This report presents an analysis of the statistics concerning the status of education for students with special needs in member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Special needs students are defined as those who have disabilities with clear biological causes, or who are experiencing learning difficulties, or who…

Maintaining that much of the prevailing public discussion and media "hype" surrounding gender issues in education amount to little more than anecdotal rhetoric and opinion, this paper examines evidence for sex differences in the experiences and outcomes of schooling from recent and emerging teacher and school effectiveness research. The paper…

This book focuses on brain-based research to explore why boys and girls learn differently and how educators and parents can use that information to create the ultimate early childhood, elementary, or secondary classroom for both boys and girls. Part 1 of the book presents research findings from three primary points of view: (1) neurological and…

This digest reviews ways to provide Arab Americans with a supportive school environment and all students with an accurate and unbiased education about the Middle East. The school climate will make Arab American students feel more welcome if Arab culture is included in multicultural courses and activities, and if the staff works to eliminate…

Youth with disabilities are particularly susceptible to dangerous outcomes associated with contemporary issues such as teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Several studies document the high degree of social, medical, and legal risk to which youth with disabilities are exposed. The extent to which public schools provide risk…

A study comparing the effects of student self-concept, classroom environment, and socioeconomic status on student aspirations and achievement surveyed 3,397 students in 28 rural and urban high schools in Western Australia over a period of 3 years. Government and nongovernment schools in metropolitan areas and in four categories of rural and remote…

In 1998, the Keystone Research Center published a comprehensive review of research on two high-profile ideas for raising educational achievement: lowering class size in the early grades and instituting private school vouchers. This report presents a research update, emphasizing results since early 1998. Over the past 2 years, the evidence on the…

This paper examines and refutes the hypothesis that white, male, middle class college students are falling behind their female peers in higher education. After an introduction, the paper focuses on gender gaps in the educational pipeline, discussing several indicators that could be used to measure educational attainment. These include high school…

This report presents the results of a fall 1999 survey of U.S. colleges and universities that offer doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degrees in physics and astronomy, focusing on degree production and current student enrollment. Highlighted are the following: (1) after four years of significant declines, physics bachelor's degrees conferred in…

This fact sheet describes important changes in the academic characteristics of recent California high school graduates that relate directly to university eligibility and student preparation. The number of public high school graduates in California has grown by 9.7% since 1995, and the proportion of graduates who complete the full university…

This report describes a program for implementing specific cooperative grouping patterns in order to increase students' academic performance. The targeted population consisted of junior high and high school students located in the northwest and southwest suburbs of a large metropolitan area. An instructional strategy in which both like-gender and…

This paper reports on initial implementation of a state required process for determining eligibility of children and adolescents for Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Programs. Three criteria are used for determining eligibility: a diagnosable mental, behavior, or emotional disorder; impairment of one year's duration; and establishment of…

This essay examines the ways in which art and art history, as disciplines, have been influenced by feminist scholarship and research into the areas of gender, sexuality, and race. It explains that before the interventions of feminist art historians and theorists of art, beginning in the 1970s, the history of art was conceived of and taught as a…

This document is a summary of the degrees, awards, and certificates completed at community colleges in California during the 1997-1998 academic year. Table 1 presents the number of degrees and certificates awarded by district and college. The largest number of degrees and certificates were awarded in Los Angeles (4,693), Los Rios (2,610), Ventura…

Arguing that picture books have much to offer students in the upper grades (including middle school and even high school students), this book discusses using picture books to stimulate students' thinking in a variety of topic areas. Chapter 1, Using Picture Books in the Middle School To Stimulate Thinking, introduces the topic of using picture…