This document consists of comments provided by 20 adult students taught on the World Wide Web by an associate professor from the University of Central Florida's College of Education. The following are among the benefits of Web-based instruction cited by the students, all of whom are over the age of 25: (1) the ease of communicating on-line makes…

Arguing that the burden of homework causes significant family stress--including parent-child conflict, reduced family leisure time, and overly tired children--this book questions whether the benefits of homework are worth its costs. The book examines the historical progression of homework and the influence of international competition on the trend…

As part of broader national effort, 510 Pennsylvania adults were randomly surveyed in order to examine their attitudes toward higher education. In addition, a focus group was held in suburban Philadelphia. The four major findings of the research are that Pennsylvanians believe: (1) higher education is vitally important for success; (2) the process…

Perception of teaching affects teaching practice. Process-product orientation presumes too much causal relationship between teaching and learning, and requires more teacher accountability than is realistic/necessary. Different conceptions of teaching facilitate inquiry into teaching excellence, with essential factors being teacher…

Analysis of attitudes toward formal education among teachers, American Indian parents, and students in six High Plains communities reveals eight household types and associated attitude sets. Schooling provides differential reinforcement of these attitude sets, resulting in attitude erosion and high dropout rates among students and high teacher…

Argues that in higher education, values and priorities of the enterprise's "producers" have little in common with those of the "consumers," and identifies areas in which this is apparent, including tuition, college choice, selection of a president, program development, faculty rewards, state subsidies, institutional budgeting, and school…

Interviews in 1,776 households in rural Thailand and parent focus groups revealed that larger families sent proportionately fewer children to secondary school. Parents sent more sons than daughters and more youngest than eldest children. Economic factors included children's perceived earnings potential, opportunity costs, and family poverty;…

Comments made by 11 governors concerning higher education in their "State of the State" addresses to state legislatures are presented. Statements include those of Terry Branstad, Carroll Campbell, Robert Casey, Steve Cowper, Mario Cuomo, Edward DiPrete, George Mickelson, Rose Mofford, Stan Stephens, James Thompson, and John Waihee. (MSE)

A survey of 212 graduates of 1 Master's in Business Administration (MBA) degree program investigated program aspects the respondents valued highly and the extent of the degree's contribution to subsequent career changes. Program benefits to graduates, in terms of relevance, knowledge gain, behavior change, and outcomes achieved, were seen as…

This study surveyed 228 students at 4 institutions of higher education in South Wales about their educational debt, finances, employment, and reason for pursuing higher education. It found that although 69% of them had not taken out loans, nearly a third of those who had taken out loans had debt levels above 1,000 pounds. (MDM)

South Korean students scored better than students from 18 other countries on math and science achievement tests. In South Korea, economic social status for oneself and one's family are directly related to educational level. This, plus intense pressure from parents and authoritarian teachers, motivates students to score well on competitive national…

Describes a year-long study in second and fourth grades examining how teachers' school-to-home communications influence parent perceptions about school and their effects on children's motivation. Results from 25 classrooms (15 controls) confirm the importance of school-to-home communications and the positive relationship between parents' comfort…

It is argued that teacher assessment should be extended to include students' learning gains. The conditions that must be met for such an assessment system to be implemented are described, and some alternative strategies for extending the focus of teacher evaluation and program evaluation to include student learning are discussed. (SLD)

Identifies qualitative differences in how four teachers in an urban multicultural high school think about classroom events based on their differing conceptions of multicultural education. Results indicate that the teachers' thinking about multicultural education is a factor that contributes to differences in their attributions and principles of…

A mail survey completed by 62 administrators in colleges of education in Ohio provides descriptive and correlational results about the nature of utilization of needs assessment. A moderately high multiple correlation is found for attitude and involvement, but other independent variables contribute minimally to prediction. (SLD)