To examine how classroom conditions such as students' mean aptitude, materials used, and instructional time influence the amount of reading material covered, 12 first grade classrooms were each observed for 12 days over a 36-week period. Students' reading readiness and word recognition skills were tested prior to observation while group mean…

Arranged in four sections, the book offers practical techniques for introducing environmental education at the primary level. The first section, on planning, outlines a conceptual framework for environmental education, describes how the staff at one primary school developed a K-7 curriculum, examines an in-service course on environmental science…

The purpose of this document is to provide reasonable, systematic standards for evaluation of instructional materials upon which evaluators may base their judgments, so that the results of the evaluation process will be as nearly consistent and therefore, as equitable, as possible. The guidelines are based on the social content requirements of the…

This congressional report contains testimony given at the first of a series of comprehensive hearings on the impact of automation on employment and the workplace. Included among those agencies and organizations represented at the hearing were the following: the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; the American Federation…

Intended for teachers and others having responsibility for shaping language policy in the schools, this collection of invited, original articles is based on the belief that a teacher's task is not to "teach" children language but, rather, to create an environment that will allow language learning to occur naturally. The book is divided into four…

Issues concerning the college as a community of inquiry, scholarship, and learning are considered, based on a 1982 conference at Colgate University. The conference addressed the problem of non-community in the academy, along with different conceptions of solving this problem. Conference participants described both typical experiences of academic…

Fiscal reductions as well as growing conservatism may have a profound impact on many university programs, including Chicano Studies programs, which are expanding into research, publications, and other areas. To frame the issues of greatest concern to Chicano Studies programs, a small research effort at the University of New Mexico involved the…

In the first phase of a study of factors affecting knowledge dissemination and knowledge use in staff development programs, a conceptual model was developed, and from it a 15 page questionnaire was derived to collect data on workshop participants' background and personal characteristics, school characteristics, and workshop characteristics. This…

In 1981, TDR Associates, a private, independent research organization in Newton, Massachusetts, began a two and one-half year study of "Knowledge Utilization and School Improvement Through Staff Initiated Inservice Programs." This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Education and conducted under an arrangement with…

This study examined teachers' content knowledge about the nature of science and how this knowledge was expressed in their classrooms. Understandings about science influence not only explicit lessons about the nature of science, but also shape an implicit curriculum concerning scientific knowledge. Consideration was also given to ways in which…

Dropout prevention is emerging as the most important new issue in education. Broad demographic trends predict a continuing growth in the population of at-risk youth, those most likely to drop out of school. The overall goal of any dropout prevention activity is to reduce the number of at-risk students. This issue is devoted to what research and…

Using a microanalytic case study approach, school effectiveness/school improvement strategies in a Northeastern urban public school district are examined. Recent research findings have indicated inconclusive and, at times, negative results related to the implementation of such strategies. The 202,469 students enrolled in 257 schools within the…

This book, going beyond the case study approach, addresses the ideas and institutional structures that interact with and are affected by immigrants to the United States. Part 1, "Historical, Demographic, and Ecological Considerations," is comprised of the following articles: (1) "Immigration Reform and Immigration History: Why…

This handbook contains eight generic instructional strategies for use in vocational education contexts. The strategies include: clinical teaching, collaborative approach, cooperative learning groups, direct instruction, environmental/curriculum modification, individualized instruction, task analysis, and peer or adult tutoring. For each strategy,…

A variety of research findings and observations concerning learning styles are compiled in this guide to help teachers understand the implications of their students' learning preferences. The first section describes the Learning Preference Inventory (LPI) as an instrument that asks the student to select among eight learning situations, e.g.,…