A University of Limburg (Netherlands) study investigated influence of health sciences tutors' subject-matter expertise on the achievement of 1,800 students participating in tutorial groups with leaders having varying levels of subject expertise. Results indicated a positive influence of tutor subject expertise, particularly in interaction with…

Parents who smoke possess an adequate level of knowledge about smoking but still lack sufficient knowledge in crucial areas. Parents (n=60) expressed positive attitudes about their children and smoking and acknowledged their powerlessness to prevent their children from smoking. Discusses the study's limitations and offers recommendations. (RJM)

Students at Rutgers University completed a one-semester interdisciplinary course on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Questionnaires administered before and after the course assessed changes in AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Results showed that sexual behaviors did not change significantly. (SM)

This study examined the problem-solving protocols of 21 students in a grade 11 enriched physics course as well as 3 adult "experts" in physics. Experts and high performing students made more correct metastatements and more references to prior knowledge than did average performing students. (DB)

A survey of 260 graduate social work students found their knowledge of and attitudes toward psychotropic medication uneven and lower than desirable. Results also suggest personal and professional experiences influence knowledge and attitudes. It is recommended that social work course content be expanded to include relevant information on these…

Evaluated outcomes of freshman orientation seminar on orientation to college. Found college freshmen's (n=113) participation was associated with improved academic and social adjustment, in contrast to normal trend of declining adjustment over first semester. Seminar seemed successful at increasing participants' knowledge of university and…

This paper examines issues related to preparing teachers to instruct students with severe disabilities, focusing on the values that drive best practices, the content knowledge that should exist within teacher training programs, and processes that may impart and support the continued application of both values and knowledge. (Author/JDD)

An analysis of the Language Awareness/Knowledge about Language components of the English/Welsh National Curriculum in English and Modern Foreign Languages is used to investigate the explicit awareness of language expected of secondary school students. The framework assumes increasing degrees of abstraction and the changes in types of…

An Illinois study found that parents' (n=823) college savings and awareness of college financial aid possibilities had significant indirect effects on the tuition levels of colleges under consideration. Effects of a number of other demographic variables and knowledge factors were found. (Author/MSE)

Introduces the articles in this issue on AIDs in various minority groups, with implications for social workers to improve prevention and education stategies. There is significant knowledge about AIDS, and attitudes related to the illness are more positive in the 1990s than in the 1980s. Suggests that having this information does not necessarily…

Surveyed approximately 600 secondary students in rural southeast Nebraska about AIDS knowledge and attitudes. Rural students were considerably more knowledgeable about AIDS transmission and severity than urban students in a similar survey in San Francisco. The overwhelming majority of rural students considered AIDS a serious problem and wanted to…

Epistemological beliefs of 146 male and 252 female university students were examined as a function of their educational level and field of study. Epistemological beliefs can be represented in terms of five factors. Students' beliefs about learning are a product of the activity, the culture, and the context. (SLD)

This article, written in French, describes and evaluates the first phase of a program to prevent drug addiction among 110 fifth-grade girls with behavior problems in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). Evaluation of the instructional program showed positive results for student knowledge level, attitudes, and behaviors and supported program continuation…

Self-regulation of 32 college students learning from instructional texts was studied through computer display and online assessment of self-regulatory activities. Online measures of self-regulation were associated with both text comprehension and knowledge applications, but offline verbal reports on self-regulation activities did not correlate…

A survey of 46 states found that about half the states are using or studying special education teacher competency tests. The paper analyzes survey results by specific content areas being tested, including basic knowledge, identification and characteristics of special needs students, processing skills, assessment, learning theory, teaching…