This article introduces a forum that explores issues surrounding literacy in multicultural school-age populations. It discusses sociocultural factors that overshadow traditional literacy-learning objectives, the relationship between low socioeconomic status and low literacy, environmental influences that affect literacy, and culturally biased…

This study used data from the Australian Temperament Project to examine how child temperament characteristics and the "fit" between parent and child from early in life might influence social competence when children were 11 and 12 years old. Findings indicated that problematic child functioning, poor fit, or both, had negative…

The Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) was developed and tested for use in preschool programs serving low-income children, as a measure of emotional and behavioral adjustment problems observed within routine classroom situations. Validity of behavioral dimensions measured was supported. Dimensions of problem behaviors varied as a…

Investigates job satisfaction of Chilean secondary school teachers. Determines that teachers were most satisfied with interactions with students, relationships within the school, and opportunities to contribute to the development of individuals, future generations, and society. Shows that the main dissatisfactions are poor salary, excessive…

Discusses a comparative study of regulations for assessment of achievement and grading in German secondary schools. Results reveal schools provide alternatives to traditional grading and take into account interdisciplinary or special learning achievements and social behavior. Summarizes major results. Discusses problems in the basic conception and…

A study was conducted of 201 adults with Down's syndrome to investigate the differential causes of decline in adaptive behavior. Results indicated that aging, dementia, and severity of mental retardation were significant factors, while absence of a medical illness predicted a higher level of adaptive behavior. (CR)

Synthesizes the research on hypermedia-based instruction while providing a meaningful historical and conceptual framework for categorizing the research to date. Research relating to individual differences, attitudinal measures, systems analysis, and performance is examined, and concomitant changes in pedagogy are also addressed. Contains 98…

Discusses changes occurring in two-, four-, and six-month-old infants' visual attention span, through a series of experiments examining their ability to orient to peripheral visual stimuli. The results obtained were consistent with the hypothesis that infants get faster with age in shifting attention to a spatial location. (AA)

Investigates the interaction between the presence or absence of explicit instruction and the variables complexity and morphology/syntax in the acquisition of four second language (L2) structures. Results from computer-controlled posttests confirm the hypothesis that explicit instruction facilitates the acquisition of L2 grammar. (66 references)…

Professors need to learn to work with Muslim students, now a significant proportion of the student population, and particularly those for whom English is a second language. Interviews with Muslim students revealed four classroom problem areas: teachers' misrepresentation of Islamic practices; instructional materials misrepresenting Islam; lack of…

Reactions to praise, blame, and reward received by two children were studied among 79 fourth, sixth, and eighth graders. Findings suggest an alternate and less differentiated cognitive mechanism for the paradoxical effects of praise and blame. Older children showed an increasing preference to be like the nonpraised, nonrewarded, or blamed child.…

A study of six teacher education programs examined the preservice experiences of 70 novice general education teachers to determine conditions that may inhibit or facilitate their progress toward differentiation for academically diverse learners. Results found that their training in the nature and needs of exceptional learners was scant. (Author/CR)

Describes a 1995 study of college freshmen at a Scottish university that examined use of computers, knowledge about information technology, and reasons for not studying computing. Gender differences are discussed and results are compared with earlier studies from 1992, 1989, and 1986. (LRW)

Observed English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing classes in Canada in order to document what the ESL instructors do when they teach. Findings reveal that the instructors gave more attention to collectively constructing language paradigms and to guiding individual development than other routines, and attracted student's attention in one way or…

Discusses research on phonological instruction that indicates that improvement in pronunciation for adult foreign language learners is possible via a multimodal methodology designed to accommodate individual learning styles. An extension of this research examines experimental subjects' improvement in pronunciation accuracy and pinpoints areas…