Evaluation of the Teaching and Learning Project Scheme at Southampton Institute (United Kingdom) examined the effectiveness of a scheme that released staff for limited periods of time for work concerned with teaching and learning. An internal, local evaluation methodology was used that involved questionnaires and interviews. The evaluation set the…

Teachers' conceptions about assessment were studied through a questionnaire completed by 152 mathematics teachers in Greece and 610 teachers in Cyprus. Questionnaire responses produced a rather optimistic picture of teachers' views, but 10 semi-structured interviews that followed showed that teachers in both countries have a rather vague…

Explores 194 principals' role perceptions, expressed in guided interviews conducted by educational-administration graduate students. Principals described planning procedures as collaborative and said priorities were shaped by school or student results on objective success indicators. Ensuring school safety, good teaching, and effective community…

Challenges vague, underconceptualized notions of teacher professional community. Findings from an exploration of two California middle-school teacher communities suggest that current models obscure significant differences in beliefs and practices. One community stresses teachers' individual rights and responsibilities; the other is driven by a…

Students from a predominantly Navajo high school discuss their lives, educational experiences, culture, and aspirations. They value their home language and culture, but want to achieve success in the wider world. Students' views often contradict educators' perceptions. School communities must build on these differences, rather than on homogeneity.…

Interviews with 44 dropout youth with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, or mild mental retardation found that educators and administrators need to change their attitudes toward and treatment of these youth, that the youth themselves need to change their attitudes and behavior, and that there needs to be more support from teachers and…

Describes a small-scale study into learners' attributions for success and failure in learning French. The study investigated the way in which learners conceptualize the notion of doing well, together with perceived reasons for successes and failures. Interviews were conducted with students (10-15 years of age) who were learning French in the…

Relates an interview with Jonothan Neelands, author of "Making Sense of Drama,""Learning in Imagined Contexts," and "Structuring Drama Work." Describes the different roles drama and theater can play in the lives of the student and the school, including that of using drama to explore language arts, science, or history. Discusses Neelands' theories…

Analyzes the identity experience of American Indians in Oklahoma. Uses portions of both quantitative data and verbal transcripts obtained through 182 one-on-one interviews during 1988to 1989 at six research sites. Finds a preponderance of integrative identity mixed with varying degrees of separatist orientation. (CR)

Recommends conducting interviews with students in order to grasp their understanding of fractions and provides interview questions. Presents results of a study using those interview questions and concludes student responses fell into three main categories: (1) described a mental image of an object; (2) drew a model of the fraction using a circle…

Vivian Gussin Paley, teacher-researcher and author of "White Teacher" and "The Girl with the Brown Crayon," discusses her role as teacher, her elimination of the use of teaching guides, her use of tape recorders to collect classroom data, her unique teaching practices that connect children's play and stories with their…

A literature review and telephone interviews with exemplar university staff informants identified benchmarks to assess the degree of reform at four doctoral-granting Midwestern universities. Data analysis revealed three themes: political, professional, and curricular. Universities' efforts ranged from unreformed and transitional to progressive and…

Describes the development of the Interactive Video Questionnaire for interviewing deaf persons. The questionnaire uses videodisc and bar-code readers to present survey questions on screen in American Sign Language, Signed English, speech reading, or as English subtitles. (DB)

Fifty-five 3rd-grade students, 27 of them with learning disabilities, were interviewed to determine their perceptions of grouping formats in reading instruction, with emphasis on small, mixed-ability groups. Students perceived that there are definite benefits and drawbacks to working in this format, including pacing, embarrassment, and working…

Excerpts from an interview with an Asian-American woman about her views on aspects of her life illustrate key issues related to the cultural implications of having a visual impairment. Suggestions for professionals who work with Asian-American or Pacific-Islander clients are also presented. (Author/CR)