This paper is based on a portion of the curriculum analysis of elementary science textbooks that was conducted as part of a larger Elementary Subjects Center study of curriculum materials used in literature, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts. A commonly used elementary science curriculum series, Silver Burdett and Ginn's…

The relationships among factors reported on school district (SD) report cards were studied for 121 Tennessee SDs. The report cards provided data on student outcomes (achievement test scores) and SD characteristics. Relationships were studied through linear regression, Pearson product moment correlation, and Guttman's partial correlation. Six…

This paper reports on a study that explores the literature of technostress--the anxiety over using technological equipment--both inside and outside of the library field. Fifty-eight unique articles were abstracted and evaluated. By using a coding sheet a measurement was taken of symptoms, reasons given for the "modern disease," and…

Based on the findings of a content analysis of representative literature on educational technology, this report examines the trends in educational technology from October 1, 1990 through September 30, 1991. Ten trends for 1991 are identified and discussed: (1) the creation of technology-based teaching/learning products is based largely on…

The purpose of this research project was to determine if, like books, the content of children's magazines changes to reflect current societal trends. The study used the method of content analysis and was limited to one children's magazine, "Children's Digest." Certain trends in children's literature were identified through the literature…

Using a sample issue of the "Journal of Communication" as a point of comparison, a study examined the content of 10 introductory textbooks for the field of communication. Results indicated that textbooks scarcely ever acknowledge methodological pluralism, and when they do, they simply cite it as an existing factor in the field of communication and…

This literature review and annotated bibliography addresses teaching portfolios, utilized by teachers to improve and demonstrate their knowledge and skills in teaching. The document, organized into three sections, discusses several key issues related to teaching portfolios. The first section on issues in portfolio design and implementation…

Congress, using Public Law 94-482 entitled Education Amendments of 1976, instructed the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to develop, implement, and operate the Vocational Education Data System (VEDS). As mandated by legislation, the primary purpose of VEDS is to provide a national reporting system to generate uniform data from the…

Focusing on knowledge of four public affairs issues important to residents of a Midwestern inner-city neighborhood, a study examined the relative contributions to knowledge made by two neighborhood newspapers and by organized community group activities. A sample of 239 residents was asked open-ended questions about housing, crime, economic…

An exploratory study examined gender differences in writing in the essays of five male and five female freshman composition students. The findings suggest parallels between the writing and speaking behaviors of men and women students and between student writing and the work of male and female professional writers. The male students made few…

Reliability data suggest that, although there are many problems, it is feasible to systematically evaluate a student's analytic and persuasive competence in free oral argumentation. The first part of the paper describes the contexts within which the evaluation project took place. Specifically discussed are the five areas of analysis on which the…

Because students often come to a literary text without the prerequisite knowledge to understand or explicate it fully, they can be thought of as outsiders, needing the help of insiders, or experts in literature, to "learn the text's secrets." Moreover, students often do not fully comprehend how much of literature rests on symbolism that demands…

What references, if any, do some of the major educational reform reports make about the American Indian? Reform reports were reviewed to determine their content regarding minorities in general and American Indians in particular. With the exception of the Carnegie Forum report and possibly the National Governors' Association report, very little was…

The purpose of this study was to identify alternative life and physical science concepts possessed by preservice elementary science teachers (n=49). Science textbooks used in grades 5 and 6 were surveyed and a literature review of alternative life and physical science concepts was conducted. Results of the survey and literature review resulted in…

The foreign and international media studies section of the proceedings includes the following 11 papers: "The Contemporary Pacific Islands Press" (Suzanna Layton); "Cultural Domination and Sovereignty: The Development of European TV Quotas, 1981-89" (Ulf Jonas Bjork); "A Content Analysis of TV News in Saudi Arabia and…