This report presents results of a cross-sectional study of achievement and underachievement in middle and high school (grades 6 to 9) African-American students in five mid-Atlantic school districts in 1995. Interviews with 152 African-American students, of whom 44 were identified as gifted, were conducted. Students were asked about their…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of the Community Options Project, a 5-year effort to enhance the capacity of eight local communities in New Hampshire and Maine to include young children (birth to age 6) with disabilities and their families in typical early childhood programs and to enhance the quality of these programs for all…

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the role computers play in their workplace performance. Subjects were 142 secondary public school teachers who responded to a 71-item questionnaire. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with 15 carefully selected subjects to provide more depth. Data were analyzed to…

William Perry argued that adult development can be marked by a progressively refined set of questions focused on how Authorities like teachers can support multiple right answers and still maintain that there are wrong answers. When prospective English teachers view right and wrong answers as relativistic, they seem to view themselves as…

Case-based instruction (CBI) is used in a variety of professional schools. Studies indicate that CBI can have promising results, but they do not provide insights into the theoretical justification for using CBI. An earlier paper (Risko and Kinzer, 1994) identified five theoretical constructs for CBI: anchored instruction; reflective thinking;…

This is a case study of motivation to learn Arabic as a foreign language at the university level in the United States. Three students enrolled in second year Arabic were the participants. Data about each participant were collected through observation of weekly group conversations, and analysis of grade records for the whole semester during which…

The purpose of this document is to present a framework and resource guide to help cultural heritage institutions plan sustainable access to their digital cultural assets and to do so by means that link their missions to planning modes and models. To aid cultural heritage organizations in the business-planning process, this resource will do the…

This article looks at the lessons that a novice qualitative researcher learned from interviewing an adolescent on AIDS education. The data informs us of what can be missed when adolescents are surveyed and not talked "to." As Toni informs us, "They should teach you this." The article points out how reciprocity, responsibility,…

Employers' attitudes toward employees' speech affects hiring. (CH)

This study examined the participation of vocational instructors in the individualized education program (IEP) process and the inservice needs of these personnel in relation to the IEP effort. The authors report on the design and findings, and reflect on various methods employed in this investigation. (Author/CT)

In the course of collecting and recording oral histories, there is a tendency to overemphasize the individual account and forget the social context. To learn more about social relationships, one can focus on the teller's position, similarities and oppositions in different tellers' versions, and categories used by the teller. (IS)

Analyzed relationships between Swedish citizens' educational levels and their information seeking, knowledgeability, and information dissemination to other individuals and politicians. Found that the poorly edcucated were high on information seeking but lower on retention and dissemination. Concluded that the "influence gap" is more of a…

Interviews were conducted with the heads of 11 business branches of major public libraries to examine how these experts view the future of the public library in the electronically dominated information environment of the future. Eleven references and a list of librarians interviewed are appended. (Author/EJS)

This review of library reference service research, which focuses on the provision of information in response to questions, covers measurement of reference service, evaluation using unobtrusive techniques, online search services, information needs and uses, the process of asking and answering questions, and artificial intelligence. Eighty-four…

Discussion of current funding problems experienced by public, school, university, and special libraries in Nova Scotia indicates that cutbacks are causing staff layoffs and loss of purchasing power. Small public libraries are particularly affected, but new graduate librarians find employment, and free-lance librarians are extending service beyond…