This column presents and summarizes recent resources that discuss some problems and solutions related to elementary education in inner-city urban areas. (Contains 6 Web resources.)

The Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the Department of Education has provided funding for four cycles of 2-year Star Schools distance learning projects. This report is based on the second-year findings of a congressionally mandated evaluation of the Star Schools initiative. The Star Schools program focuses on elementary and…

The performance of students from different racial or ethnic subgroups and of students receiving bilingual (Spanish and English) or monolingual (English only) instruction in mathematics was studied using students from schools in the QUASAR (Qualitative Understanding Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning) project, a mathematics education…

A program for increasing the social skills development of fourth grade students is described. The targeted population consisted of fourth grade students in a growing, low socio-economic status, urban community including a public housing development. The problems of poor social skills and disruptive behavior were documented through observations,…

This volume is a statistical compilation of data on family structure, economic factors, jobs, extracurricular activities, health, and several dozen other elements that comprise the world of the 63.9 million students enrolled in U.S. schools in 1994. These facts present a composite of the youth experience, highlighting connections that might…

Due to a lack of initial orientation training for school-age child care staff, the childcare program for 6- to 18-year-olds, located at an Air Force installation, was not fully acquainting new employees with the developmental needs of school-age children. Because of a lack of financial resources to conduct extensive training, high turnover of…

This study assessed the strengths, weaknesses, and degree of implementation of the Manitoba (Canada) Physical Education curriculum in grades 4, 8, and 11. This report presents the conclusions and recommendations resulting from a review and interpretation of the findings by the Physical Education Educators on the grade level Technical Advisory…

This study was commissioned to determine how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is working, what outcomes children and youth with disabilities are achieving, and how the system can be improved in the context of current education reform initiatives. Key policy themes addressed include individualized education programs, least…

This study investigates the development of two levels of morphological knowledge that contribute to Spanish-English bilingual students' ability to recognize cognates: the ability to recognize a cognate stem within a suffixed English word, and knowledge of systematic relationships between Spanish and English suffixes (e.g., the fact that English…

An ethnographic study of three public elementary school classrooms explored how teachers organized time and space and through this organization attempted to construct classroom power relationships. The study involved intensive observation of classroom interactions in two fifth-grade classes and one first-grade classroom and close analysis of…

The Higher Order Techno Thinking (HOTT) Program was developed by a group of graduate students, who were experienced teachers, at the University of New Mexico. The objective was to develop an environment in which independent research, curriculum integration, multicultural awareness, and technology application could be integrated into a general or…

This booklet provides practical exploration of the use of narrative in the classroom with students and in teachers' personal and professional development. The various narrative forms are described in boxes throughout the booklet and include letter writing, storytelling, autobiographical accounts and several others. There are four "Your…

This study on Basque language learning is part of a project investigating alternative curriculum designs to promote native language maintenance in the Basque Country of Spain. The study measured the level of Basque and Spanish language proficiency in second- and fifth-grade students in three bilingual education program designs (Basque taught as a…

Growing Up Strong (GUS) is a curriculum designed to develop strong mental health in kindergarten through sixth grade students. This document contains a GUS teacher's guide for kindergarten and first-grade classrooms and masters of materials that can be sent home with children to promote family involvement in GUS. Part I of the four-part teacher's…

Growing Up Strong (GUS) is a curriculum designed to develop strong mental and physical health in kindergarten through sixth grade students, with the objective of preventing subsequent substance abuse. This document contains a teacher's guide for using GUS in fourth grade classrooms (GUS 4) and duplication masters of materials that can be sent home…