This paper examines the sample-free test calibration claim, derived from Rasch's structural model for test items, by comparing item difficulty and log ability estimates between different samples of ability levels. Three tests from the Ball Aptitude Battery--Inductive Reasoning, Paper Folding; and Vocabulary--were administered to three samples of…

Evidence from followup studies of teacher education graduates indicates that teachers do not value certain major components of their teacher education programs and do not really remember or know what their teacher education programs attempted to teach them. While educational experts cite the extensiveness and comprehensiveness of teacher education…

Both Brazil's and the United States's educational policies are influenced by centralization of administration and formal objectives mandated by law. Arising from a long division in Brazilian life between government and people, public schools have been seen to be the concern of the government, which has preserved the antiquated division of…

Economic status determined the effects of declining public revenues and a tighter economy on residents of Farmville, Virginia, a small, conservative, rural, Southern community with underdeveloped social services, whose class relations still reflect racial segregation, whose concern for local autonomy is so great that external funding sources are…

Keynote addresses and 13 selected conference papers are presented in these conference proceedings. The first keynote address, "Rethinking the Ways We Teach" (Barrie Thorne) is followed by "Black Studies/Women's Studies: Points of Convergence" (Johnella E. Butler), "Seeking Feminist Transformation of the Sciences and the…

A model suitable for use in a required social work course or a high-interest elective social work course on ethnic groups, racism, or cross cultural studies uses a five dimensional approach. An elective course entitled "Cultural Diversity and the Helping Process" provides a case study. This course has been taught since 1981 and has occasionally…

Difficulties of Puerto Rican children in adjusting to school in the U.S. mainland can be attributed to their family background and early schooling experience. Unlike the isolated, independent nuclear family unit usually found on the mainland, Puerto Rican families are extended and prize cooperation, socialization, respect for the male patriarch,…

Re-examination of a 16-county area of southern Alabama last studied in 1968 found it still economically depressed, especially for blacks. Black unemployment remains two to three times higher and black poverty rates up to five times higher than those of whites. Blacks are generally employed in the lowest paying jobs. Both black median family income…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the developmental patterns in logical reasoning of students in grades 6-10 over a span of 20 months. The Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) was administered to the sample (N=84) during the fall of 1986, the fall of 1987, and the spring of 1988. The GALT measures six reasoning modes:…

This study investigated the effects of verbal factors on item performance in mathematics tests. Experimental tryout units were constructed that varied the verbal load of each of 21 mathematics test items. Each tryout unit was randomly assembled to include A, B and C versions of items so that no examinee took a unit of only one item format. Each…

Because of the increasing ethnic diversity of schools today, accompanied by a rash of racial incidents, some schools are seeking to promote ethnic understanding and appreciation. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the ethnic changes in the nation's schools. Chapter 2 presents information about ethnic interactions in the schools and focuses…

One of the most difficult tasks business and professional communication teachers face is teaching students to appreciate cultural differences and their effects on business communication, both domestically and internationally. Students from a homogeneous background may dismiss or disparage cultural differences. Some classroom exercises can help…

The lack of a German language testing instrument for economic literacy has led to problems for researchers in German-speaking countries to establish the level of economic literacy in those countries. The translation of the 23rd edition (1987) of the Test of Economic Literacy (TEL) into a German version, known as the Wirtschalfliche Bildung Test…

The purpose of this experimental study was to determine the effects of interactive video versus traditional lecture on cognitive learning and affective behaviors of undergraduate nursing students. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in the cognitive achievement scores of students taught by an interactive videodisk…

Certain groups are underrepresented in mathematics courses and do not achieve to their potential. Black students and female students are among those groups. During middle school years boys begin to outperform girls in mathematics. White students begin to outperform black students even before the middle school years. Previous research has indicated…