Attempts to implement the professional development school (PDS) are frustrated by a lack of consensus about these schools' defining characteristics. This article discusses some common criteria, emphasizes that the professional development school is not a laboratory or demonstration school, and compares the PDS to other forms of academic inquiry.…

This review of behavioral conceptualizations and approaches to the treatment of child noncompliance includes discussion of behavioral definitions, methods of assessment, types of behavioral interventions, generalization of treatment effects, future research directions, and potential ethical concerns. (Author/JDD)

Describes how a learning activity called "Find Your Partner" that can be extended to cover both linguistic and conceptual areas when used with experienced language teachers. The linguistic aim is "varieties of definitions," but the conceptual aim is to allow clarification and refinement of participants' thinking about methodological/linguistic…

The concept of item discrimination is generalized to the case in which more than one ability is required to determine the correct response to an item, using the conceptual framework of item response theory and the definition of multidimensional item difficulty previously developed by M. Reckase (1985). (SLD)

Defines the concepts of hypertext, hypermedia, multimedia, and multimedia networks. Using the rhizome as a metaphor for electronically mediated exchange, a theory of hypermedia design that incorporates principles of connection and heterogeneity, multiplicity, asignifying rupture, and cartography and decalomania is explored. (four references) (MES)

Summarizes findings of a study exploring student attitudes to schools of different size. A semantic differentiate scale of attitude toward school was completed by 4,746 (British) pupils from 192 primary or junior schools. Those attending schools of 60 or fewer showed more positive attitudes than those attending larger schools. (45 references) (MLH)

This paper urges a deeper consideration of the role of psychometrically defined intelligence in the operationalization of aptitude/achievement discrepancies inherent in most definitions of learning disability. It proposes a new disability, dysrationalia, the inability to think and behave rationally despite adequate intelligence. (DB)

Information collected from 264 elementary teachers and 47 principals demonstrated that teachers included a broad range of behaviors in their own "theoretical" definitions of child abuse but preferred informal intervention over formal reporting. The decision to report involved the interplay of definitions, institutional response, and…

Examines play as it relates to the development and expression of creativity in preschool youngsters and, specifically, the role of parents and the environment in the development and nurturance of such creativity in young children. Also discusses the educational implications of these findings. (MDM)

Computer is exemplar of algorithmic knowledge, whose goal is control and total automation of human functions. Technicist thinking, belief in myth of technological progress, is blind to nature of knowledge and connections between knowledge and power. Computers promulgate technicist thinking by projecting controlled universe and reinforcing…

This discussion of issues of definition and classification of attention deficit disorder (ADD) emphasizes the heterogeneity of the diagnosis, the overlap of ADD with reading disability, and lack of consistency across studies. A systematic classification study is proposed to develop a unitary, empirically derived classification for ADD. (Author/DB)

Offers a sketch of a concept called the "liminal state" that may represent a central element of designing and a condition that facilitates the best design products and processes. A definition of "liminal state," some contexts in which it may occur, and some areas where liminal states might improve performance are given.…

Documents the process used to construct the definition of the field of instructional technology. A chronology of the development and the key factors that influenced the construction process are described. Issues confronted, including acceptable definition characteristics and the scope and nature of the domains, are covered. (13 references) (KRN)

The international school system has unique stressors and a more limited support system than found elsewhere. This article summarizes a 1992 study that explores the nature of stress in the teaching profession, generally, and in one international school in particular. After examining various environmental, organizational, and individual stressors,…

Efforts to describe the multicultural, multilingual, and multinational population in international schools can be confusing, partly because the traditional terms used to describe them are inadequate. This article explores the complex interaction of maternal language, instructional language, environmental language, and foreign language in…