In this book, Gail Thompson asked the students in a low performing school to be candid about their high school experiences. Using this information and relying on data from questionnaires and focus groups, Thompson discovered a huge gap in perception between how teachers and students view their experience of school. The book explores this…

This study investigated the methods and effects of introducing a teacher development program aimed at improving student learning across the curriculum at two secondary schools in New Zealand. A particular target was the lowest achieving 30 percent of learners who were identified as "less proficient learners." The teachers were volunteers…

The unstructured observations of a participant observer can point out areas of research interest overlooked by formal research instruments. This researcher's diary presents insights obtained while conducting a study regarding the home environments of 15 higher achieving and 11 lower achieving Puerto Rican fifth and sixth grade students residing in…

This directory was developed in response to requests for information on alternative programs for dropouts and potential dropouts. The scope of the dropout problem in Iowa is defined. Presented are definitions of dropout prevention alternative programs as well as a detailed account of useful prevention approaches. The directory includes needs…

Two fifth grade classrooms representing the extremes of classrooms where students perceived high and low differential teacher treatment were studied to obtain a more in-depth picture of the nature of classrooms that are expected to have contrasting effects on students' expectations and self-evaluations, and to begin to explore a model of classroom…

A large amount of research has been done in the past few decades to pinpoint the effects of test anxiety on the performance of those taking tests. Much of that research is listed in this bibliography, which originated with a computer search of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) data base, Psychological Abstracts, Comprehensive…

This report, prepared by the Virginia Department of Education and presented to the U.S. Department of Education, proposes that Virginia will continue the implementation of successful initiatives and strategies to build capacity to prepare, recruit, and retain high quality teachers at both the local and state levels. Additionally, several new…

Since 1987, more than 1,100 high schools in 35 states have adopted the High Schools That Work (HSTW) improvement design. The effectiveness of selected school and classroom practices included in the HSTW design was analyzed to identify implications for federal policy, the conditions that improve students' chances for success, and practices that…

This document presents the course syllabus for Education 590 Culminating Experience at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's teacher licensure program. It also includes action research projects from spring 2003: "'To Track or Untrack...That Is the Question'" (Sarah Armes); "Providing Urban Students with the Motivation to…

Despite mixed reviews from many educators--and some researchers--Chicago's retention policy to end social promotion has turned out to be a popular program. Surprisingly, perhaps, its most avid fans are the people most affected by it: teachers and students. Chicago's ending of social promotion was intended to make educators pay more attention to…

This issue focuses on practices that can help improve reading instruction and includes two announcements from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). It begins with a look at study groups, the practice of teachers getting together to focus on instructional practices and student learning. Stacey Joyner, a staff member of SEDL's Texas…

Improving education outcomes is vital for achieving convergence with GDP per capita levels in Western European countries and for reducing income inequality. While some education outcomes are favourable, such as the low secondary-school drop-out rate, others have room for improvement: education achievement is below the OECD average and strongly…

A COLLECTION OF 26 READINGS ON RESEARCH IN EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND SCHOOL LEARNING, THIS PAPERBACK BOOK PRESENTS FOUR OR FIVE STUDIES OF DIFFERING TYPES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES ON EACH TOPIC TREATED. THE TOPICS INCLUDE A DEFINITION OF EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND PROBLEMS, (2) ANTECEDENTS OF TROUBLE, (3) CASE HISTORIES OF TROUBLED CHILDREN, (4)…

This guide was developed by the Foreign Language Committee of the Oklahoma Curriculum Improvement Commission, and is designed to be used by teachers of foreign languages. The fifteen chapters include: (1) "Selection of a Foreign Language Text," (2) "Middle School (Exploratory Language Programs)," (3) "Foreign Language in…

Ability grouping, defined as "the practice of organizing classroom groups in a graded school to put together children of a given age and grade who have most nearly the same standing on measures or judgments of learning achievement or capability," is considered in terms of its effect upon students' academic achievement and affective development. It…