Traces changes in the concept of argument. Results of three studies (of 5-16 year olds, of transition from high school to college, and of higher education) are used to form a working definition: arrangement of linguistic, visual, and/or physical propositions in engagement with one or more points of reference to change or assert a position. (SK)

In the 21st century, the redefinition of teacher professionalism will include three primary features: recognizing oneself as a learner; using that learning-centered spirit to transform schools into learning organizations; and reasserting one's own moral autonomy to provide space and time for serious, reflective thought and study. This redefinition…

Makes several points relating to personal essays: (1) personal essays can be defined as having "presence"; (2) the personal essay is both historically and currently a relative rarity; (3) "personal" does not necessarily mean a display of innermost self; (4) voguish denials of the human subject militate against the personal essay; and (5) personal…

Nine defining attributes of skill and skilled performance are as follows: skill is learned; content and contextual knowledge is important; skilled performance is goal directed and requires motivation; schemata are prerequisites; relevant problem solving is involved; skill involves relative judgments with individual performance differences;…

Description and explanation are frequently given precedence over validation when evaluating distance-learning technologies. Evaluation criteria can be categorized into technical, instructional, organizational, and ethical components. Descriptive and explanatory methods include participant observation, interviews, focus groups, document review,…

Explores the relationship between philology and linguistics and the meanings associated with the two terms at different periods in the development of language study as a science. Chronicles the emergence of different perspectives since the early nineteenth century, particularly in Britain and Europe, and argues that the debate has not been…

Developmental changes in the expression of superordinates in children's word definitions were studied with 96 elementary school students. Superordination increased significantly and changed qualitatively with age, although across grades children produced more superordinates for nouns than for adjectives or verbs. (SLD)

Multiracial people of Asian descent, like most marginalized peoples, live along the borders of "passing," and not passing, for White. When Asian American multiracial people can express the full range of their humanity without boundaries of race, the debate about "passing" will become obsolete. (SLD)

Points out linguistic and logical inconsistencies that come into play when African populations are discussed through the medium of Eurocentric discourse. "African" is suggested as a more logical way to define people with an origin on the African continent than the term "black". (SLD)

Proposes a nomenclature for suicide-related behavior in the hope of improving the clarity and precision of communications, advancing suicidological research and knowledge, and improving the efficacy of clinical interventions. Provides a background of the ambiguity surrounding suicide terminology, contrasts nomenclature with classification, and…

Reviews the concept of rational suicide and compares it with one researcher's list of commonalities of suicide. Claims that the list cannot accommodate rational suicide. Suggests that the list is biased against rational suicide and should be renamed so it cannot be maintained that suicide must be irrational. (RJM)

Outlines a working definition of school community, traces connections between definitional components of community and children's learning, and suggests ways to measure school community components to establish a school-improvement indicator. Results of a parent/teacher survey explore community components such as shared educational values,…

Explores the concept of enablement and provides a framework for the counselor and counselor educator to use in facilitating client- or student-directed goals. Examines use of enablement, enablement versus co-dependency, the use of the enablement framework in the counseling role, and clinical examples of the enablement framework. (RJM)

Discusses influences on the definition of scholarship (such as discipline, priorities of the institution and academic unit, and interests of the individual), traces recent developments in how the scholarly role of faculty members is viewed, and recommends an institutional approach for bringing fairness and quality into faculty reward systems. (EV)

Explores the operational definitions of community-based literacy learning, first by discussing literacy as situated activity and then by proposing three separate orientations to the concept of community as it relates to the literacy curriculum. Discusses three different orientations to community that appear in the literature on literacy reform:…