A study examined what kinds of books middle schoolers will read when given the freedom to choose. Subjects were 55 children of middle-class parents enrolled in 2 sections of eighth-grade English at a university laboratory school. Of the original population of 55 students, 7 elected not to have data from their reading included, and records were not…

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether selected test and item characteristics in the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are associated with unexpected differential item functioning (DIF) for males and females and for majority and minority group members (i.e., White performance compared with Black, Asian American, Hispanic American, and…

This paper examines the relationship between the educational philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft and the Dissenters of England. The paper describes the intellectual and political climate of 18th century England, the Dissenting movement, the Dissenting academies, and Wollstonecraft's associations with the Dissenters. During the 1600s and 1700s,…

As required by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 (VATEA), a project was undertaken to develop an accountability system for New York State equity programs funded under sections 221 and 222 of the VATEA. This document profiles the resulting accountability system and serves as a guide for program staff…

This study investigates factors influencing participation of Afro-American female adolescents in sports. Following a review of the literature, two topics are addressed. The first of these, "Behavior in Sport," discusses benefits of sports to youth; stereotypes of Afro-American female sports participants; behaviors of female athletes; and…

This study examined freshman college students' attitudes about date rape and how such attitudes changed over the course of their college experience. It is based on a subset of data from the 1990 annual national survey of freshmen and a follow-up study in 1994 collected by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) survey, namely 10,155…

Since 1969-70, the National Catholic Educational Association has published a statistical report on Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the United States. This year's report contains the core school enrollment and staffing data from the Association's database and includes data on Chapter 1 services, extended care programs, school boards of…

Fresh ideas, new voices, and new research data are presented in this collection exploring antiracism, culture, and social justice in Britain. This emerging material is intended to cause readers to reassess their own theoretical understanding, their politics, and their practices. The following chapters are included: (1) "A Question of Silence?…

Item response theory (IRT) has been used extensively to study differential item functioning (dif) and to identify potentially biased items. The use of IRT for diagnostic purposes is less prevalent and has received comparatively less attention. This study addressed differential objective function (dof) to identify potentially biased content units.…

This study sought to identify the reading interests and preferences of older adult public library users in the Oakwood, Ohio community, and also to gauge interest in large print materials within this group. Surveys assessed in this study were completed by 70 adults age 50 or over. The results revealed a wide range of reading interests and…

This conference proceedings focuses on structuring classrooms to optimize learning among Alberta (Canada) gifted students. The first paper, "Optimizing Parent Potential" (Trudy A. Harrold), describes a model and a process for helping parents acquire knowledge, organize their thinking, and act from a realistic base when dealing with their gifted…

A 3-day conference brought together health and education experts to explore responses to adolescent health problems and to suggest ways to implement the recommendations put forward in "Fateful Choices: Healthy Youth for the 21st Century," by Fred M. Hechinger. Conference participants identified a number of adolescent health problems and the areas…

Programs funded through the federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act sex equity set aside are required to provide occupational education in high wage, high skill, and nontraditional careers. This bulletin, one of a series reporting on Perkins Act funding in New Jersey, reports on the effectiveness of displaced…

The development of educational and social relationships among students of different ethnic groups and social backgrounds is examined in these explorations of the reduction of prejudice among school children. Qualitative methods are used, and emphasis is placed on the role of collaborative learning and on the strategies and techniques teachers can…

This report presents data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the Division of Personnel Preparation's database of supported teacher trainees for the years 1990-91 and 1991-92, on degrees awarded in special education and related health professions. Data are reported by field of study, by level of degree, and by gender. The…