A recent employer survey sponsored by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills found that the skills new job entrants most need for success in the workplace--oral and written communication, time management, critical thinking, problem solving, personal accountability, and the ability to work effectively with others--are the areas in which recent…

In our summer 2006 issue, we ran a comprehensive overview of how postmodernism has degraded composition on our campuses. Steve Kogan enlarges that indictment and charges that the movement has deliberately corrupted every area of English instruction--from the acquisition of skills and knowledge to the more fundamental mission of developing in…

The new independent Christian schools developed by parents and evangelical churches in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s remain controversial among both Christian and secular educators. In response to this controversy, the present study traced 106 men who had graduated from these schools between 1985 and 2003 and analysed their evaluation of…

Success for All (SFA) is a comprehensive reading, writing, and oral language development program for students in pre-K through eighth grade. Its underlying premise is that all children, including those with limited English proficiency, can and should be reading in English at grade level by the end of third grade. (SFA can impact Spanish literacy…

A 4-year longitudinal study in Tennessee, called the Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project, examined the effects of class size on student achievement in kindergarten through grade 3. More than 6,000 students from 75 schools in 42 school systems were included in the study. There were three class sizes: small class (13-17 students),…

If those teaching advertising courses with significant ethics components are concerned about having a genuine--as opposed to cosmetic--impact on how their students translate what is taught in the classroom to the "real world," they must focus on the idea of "oughtness." The question is: what can instructors in advertising…

The conceptualization of the Mars Hill College (MHC) communication major is a type of the refocused, liberal arts-based programs appearing at many colleges and universities around the country--Mars Hill is an undergraduate college of 1100 students. The final product (the liberal-arts based, interdisciplinary MHC communication major) is the result…

A study on basic speech assessment replicated an earlier one except that in place of the CCAI and the Competent Speaker form, the Self-Perceived Public Speaking Competency Scale (SPPSC) was used. Also, 2 randomly selected control groups of students were added to the research design: one consisting of 62 students who had not taken speech and were…

This longitudinal study examined the question of change and stability in students' used learning strategies during the first 2 years of study at the university. A total of 188 students from Tilburg University in the Netherlands took part in the study, including 90 in law, 27 in art, 48 in economics, and 23 in the social sciences. The students…

A study examined what critiques, if any, encourage debaters to think about their debating in the most productive ways. It evaluated oral critiques and revealed decisions as components in influencing the debaters'"self-talk" or internal dialogues as the more important messages. The study used R. Petty and J. Cacioppo's (1986) elaboration…

An internship and a Junior Communication Seminar help prepare students for gainful employment at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia. The second-semester seminar focuses on job-hunting strategies to help students in the search for the required internship and for future employment. A significant portion of the course is devoted to students' dialogue…

This paper discusses the use of reflective learning in service-learning projects in three different undergraduate courses. In a small group communications course, groups of five or six students were assigned to work with a non-profit agency to assist them in solving a problem. The students reflected on their group meetings in journals and wrote…

This guide is a compilation of tips for administrators, particularly secondary school administrators, on a wide variety of topics. It includes all tips published in a National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) newsletter from 1981 to 1989. "How-to" information is provided in all the following areas: first-year teacher…

Students with disabilities often experience particular difficulties with handwriting, and these problems can hinder their development both in school and in postsecondary settings. This paper addresses three issues: (1) the possibility of a prejudicial and potentially lasting first impression, based on the individual's handwriting; (2) the lack of…

In its effort to meet the challenges of the National Education Goals, New Hampshire is emphasizing three major goals: develop an outcome-based assessment program; formulate major reforms in science and mathematics education; and support the "break the mold" schools program. All state policies and programs are guided by common themes:…