Summarizes a schoolwide unit, organized around the ballad of John Henry, that integrated visual art, music, dance, and drama with ecological issues, Mountain Cultural heritage, and labor history. Gives background information on the Mountain Culture and the story of John Henry, while also discussing the students' reactions and interpretations…

Studied adaptive choice behavior of older, independently living persons faced with complications in their houses. The goal was to gain insight into the coping process and its outcome--in terms of assimilative vs. accommodative strategies--and in the role of three determinants on this process. Determinants were perceived self efficacy, importance…

A survey of 35 middle school students with learning disabilities found that students receiving moderate accommodations and adapted grades attributed their highest grade more to effort than did students receiving minimal accommodations and no adapted grades. Boys attributed the factor of teacher helpfulness significantly higher than girls for…

This proceedings contains presentations grouped by five broad topics concerning disability services in rural areas. The keynote address, by Linda Tonsing-Gonzales, discusses the social services paradigm shift toward empowering the disabled and developing natural support systems. Broad topics and presentation topics are: (1) "negotiating access"…

Research on school-based curriculum decision-making (SBCD) in Australia involved a national survey of 586 educators in 98 secondary schools and an ethnographic study of a Sydney (Australia) high school. The results are presented in 9 chapters and 67 tables. The study focused on what decisions are made in Australian schools about years 7-10…

This study investigated the relationships between science activities that emphasize cause-and-effect and a learner's locus of control. Pretests included the Nowicki-Strickland Abbreviated Scale 7-12 to measure locus of control, and a modification of the Test of Science Related Attitudes to measure attitudes toward science. The findings suggest…

To measure perceived control in one's communication environment, a study examined the world views of the respondents as reported in a 28-item questionnaire. Subjects, 1,927 men and women composed of students and university personnel, military personnel, executives and managers, high school students and teachers, and members of women's groups, were…

The effectiveness of two alternative attitude change strategies--a traditional persuasive strategy and a combined attributional/persuasive strategy--in altering attitudes toward nuclear disarmament were compared. Seventeen male and 39 female undergraduate students at a small university participated. A nuclear disarmament attitude pretest was…

This study focused on the intrinsic motives that account for teachers leaving their profession. Former teachers in the Haifa area of Israel participated in interviews, giving reasons for leaving teaching that correlated with those found in a study of the literature. The most frequently mentioned reasons for leaving teaching were: (1) burnout and…

This paper describes the use of a particular therapeutic modality--behavioral groups--in a relatively new delivery system called a Health Maintenance Organization. The program described, run under the George Washington University Health Plan, offers short-term structured groups designed to aid people at particularly difficult or vulnerable…

Social power is defined as the ability to affect group decisions; power actors are those individuals who seek and exercise power and affect group decisions. Power structure research was conducted in Kershaw County, South Carolina in 1971 and 1977. Although methodologies differed, both surveys identified and interviewed power actors for the county,…

In order for society to attain true social justice, individual citizens must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to take control of their lives through proper use of social service systems. In the United States the present system of social services is inadequate to fulfill the needs of all of its clients. As the economy continues to force…

The guide is one in a series for teachers, students, and community members to help develop and teach environmental concepts, responsibility, and problem solving. It presents concepts and activities related to environmental education for seventh grade social studies classes. Background information is based on the Indian River County environment of…

Aspects of problem-solving measured here are delay of gratification, field-dependence independence, and the relection-impulsivity dimension. The following hypotheses are proposed (1) Those subjects who score high on externality will not delay gratification as those who score low, but they will score lower on measures on field-independence than…

The study examined leadership in schools as interaction between principals and teachers. The leadership process was conceptualized as the exercise of influence. The concept of ascriptive status was utilized to describe women as atypical and men as typical principals. Teachers responded to protocols depicting leader influence and cultural status.…