A study was conducted to determine if a group of eighth graders (N=26) who received environmental action instruction would exhibit more overt environmental behavior than groups who received environmental awareness instruction (N=21) or science instruction (control group). The study supported the action instruction. (DC)

Certain groupings of behaviors (factors) from a list of behaviors on the Referral Preference Rating Scale (RPRS) were identified as problem behaviors by high school teachers. Results show that the RPRS not only identified the teachers' main concerns but clustered them in terms of the most disruptive behaviors. (Author/GK)

A study of teacher reactions to pupils during reading group instruction found that: (1) there are no significant differences between Black and White teachers in their responses to pupils' academic activities; and that (2) Black students get significantly more negative feedback from teachers than do White students. (Author/MJL)

Court decisions enlarging the rights of pupils are eroding legitimate adult authority in the schools. (Author)

Considered motivations of Black college students and the influence on student behavior. Of the 161-person sample, 62 freshmen said their mother was the most influential person in their life. Results indicated a wide disparity between high school grades achieved and college grades expected. (Author)

The effects of cooperative and individualistic learning experiences on interpersonal attraction between handicapped and nonhandicapped fourth graders were compared. Students were assigned to conditions on a stratified random basis controlling for handicap, ability, and sex. Cooperative experiences promoted more cross-handicapped interaction and…

Experiments (N=2) examined the effectiveness of a responsively planned death education unit for ninth-grade girls. Results of both experiments showed positive gains on cognitive and attitude scores for the experimental group, whereas the control group showed no improvement. (Author)

From observations of good and poor readers, it is concluded that on-task behavior is not significantly affected by whether reading is independent or teacher-directed. Good readers appear to spend significantly more time on task in contextual reading than do poor readers. (CJ)

Investigates how writers plan to produce discourse for different purposes--to report, to generalize, to persuade--as well as how writers plan for sentence level units of language. To learn about planning, an observational measure of pause time was used. (HOD)

Good self-esteem and self-concept have a bearing on a child's performance in school. The article describes ways to recognize poor self-image in a child and suggests strategies for building self-concept. Activities listed include positive marking of papers, bibliotherapy, improvisational drama, and values clarification. (DS)

Describes a guidance program that functions within a classroom format. It is designed to help alienated students expose their innermost feelings and thoughts and to develop the most rigorous requirements for personal responsibility and individual accountability. (Author/IRT)

Instructors were taught that pupil ability was either extrinsic or intrinsic, and were led to believe one pupil possessed high ability and one low ability. Instructors adopted teaching strategies based on the theory of ability they had been taught. Pupils behaved in ways which confirmed teacher expectations. (Author/DB)

The relationship between dimensions of classroom environment and off-task behavior among kindergarten students engaged in academic activities is studied. Evidence is presented substantiating the importance of signal continuity in maintaining students' task-oriented behavior. (JMF)

Although this paper focuses mainly on the cross-national comparison of classroom behaviors, the technique discussed is applicable to comparisons of teaching associated with different cultural groups within a single country, to comparisons of teaching across time, and to other types of comparisons as well. (Author/KC)

Among the findings were that hyperactive Ss on placebo showed lower rates of task attention and higher rates of gross motor movement, regular and negative verbalization, noise making, physical contact, social initiation, and other responses than did normal Ss and hyperactive Ss on Ritalin. (Author/DLS)