Observation of teacher classroom performance can provide insights into the steps necessary to improve pedagogical practice. Data from over 13,000 field observations of Florida teachers over a 2-year period revealed parallel performance patterns across grade levels and years among 40 behavioral indicators. The study used the Florida Performance…

Early findings are reported from the Michigan State University Vulnerability Study, a study of differences in parents and children of families with an alcoholic father and matched, community control families with a non-alcoholic father. Male preschool children in the alcoholic homes were the target group, because they are 6 to 10 times more at…

Since 1981, five Kursushuis ("course house") programs for delinquent youth have been established in the Netherlands. Although similar in many ways to Achievement Place (AP) programs, Kursushuis programs differ from AP programs in that they place fewer children in a course house and use a social competence model that allows task-specific…

A total of 23 American and Hmong-American preschool children from 2 day care center classrooms were observed during free play in an effort to determine the proportion of positive, negative, and neutral initiations made to peers as a function of sex and cultural background. A series of weighted, two-way analyses of variance were performed on…

Presenting a portrait of a high school literature classroom, this paper gives a detailed, evocative characterization of what one particular and well-regarded high school literature teacher actually does in her classroom. The paper describes how the teacher-researcher chose a colleague whose experience and expertise were generally thought to be…

This study explored adult students' conceptions of good college teaching, with a particular aim to identify characteristics distinguishing their conceptions from those of traditional age undergraduate students. Responses to an open-ended questionnaire were received from 181 respondents whose ages ranged from 25 to 57. Results revealed a relative…

The replication study examined the effectiveness of a self-recording procedure to increase the levels of academic performance and production in 18 primary-aged mildly mentally handicapped children enrolled in either a self-contained or a resource class. Subjects were instructed in a self-recording procedure to track the number of worksheets…

A survey of 163 special educators in North Carolina examined aspects of abuse and neglect of their students over the last 3 years. Students were mentally handicapped (MH), learning disabled (LD), or behaviorally/emotionally handicapped (BEH). Of the respondents, 43% stated that they had reported at least one case of suspected abuse or neglect…

The study looked at differences between groups of children identified as high visibility rejected (HVR) and low visibility rejected (LVR) on a sociometric measure with 952 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. Questionnaires were analyzed to determine the number of positive and negative nominations from peers received by each child. HVR…

When the Supreme Court decided that the Constitution requires public school principals to follow procedural due process in suspension and expulsion cases, the Justices recognized a link between procedural due process and the fairness of effective discipline. This report reviews the constitutional due process required when public school officials…

A study examined the degree to which members of different ethnic groups--Whites/Anglos, Hispanic/Latinos, Asians, and Blacks--vary in (1) the reasons they adopt for communicating or not communicating with strangers, (2) the situations in which they choose to interact with strangers, and (3) the types of strangers with whom they feel comfortable…

Job dissatisfaction may manifest itself in frustration for the teacher and defense mechanisms for the employer. Previous research suggests that unfulfilled needs, goals, and value expectations, as well as the lack of achievement of outcomes, account for job dissatisfaction. Other variables include demography, disillusionment with life, lack of…

Using information collected in a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the study analyzed state definitions of the "behavior disordered/emotionally disturbed" (BD/ED) category of handicapped children, program entrance and exit criteria, and procedures for referral, evaluation, and program placement. A general lack of…

An exceptional student education specialist implemented a 10-week practicium intervention designed to decrease the inappropriate behavior and increase the appropriate behavior of exceptional students who had been mainstreamed into regular fourth- and fifth-grade classes. A total of 16 students classified as learning disabled or emotionally…

A general discussion of the nature of ethical values of the specific issues related to teaching such values leads to several specific suggestions as to how to accomplish ethical value education in communication. Ethical values education should be integrated throughout the curriculum of higher education in general and communication education in…