As part of its "Youth-at-Risk" initiative, the national Cooperative Extension System assisted communities across the nation in setting up school-age child care (SACC) programs that provide after-school care to at-risk students. Evaluation of 31 SACC programs in California revealed increased prosocial behavior, decreased problem behavior,…

Asserts that there is an educational crisis in the Arkhangel'sk area of Russia. Summarizes research studies of students and teachers to illustrate low teacher morale, student dissatisfaction, and low pay for all educators. Argues for financial autonomy for educational institutions. (CFR)

Studies of the mathematics assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are summarized. One study found that omit rates for NAEP test items were higher for African Americans and Hispanics than for whites. The other found that descriptions and examples for the 1992 mathematics achievement levels were misleading. (SLD)

An Australian preservice teacher education course used interactive television to present real-life, rural teaching situations as examples of best practice. These were integrated with problem-based learning scenarios focusing on dilemmas faced by practicing teachers in multigraded rural classrooms. Evaluation revealed positive feedback from both…

Presents an interview with John Haefner, president of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) in 1953. Haefner reflects on social studies education and the constant challenges facing NCSS. Concludes that laboratory schools were important sources of educational change and improvement. (CFR)

Examines from a Vygotskian perspective deaf children's private speech, i.e., speech that is spoken aloud (or visibly performed) but that is addressed to no particular person. Findings are consistent with Vygotsky's notion of the robustness of the phenomenon and its ontogenesis in early social communication. (33 references) (LR)

A researcher recounts his experience after publishing research findings concerning cigarette advertising and children. He reports attempts to constrain his research and obtain confidential records. He concludes that without vigorous protection of academic freedom, corporate power and state action may discourage economically or politically…

Resources for higher education over the last 40 years are reviewed, with special emphasis on the abundance of the 1980s and crisis of the 1990s. Trends in government support are examined, and ways in which individual institutions can measure the adequacy of their resources to pursue their policy goals are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Presents three teaching ideas: (1) a scoring rubric to assess students' ability to communicate attempts at solving homework problems; (2) a three-part measurement activity using trigonometry, maps, and compasses to locate hidden treasure; and (3) a demonstration of the effects of numerical coefficients on graphs of quadratic functions. (MDH)

Long-term correlates of early child care and maternal employment were examined in a representative sample of 333 middle-class children ages 6 through 12. The results indicated that, for most middle-class children, early child care experiences had few, if any, lasting substantial influences when the concurrent contribution of family and child…

This study assessed physically abused/neglected and nonabused/nonneglected children (n=206) at preschool and elementary school age to identify variables significantly affecting children's behavioral functioning. Behavioral functioning was most strongly differentiated by the sociocultural and family climate in which the child was raised, with…

MediaMatrix, a new, computerized instruction, authoring system, enables instructional developers to build adaptive programmed instruction and adaptive testing systems. Instructional development can focus simultaneously on systematic improvement of comprehension and problem-solving skills while providing for adaptive content presentations that…

Maintains that the issue of political correctness has gained wide coverage in the press as it relates to higher education academic policy. Reports on a survey of 196 New York State political scientists. Finds that they perceive political correctness as an issue on their college campus and in the discipline, but not in their departments. (CFR)

Asserts that, in the urban classrooms of the early 20th century, women teachers faced two contradictory images: (1) the idealized view of the gentle, nurturing teacher; and (2) the reality of the harsh working conditions in city schools. Concludes that administrators were content to let classroom teachers deal with disciplinary issues. (CFR)

Depression and maltreatment were analyzed as predictors of childhood adjustment problems, with 68 children (ages 8 through 12) at high risk due to poverty, physical abuse, and neglect. Depression and maltreatment predicted parents' and teachers' ratings of social competence. Depression also predicted parents' ratings of peer rejection, children's…