicked teacher and student roles in the larger classroom, demonstrating influences of classroom…

Reviews the research presented in the preceding articles in this issue. Discusses (1) continuity versus discontinuity in child development; (2) the effect of child care and school settings on child development; and (3) child care and school as contexts in which children develop attachment relationships with adults. (BC)

Reports a study to examine secondary school students' (n=200) responses to two figurally and spatially similar problems from mathematics and science that require different responses before and after instruction. Results indicated that most students gave the same response to both questions. Reasons for this pattern are discussed. (MDH)

Discusses how children's literature can be used as a context to develop problem-solving tasks. Illustrates this idea by developing tasks to teach concepts related to multiplication through the context of "The Patchwork Quilt," a children's book by Valerie Flournoy. Suggests activity extensions to determine unit sizes, draw scale models,…