Students in microscopic anatomy at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine selected a self-directed or teacher-directed approach to the course. Adoption of the experimental approach described here increased faculty time for evaluating student progress but was supportive of student development particularly in cognitive skills and affective…

Suggests that effective programs of education for black children be founded upon accurate knowledge of the children's community of orientation. In order to create such programs, developers must be sensitive to the differences between the black community and other ethnic communities. (Author/AM)

Defines confidence testing and describes several formats which permit student selection and weighting of test items thereby enhancing student-teacher participation in the testing process. (MH)

Alternative high schools have developed three basic responses to the question of graduation requirements: no requirements, the basic class/credit system with many options available under it, and a restructuring so that requirements are based on demonstrated competence in areas determined by the alternative school community. The competency approach…

An experimental flight program produced marked changes in the behavior of a group of inner-city junior high school students. A longitudinal study verifies that the changed behavior continued after the students left school. (IRT)

Excerpts of various articles are compiled here to provide an overview of attitudes towards new methods of educational supervision. Topics covered include administrator role, staff interaction, and school as community. (WI)

This study sought to determine if student behavior was as great a problem in 18 California alternative high schools as it is reported to be in regular high schools. Results showed that discipline was rarely a major concern in the alternative schools. Fourteen possible reasons were hypothesized. (Author/SJL)

A survey of development and information practices in alternative schools in New England revealed that staffs draw heavily from human resources within their local communities to initiate and sustain school operations; as the schools mature, staffs rely more on each other for new information about education. (Author/SJL)

Suggests that freedom for parents to choose their children's education (a kind of educational voucher system) would improve the quality of education in states where equality of per-pupil expenditures has been mandated. (PKP)

A program at Arizona State, Selected Studies in Education, is described which prepares undergraduates for a vast array of educational opportunities alongside the more traditional programs. Specific implications are listed for developing a similar differentiated teacher education program at other institutions. (Author/LBH)

This paper reports a case study of the psychological correlates of students' adjustment to a small urban free school. Forty male and thirty female students voluntarily answered the New Morning Student Questionnaire and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Results showed that students were psychologically well adjusted. (Author)

Reports students' attitudes and achievement in a self-scheduled instruction (SSI) introductory sociology course. SSI entails division of course materials into sequential units which students must master at their own pace. SSI students reported greater learning than with other teaching methods. Test scores confirmed student reports. (Author/AV)

This article takes a critical look at a growing phenomenon: special units in secondary schools. These units, a compromise of political, social, and educational objectives, are designed to assist disruptive students hindered by the traditional school curriculum. (Editor/RK)

One of the most pressing problems in California secondary schools revolves around the scarcity of options for those young people labelled as "troublesome" for a variety of minor but infuriatingly difficult adjustment problems. In the Pomona Unified School District, Fremont Junior High School has developed an alternative program to combat…