The emphasis in gifted programs should be on the interests and needs of the students, rather than on preparing them to perform some social function, such as solving world problems, which require commitment of everyone rather than necessarily requiring intelligence and technology. This approach places unrealistic expectations on gifted students and…

The elementary teacher education programs at Ball State University, University of Toledo, University of Georgia, Eastern Michigan University, Utah State University, Austin Peay State University, and University of Southern Mississippi are described. Each includes special science courses for teachers, appropriate methods courses, and opportunities…

Discusses "How Does a Community Work," a Junior Achievement economic education program for second graders. Explains that the lessons teach children about how people live together and the job choices available in a community. Describes how the program fits into a social studies curriculum on neighborhoods and communities. (DK)

Reports on a national survey of 700 institutions with teacher education programs. According to the completed surveys (n=197), the programs tended not to include planned instruction about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) for elementary students, and those that did typically went through the health education unit. (SM)

Identifies the common characteristics of population education in African countries, including a focus on safeguarding cultural traditions. Suggests that improving the condition of women should be at the heart of population education because of their role in promoting family health and environmental protection and in the education of their…

The United States leads all other developed nations in inappropriate teenage pregnancies and the educational and societal consequences. Describes activities of the community-based I Have a Future Program (IHAF), built on the premise that changes in sex behavior must be pursued in a framework of enhancing self-esteem and presenting positive…

Addresses important considerations for the implementation of speaking across the curriculum. Highlights important distinctions between speech courses and speaking-across-the-curriculum courses taught by faculty in other disciplines. Argues that the benefits of speaking across the curriculum outweigh the potential harm to the field if concerns are…

Evaluates a teaching program called TRAC (Talk, Reasoning, and Computers) that is used for scaffolding children's effective use of language as a tool for reasoning and collaborative activity. Finds that using the TRAC program can increase the amount of exploratory talk used by children working together in the classroom. (CMK)

Describes the Fairfield High School Chamber Music Honors Program for students in grades nine through twelve in Fairfield (Connecticut). Explains that the program's goal is to provide students with a positive experience in chamber music. Highlights the creation and the first two years of the program. (CMK)

Describes a matrix that depicts the relationships between desired perspectives, skills, knowledge, and attitudes and an undergraduate psychology curriculum. Expounds that the curriculum matrix is a useful tool for representing the coverage of specific material in the individual courses offered within the overall curriculum. Provides a blank…

Presents an interview with Nikolai Nikolaevich Baganov addressing the presidential program "Russia's Children" that is made up of nine subprograms: Children of Chernobyl, Children of the North, Family Planning, The Baby-food Industry, Orphaned Children, Handicapped Children, Gifted Children, Children of Refugee Families, and Children's…

Argues against the international project called "Sex Education for the Schoolchildren of Russia" that is a sex education program intended for students in the seventh through ninth grades and is carried out by the Ministry of General and Professional Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation…

Analyzes the educational practices that contribute to the success of a model inclusion program at the Connolly Elementary School focusing on the school culture. Identifies three components of the Connolly school culture that contributed to the success of inclusion. Suggests that a school's culture should be understood when implementing inclusion.…

Examines the impact of teacher consultation on the effectiveness of a pre-school social skills program, called Skillstreaming, that was introduced to two Head Start teachers and their students. Confirms that social skills can be taught to pre-school children within a natural environment, but only when teacher support is provided. Includes…

Examines whether children taught in literacy program classrooms make greater progress in reading during their first two years of formal schooling than children in classrooms not involved in the literacy program. Finds that children in the literacy program classrooms made more reading progress in both the Reception year and Year 1. (CMK)