Why established institutional forms of schooling have been so stable and why most challenges do not succeed is studied through case studies of reform that include the Dalton Plan; the Eight-Year Study, a secondary school reform plan; and the new model flexible high school of the 1960s. (SLD)

Describes a study to test causal relationships among variables related to Hispanic students' intent to persist using multiple regression and path analysis models. Reports that a path analysis model, examining students' satisfaction with their academic experience and instruction, commitment, family support, and perceptions of future job prestige,…

Claims that children's peer relations are significant in their social, cognitive, and moral development, and are correlated to later problems in social adjustment. Includes a brief historical perspective on the subject, and explores direct and indirect influences. Claims that peer relations develop within ecological frameworks, and identifies the…

The "academic ratchet theory," states that faculty increase their discretionary time by reducing institutional responsibilities. Data from four liberal arts and two research universities indicate that class-size utility is asymmetric around teaching method-dependent norms and that research university faculty prefer smaller teaching loads…

Examined the relationship between parental involvement in their children's schooling and children's motivation and academic achievement. Subjects were of 300 11- to 14-year-olds. Data from parent, student, and teacher evaluations suggest that parental involvement manifests itself in many ways. Children who are confident in school may actually push…

Noting that the transition from preschool to kindergarten presents many challenges to children, families, and teachers, presents a preschool-to-kindergarten planning transition model. The goal of the model is to provide a strategy that assists children, teachers, and families to establish and implement a collaborative transition process. Five…

The Southeastern Institute for Faculty Training model for preparing interdisciplinary teams of higher education faculty to provide leadership in training in early intervention for young children with disabilities and their families is described. The model includes stakeholder support, leadership commitment, needs assessment, infusion of…

Five experts discuss the purpose of schooling, dated models of education, changing education, information technology, equitable access to technology, new educational models, the role of the teacher, government's role, financing public or private schools through voucher systems, and collaboration between schools and industry. (LRW)

Discusses university expectations of student applicants, investigates student preparedness for entry into higher education, and identifies learning outcomes that need to be formed to prepare students for the realities of higher education. Provides a model for a modular, semesterized program that prepares students for the experience of higher…

A seven-step model for developing, teaching, and evaluating social safety skills curricula for persons with intellectual disabilities is presented. The model is based on validated best practices, including those associated with ecological inventories, (near) errorless learning instructional procedures, and procedures for promoting generalization…

Describes an expert system designed to simplify evaluation of teacher-authored high school matriculation examination forms for official recognition. Because conventional knowledge-engineering methods were inadequate, a learning-by-example model called the Ordinal Learning Model was utilized. Responses from the system's users during a two-year beta…

Research suggests that computer anxiety and computer experience are related. Some relationship between age and gender and computer anxiety has been suggested but not sufficiently examined. Other relationships have been explored with little result, and little is known about mediating computer anxiety. A model of the development of computer anxiety…

Presents a taxonomy of 11 sources of information used during library and database searching based on observations of 49 searches in a variety of libraries and search situations. Three categories of sources are identified: those internal to the searcher, those created by the searcher, and those external to the searcher. (Contains 54 references.)…

Discusses the development of practical strategies for library mediation between Internet resources and potential users. Topics addressed include a hierarchy of information skills; awareness of information services and resources; the information structure of a discipline; analysis of information needs; and retrieval, evaluation, and management of…

Seven men, beginning careers as elementary school teachers, describe their experiences as men working with young children. Issues they confront in their workplaces and assumptions and stereotypes about men in nontraditional occupations are discussed. The call for more men in elementary school oversimplifies complex issues. (SLD)