Describes a study at a Michigan high school that investigated elements that contributed to a meaningful library research task. Highlights include information literacy; students' feelings of satisfaction and achievement; student questionnaires and student and teacher interviews; group work; and process instruction. (LRW)

Interviews with 60 African American, Asian American, Hispanic, and white women nominated as gifted by professional and ethnic organizations were analyzed. Findings indicated differences in attitudes and experiences between groups and across stages of life. Structural factors (racism and/or sexism) constituted the most frequently named obstacle for…

Interviews with 2,000 youths (ages 10-16) and their caretakers examined whether instruction at school or home about how to prevent victimization impacted on children's behavior in real victimization attempts. Children exposed to comprehensive school-based or home-based instruction were more likely to use recommended self-protection strategies and…

Discusses the impact of Internet access on library reference services based on 1994 interviews with almost two dozen university librarians. Highlights include library policy, overcrowded workstations and methods of controlling use, recreational use of terminals that interferes with more formal library use, restriction as a form of censorship, and…

Describes a naturalistic case study involving a class of urban, ethnically diverse eighth graders who had studied the exploration and British colonization of North America. Most had considerable difficulty reconstructing what they had learned and explaining why they were studying history. New history education standards may help students connect…

Describes steps taken in developing an evaluation system for distance teaching at the Open Junior High School system in Indonesia. Reviews data collection techniques, and discusses advantages and disadvantages of evaluation studies. Presents a historical background of the system, and lists the system's strengths and weaknesses discovered via…

Examines the effects of rap music on the attitudes and behaviors of students in historically black colleges. Interviews with 38 females indicate that they find explicit lyrics inappropriate and harmful to society, but they feel that rap music accurately represents some of the realities of gender relations between black males and females. (SLD)

Discusses the use of "free conversation" in oral examinations. The use of "free conversation" to describe structured interviews where the teacher does most of the questioning and the candidate supplies most of the information is inaccurate unless the format of tasks can genuinely allow the exchange of previously unknown information. (CK)

Reports on a study that compared the behavior of two types of users (search specialists and subject matter specialists with no search experience) with two types of online information retrieval interfaces, including DIALOG. Highlights include data recording via transaction logs, structured interviews, and focus group discussions; and hypothesis…

Joseph Chilton Pearce, a writer who lectures internationally on child development, discusses the importance of the birth environment on infant development, the negative effects resulting from doctor-assisted births, his experiences in the births of his children, the importance of bonding, and the relationship between childbirth and childhood…

Conducted a study (n=26) to test descriptions about learning associated with open-ended design projects and to clarify the notion of ownership of resources and practices. Reports that conceptual and material resources were shared among students and that tool-related practices were appropriated as newcomers participated with more competent others…

Samples of farmers who employed indentured apprentices, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college teachers, and trade committee members were asked their attitudes about the Farm Apprenticeship scheme versus agricultural colleges. The results show a high degree of division of labor and mutual recognition between teacher in TAFE colleges and…

Describes a study of motivational factors influencing 19 first-year students who made the dean's list their first quarter in college, despite a poor academic performance in high school. Applies Weiner's attributional theory of motivation. Most students attributed their prior academic performance to a lack of motivation/effort. (DMM)

Used focus group interviews to identify major sources of stress and coping resources of grade 10 students (n=23). Relationships with parents and family, work, and lack of money were found to be important sources of stress. Major coping responses included substance use and diversionary activities. Examined differences between academic streams in…

Studies common explanations for juvenile involvement in Satanism (participants manifest unique attributes that promote involvement or participants become involved through processes common to other deviance types). Data from interviews with 530 Texas youths incarcerated over 6 months for delinquency suggest that Satanism may emerge from unique and…