Reviews definitional issues of learning disabilities in the context of the Guckenberger v. Boston University federal lawsuit. Four major questions are addressed: (1) Who is learning disabled?; (2) How should learning disabilities be assessed?; (3) Who is qualified to decide whether or not an individual has a learning disability?; and (4) What…

Defines the concept of pluralistic education and discusses its goals. Interviews a number of teachers to investigate their conceptions of education and their response to the idea of pluralistic education. Reports that teachers share an affinity with certain aspects of pluralistic education but differ in a number of fundamental ways. (DSK)

Discusses hierarchical complexity of tasks as a way of conceptualizing information in terms of the power required to complete a task, and its implications for developmental psychology and information science. Provides an analytic solution to the definition of developmental stages and allows for the possibility within the science of scaling the…

Examines whether a relationship exists among the terms aesthetic response, felt emotional response, and perceived tension when used by individuals to describe personal responses to music. Compares music and nonmusic majors and reports no differences between them. Indicates a similarity between aesthetic and felt emotional response but a difference…

Contends that the large vocabulary used for precise purposes in physics contains many words that have related but potentially confusing meanings in everyday usage. Analyzes the treatment of Newton's Laws of Motion in several well-known introductory textbooks for evidence of inconsistent language use. Makes teaching suggestions. (Contains 11…

College faculty have a responsibility to help students unveil some of the mystery of professional judgment in student assessment, both to help explain instructional practices and to create a model for students' use when they become professional evaluators. Teachers can use a variety of methods to ensure that subjectivity in assessment is not…

Defining "democracy" and determining compatible education practice is critical to school success. This article examines four definitions and articulates a fifth definition advocating a participatory, community-oriented democracy achieved through school and classroom structures and activities. Educators should develop their own working definitions…

Argues that, at any give time in history, our conceptions and theories of behavioral disorders reflect the basic social and cultural tenets that prevail. It describes how our contemporary conceptions and theories of behavioral disorders mirror the postmodern themes of difference, particularity, and regularity. (Author/CR)

Studied the effects of subject and track level on the definitions of knowledge used by teachers in secondary education. Judgments of the characteristics of their own subjects as they taught them at one or more track levels were provided by 202 teachers. Teachers generally maintained a single definition for the subject for all track levels.…

Achievement disparity has many causes: economic, psychological, and social conditions; peer and family culture; and educational practices and policies. Educators can eliminate racial, class, and gender bias by building school capacity, developing leaders, creating networks for change, adopting new processes and tools, identifying assumptions, and…

Findings from a survey of 280 university students indicated that they tended to support the nuclear family as a "family," and feel that families with children represented a "family." Several gender and college major differences were found in attitudes about families, as discussed. (SLD)

This article reviews topics concerning the transition of students with learning disabilities into the work setting, including: definition of learning disabilities, relevant federal legislation, importance of transition planning, "best practices" in transition planning and programming, special problems in working with students who have learning…

Four terms central to the dialog about ethics are defined and differentiated: ethics; morality; justice; and law. Several problems in understanding the terms are identified, including differences between the classical and current meanings, common but inappropriate usages, confusion of one term for another, and merging of terms in common usage.…

Conventional science instruction often fails to address or change students' misconceptions about physical phenomena. Students stubbornly cling to anthropocentric, causal, and product conceptions about energy. This article explores scientific and pedagogical arguments favoring development of a spiral curriculum for teaching energy in (Israeli)…

Presents a set of criteria for constructing a fair and realistic understanding of sex. Recognizes the impact that science can have on social policies and values and recommends that the definitions of sex and gender be carefully crafted. (DDR)