A new South African testing approach designed to assess potential university students' ability to cope with English-medium academic education is also designed to take into account the effects of educational disadvantagement and minimize reliance on students' content-based secondary school experiences. The approach incorporates principles from…

This study assessed the effectiveness of the Alliance Summer Geography Institute's model in promoting teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Teacher surveys and evaluations of subsequent inservices indicated the institute enhanced both types of knowledge. Resulting inservices allowed teachers to pass knowledge along to a…

Different forms of peer tutoring within college and universities are described and compared for effectiveness, including cross-year and same-year small-group, individualized, supplemental, diadic, reciprocal, fixed-role, writing process, and distance tutoring. Three methods are found to be widely used, demonstrated effective, and meriting expanded…

Examines some factors contributing to the success of art as a therapeutic tool with children with autism and considers some reasons why art is not more in evidence in schools. Considers benefits of art therapy and the role of art education as part of the British National Curriculum. Outlines the skills that experienced teachers of children with…

Describes the components of Singapore's Masterplan for Information Technology (IT) in Education, which lays out a comprehensive strategy for creating an IT-based teaching and learning environment in every school. Discusses the impact on childhood learning and on the teaching staff, highlighting the experience of one of the demonstration schools as…

This study compiled descriptive data over 7 years on 812 school-age children with serious emotional disturbance (SED), including demographic and family characteristics, level of psychological and adaptive functioning, services received in either residential mental health treatment facilities or community-based special education programs, and…

A partnership between Wayne State College, Wayne (Nebraska) community schools, and the local chamber of commerce produced fiber-optic telecommunications, Internet access, technology integration, automated libraries, computer networking, and a technology curriculum. The article describes project design, implementation, and growth, as well as…

Provides 11 guideposts for teachers and students planning constructive community action projects. These include avoid overanalysis at the beginning, write your original idea down before you modify it, ignore negativity, do your homework, build a core group, and recruit community allies. (MJP)

Presents five articles examining creation of environments that address children's special needs: (1) "Getting to the Heart of the Matter" (on changing from a deficit model to a competence model); (2) "Enhancing the Environment for All Children"; (3) "Using Your Senses to Adapt Environments"; (4) "More Than a…

Outlines principles and guidelines for creating productive choral rehearsals and provides examples of each. These include pre-planning and organizing the rehearsal, following a synthesis-analysis-synthesis model, stressing "doing," keeping the rehearsal challenging and unpredictable, and focusing on positive improvement. (MJP)

Reviews findings on the long-term effects of early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs outside the United States. Focuses on three issues of policy debate of concern to the United States: (1) long-term benefits of ECCE programs; (2) using ECCE programs to reduce educational inequities; and (3) benefits of parent involvement in ECCE…

This study used an "enhanced constructed comparison group" statistical model to conduct longitudinal research on the child developmental impact of Pittsburgh's early childhood initiative (ECI), a partnership to provide high-quality early care and education for children in high-risk neighborhoods. First-phase findings indicate that…

Describes a study to determine the effectiveness of six community college occupational programs based on the perceptions of students nearing graduation, graduates, and employers. Major study components were the relationship between enrollment objectives and postgraduation activities, satisfaction with programs, and job preparedness and placement…

Evaluated effectiveness of provincewide chemical abuse prevention education program for elementary grades with 2,092 students and 500 teachers. Found students had high initial knowledge level, certain students showed significant knowledge gains, program was most effective with low knowledge base students, program was in use in 20 percent to 30…

Examines the effects of school organization and climate on mainstreaming in an urban middle school. Discusses how certain behaviors, beliefs, and mechanisms result in the exclusion of some special education students from regular classes, programs, and facilities. (FMW)