This handbook is the fourth in a series of five competency-based resource guides on microcomputer applications for vocational teachers. The six units of instruction in this handbook are concerned with the content of the seven competencies included in the category, "Planning and Organizing the Vocational Education Learning Environment for…

This third annual report on student achievement in Illinois continues the State Board of Education practice of providing a synthesis of a variety of achievement measures. Test results used for this report come from: (1) Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress (IIEP); (2) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT); (3) National Assessment of Educational…

Based on the results of an "Administrator and Teacher Survey" (ATS) administered to approximately 500 of the schools included in the "High School and Beyond" (HSB) longitudinal study (which showed that private schools produce significantly greater gains in achievement than public schools), the present study is a detailed…

When designing schools, one should assign space for athletic fields, arrange halls so that traffic will not disturb classrooms, separate grade levels, provide playgrounds exclusively for younger children, and provide lighting and ventilation. Unit plans should be designed so that all educational and domestic activities can be executed in the…

This study focuses on efforts to reform the Czechoslovak educational system through a full integration of scientific and technical subjects into school curricula. Section 1 discusses the future development of the Czechoslovak education system in light of such sociopolitical factors as the establishment in 1976 of a long-term educational…

This report describes an exemplary Oregon middle school that incorporates a comprehensive program of academic instruction and activity, a community of dedicated staff and involved students, and an orderly environment marked by a businesslike approach to teaching and learning. Outstanding components of Philomath Middle School's climate for learning…

As in 1988, the current status of education is presented in the form of indicators measuring education's "health" and showing major trends and developments. These indicators derive from studies carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and from surveys conducted within and outside the Federal Government. This…

The National Center for Education Statistics gathers and produces statistics and other information on the status and progress of education in the United States. In 1988, the center published the indicators in three volumes, the first two on "The Condition of Education" at the elementary and secondary level and at the postsecondary level,…

Undertaken as a background paper for an early childhood education policy study intended to identify current issues in early childhood education and policy alternatives for consideration by the State Board of Education of Illinois, this report focuses on the effectiveness of early childhood education programs. Specifically addressed are (1) reasons…

This monograph contains four position papers and two conference papers from the Systemic Evaluation Project (fiscal year, 1984) on the methodological issues associated with applying a comprehensive information system in a secondary school setting. These papers represent work in progress at a suburban Los Angeles high school field test of systemic…

Reflective thinking is important to young adolescents as they develop their thinking skills. Various instructional methods have been recommended to support reflective thinking, yet the nature of the underlying factors in these methods is unclear. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factors prompting reflective thinking. Results…

Bourdieu (1973) theorized that differences in social background correspond to differences in possession of cultural resources (cultural capital), as well as the orientation to those resources (habitus). Additionally, Bourdieu argued that struggles for power occur in different settings (fields). This essay reviews Bourdieu's main ideas and…

Significant relationships were found between how teachers teach and how much children learn in reading and mathematics. The study's purpose was to relate classroom observations of experienced elementary school teachers' interactions with their students to changes in the pupils' performance on various measures of reading and mathematical…

A study was conducted to determine whether or not the Personalized, Individualized, Vocational Occupations Training (PIVOT) materials developed by the School District of Philadelphia were capable of developing entry-level competency in secondary school students in a variety of educational settings (comprehensive high schools, an occupational…

It is often proposed that high schools are partly to blame for the decline in achievement test scores. Critics of current practices in education cite the decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score averages that has occurred each year since 1963 as evidence. The College Entrance Examination Board Advisory Panel on SAT Score Decline has…