Librarians must find ways to meet the information needs of patrons with various disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act codified what librarians have long espoused: equal access to information for people with any type of disabling condition. This study's objective was to identify and examine current or planned programs dealing with staff…

An overview of the literature of listening illustrates the lack of sufficient research in this area. A 1955 survey of curriculum guidebooks and bulletins for the inclusion of listening demonstrates the effect of limited research: most documents devoted anywhere from two to six pages to listening in elementary through secondary school levels. In…

To test whether elementary social studies texts have changed in response to the back-to-basics movement, a content analysis was made of selected basal texts series published between 1969-1972 and reissued between 1979-1982. Quantitative data, anecdotal data, and educational criticism were used to compare eight matched text series for knowledge…

A survey was conducted to determine states' progress towards developing a definition for developmentally delayed infants and toddlers as required by Public Law 99-457, Part H. Results of the survey, conducted in the summer of 1988, indicated that many states had made a great deal of progress toward developing a policy regarding the definition of…

A study examined the changing role and status of the elementary school teacher as projected in the teachers' guides that accompany reading textbooks. Twelve fifth-grade teachers' guides for each decade since 1920 were analyzed by scrutinizing every sixth chapter, story, or lesson for (1) physical characteristics, (2) testing components, (3) number…

State plans for higher education since 1960 are considered, with attention to factors highlighted for attention in planning documents, goals established for the higher education planning process, and recommendations advanced to achieve those goals. A total of 63 comprehensive state plans for higher education were included: 7 state plans were…

Focusing on how television viewing fits into a general model of consumer consumption patterns, a study examined (1) the extent to which the viewing of certain television content can be considered a "norm" of society, (2) similarities and differences between the norms for adults and those for children, and (3) some of the antecedents of…

Six eclectic basal readers were evaluated to determine what basal readiness programs are teaching kindergarten and early first grade children. Each lesson was analyzed to discover the main purpose of instruction as stated in an objective or skill and the actual requirements placed upon the child during instruction. Using the recommendations from…

This paper suggests that the upcoming transfer of Hong Kong from Great Britain to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1997, offers a unique opportunity to observe how changing configurations in the political environment influence mass media. The article investigates how the Hong Kong press, which spans the entire left-center-right ideological…

The Texas Examination of Current Administrators and Teachers is a basic literacy test that was administered to 202,000 practicing educators in March 1986. An in-depth case study was undertaken to examine the effects of the test as an instrument of educational reform and policy making. The two-year study involved 10 separate data-collection phases…

This paper makes a critical exploration into the core epistemological assumptions of mainstream television effects research and explains why the mainstream study of the cognitive impact of television on children suffers from two reductionist tendencies, i.e., television is understood by most researchers to be solely a technical medium, and most…

The mathematics program of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools (APS) was evaluated during the 1985-86 school year. Data were collected via surveys, interviews, analyses of student achievement data, and reviews of publications. The subjects were 506 teachers, 90 counselors, 1,502 students, 100 principals, and 965 parents. Evaluation…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 10 titles deal with the following topics: (1) how speech acts in advertisements relate to the purpose of selling merchandise; (2) the use and evaluation of accounts in problematic episodes; (3) rhetoric as a way of knowing; (4)…

A study was undertaken to obtain and analyze input from consumer and homemaking education teachers, students, and parents regarding desired content for a clothing and textiles semester course. Of the 1,200 questionnaires mailed to parents, teachers, and students throughout Texas, 327 were returned. Of these, 178 were teacher questionnaires, 84…

A study was conducted to determine special educators' sense of concern or awareness about ethnic/multicultural issues. A questionnaire, sent to 1,000 members of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), achieved only a 17.5% response rate but was felt to represent adequately the entire group. Respondents were asked their opinions regarding the…