Attempts to strengthen understanding of strategies for, and constraints on, school change based on a review of some of the theoretical literature in education and more generally. Emphasizes the importance of understanding organization/environment links. Discusses implications for educational policy makers brought up by the literature review. (DSK)

Youth who had dropped out of school (n=58) and their teachers (n=63) provided insight into key contextual factors that affect school dropout and general perceptions of school dropouts. Findings show significantly different perceptions between these groups about factors affecting school dropouts. (SLD)

Presents three case studies of the initial efforts of change agents in a large urban school district as they develop mechanisms to coordinate resources at school sites and to establish linkages with community agencies. The case studies demonstrate that implementation of change differed according to the local context and the personal visions of the…

Builds on arguments in risk communication that the predominant linear risk-communication models are problematic for their failure to consider audience and additional contextual issues. Argues that "risk" is socially constructed. Argues for an approach that involves the public in fundamental ways at the earliest stages of the…

Discusses the influence of contextual factors in a given time period, both social and theoretical, on the design of curriculum materials used to guide instructional practice. Suggests that teachers need to develop an historically and philosophically grounded perspective. Contains 41 references. (DDR)

Looks at interactions between English-as-a-Second-Language students and English-speaking staff at the front desk of a language institute. Analysis focuses on the sequential organization of front desk encounters, revealing ways the participant's shared orientations to the organization and goals of these encounters facilitate native…

Focuses on personal letter writing as a mode of communication between a second language (L2) writer and a first language (L1) reader. The corpus is made up of 120 personal letters written to British native English speakers. Examined the corpus of letters in terms of the sociocultural background of the writers to establish links between the type of…

Describes a model that addresses the complexity of multicultural competence. Enhances previous models by integrating personal, professional, and institutional context as critical elements in multicultural competence. Resulting framework integrates self-assessment and strategic planning to assist counselors, psychologists, and educators in a more…

The role of context was examined in middle school students' descriptions of barriers to caring in four domains: self, intimate others, acquaintances, and strangers. Interviewed students expressed that nothing would stop them caring for themselves or intimates, while lack of reciprocity and fear of violence would stop them caring for others,…

Reviews writing research that implicates writing-speaking relationships by constructing contrasting positions for organizing the research and understanding the relationships: (1) that writing differs from speaking; and (2) that writing is similar to speaking. Research issues regarding integrating these positions are raised, and a guideline is…

Tests widely-held associations among script types, genres, writers, and target readers via statistical analysis in popular Japanese fiction. Subjects texts to lexical analysis to see whether choice of vocabulary can account for variability in script selection. Finds that Japanese writers fashion their script type choices to specific contexts, as…

The scale invariance of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory was examined when 412 children were rated by parents on functioning at home and the same children were rated by rehabilitation personnel in an educational setting. Results indicated that parents and personnel can be trained to make similar judgments. (SLD)

Price's comments argue that Peirce advances understanding of the way in which power relations have a direct effect on language use and learning; however, he raises questions concerning Peirce's theorizing of social identity. Peirce responds that Price's reading was structured by an "a priori" assumption that was not consistent with the objectives…

Revisits the debate on linguistics and prescription, with particular reference to corpus linguistics. The article describes an encounter with a large corpus and concludes that intuitive prescription is an essential, desirable aspect of language teaching which does not depend on corpus evidence for its integrity. (nine references) (Author/CK)

This case study examines the shifting bilingual preference of three French/English bilingual children over a 3-year period. Clarifies terms used to refer to bilingual preference. The children's fluctuating bilingual preference was accounted for in terms of three contextual domains: home (predominantly French-speaking), school, and community…