Presents the results of a study of student perspectives on the state of the art of undergraduate courses in French culture taught in American colleges and universities. Results from 28 questions are reviewed. The questions deal with the student's profiles, knowledge of facts, and their opinions about France and French. (28 references) (GLR)

Attaining the insight needed to solve the Mutilated Checkerboard problem, which requires discovery of an effective problem representation (EPR), is described. Performance on insight problems can be predicted from the availability of generators and constraints in the search for an EPR. Data for 23 undergraduates were analyzed. (TJH)

Examines the relationship between parents' knowledge of and satisfaction with their children and the children's sociometric status. Results suggest important links between parents' knowledge and role satisfaction and social competence in children's peer relations. (Author/BB)

Fourteen teenage or young adult males disabled in print acquisition were studied to determine their patterns of verbal and spatial processing. It was found that, at retest a mean of 5.4 years later, the Similarities score significantly increased while the Vocabulary scores and Acquired Knowledge category actually decreased. (Author/DB)

The article describes the development of a Knowledge Battery to assess the competency level of secondary special education students receiving instruction in the Life-Centered Career Education Curriculum. The Battery consists of 89 subcompetency tests with items selected, validity, reliability, cutting scores determined, and standardization…

Directors of police academies in all 50 states were contacted regarding training policies for new officers. Of 48 states responding, 36 reported they require instruction on persons with disabilities. Analysis of training content revealed that most academies provide training about mental illness, but few include training about learning…

Presents a diagnostic test for measuring college biology students' understanding of diffusion. Three general steps were used: (1) defining the content boundaries; (2) collecting information on students' misconceptions; and (3) instrument development. The split half reliability was 0.74, difficulty indices ranged from 0.23 to 0.95, and the…

A training study involving 146 elementary school teachers found that training that corresponded with teachers' beliefs was more likely to enhance learning. However, providing the trainer with diagnostic information was not an effective strategy for achieving greater congruence between teachers' beliefs and instruction. (SLD)

A survey of 487 speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and educators providing services to children with hearing loss described their demographic characteristics and perceived adequacy of preprofessional training. Pathologists felt prepared in the fundamentals of speech and language but less prepared in audiology, deafness, and clinical…

Educational assessment concerns inference about student knowledge, skills, and accomplishments. Test theory has evolved in part to address questions of weight, coverage, and import of data. Resulting concepts and techniques can be viewed as applications of more general principles for inference in the presence of uncertainty. (SLD)

A study contrasted the long-term (one year) retention of material acquired primarily through lectures and assigned independent study readings. Subjects were 16 female 3rd-year medical students. Results indicate the study methods did not differ consistently in knowledge loss or class performance, despite substantial individual differences.…

A Canadian survey investigated the knowledge and attitudes of nurses (n=929), youth/social workers (n=99), and physicians (n=574) about the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in children and implications for child sexual abuse treatment. Physicians scored higher on knowledge about STDs, and youth/social workers knew more about…

Examines issues raised when "Queer Theory" (gay and lesbian theory) comes into tension with education and general pedagogy. The paper uses the study of limits, of ignorance, and of reading practices to discuss specific aspects of "Queer Theory" and what they might offer to the rethinking of pedagogy and knowledge. (SM)

An integrative review of United States research on English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners' cognitive reading processes supports a relatively good fit with preexisting reading theories and views generally thought to describe native-language readers. However, a subset of factors special to ESL learners is suggested. (SLD)

Drawing primarily from theory and research in the cognitive literature on learning, this paper defines and illustrates the various components of task knowledge and attempts to show the functional relationship between task knowledge and autonomous learning. An approach to learner training that is (task) knowledge based is discussed. (54 references)…