Describes a research project that investigated: why preservice teachers in the United Kingdom withdrew from initial teacher training; how those reasons correlated with the views of schools where students completed student teaching; and measures administrators could take to reduce withdrawal rates (e.g., focus on how to change the interview process…

The factors influencing students' decisions not to use computers during their education are explored, using focus-group interviews with 96 secondary and college students in the United Kingdom. Three main constructs underlying students' rejection of educational computing are defined, and how educational computing can be reconstructed is discussed.…

Highlights from interviews with three Hispanic women who taught rural children in New Mexico over 60 years ago notes the recurring motifs of poverty, supportive families, obstructive political structures, social discrimination, and community vitality and support. Investigates how these women were able to cross the boundary that separated…

An interview with Susan Loucks-Horsley, director of professional development at the National Research Council's Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education, explores the importance of good teachers, deficiencies in professional development, rural problems, the importance of high academic standards, how the newer standards differ…

Followup student interview about Kinokuni Children's Village, a Japanese residential free school modeled after Summerhill School. School features include voluntary lessons, self-government through schoolwide and dormitory meetings, and extensive project work. The school now has secondary programs and another campus. Eight-year-old Akira, in his…

Describes a study at Louisiana State University that described the criteria mentioned by users evaluating the information within documents as it related to the user's information need situation. Implications for understanding the concept of relevance, for the design and evaluation of information retrieval systems, and for future research are…

Examines the impact and implementation of the Community-Based Education for Work, Career and Life (CWCL) pilot project in Canada. Subjects were classes from two elementary and one secondary school. Subjects visited community workplaces and participated in small group hands-on activities. A discussion of the findings is included. (SNR)

To teach first-year pharmacy students (P1s) about compliance and patient behavior and third-year students (P3s) about patient interviewing and counseling, and reduce P1s' stress and isolation, an interactive activity in which P1s acted as simulated patients and P3s as simulated pharmacists was undertaken. The activity has effectively met its…

Offers an interview with Robert Wylie, a distinguished two-year college English teacher for almost 50 years. Discusses how important it is for an English teacher to write, important issues in the profession, his views on the best ways to help students improve as writers, his observations about writing assignments, liking students, teaching…

This article deals with part of a project set up to investigate the assumptions and beliefs about communicative language teaching of a group of primary language teachers in the Darling Downs Region of Queensland, Australia. The project was conducted by a questionnaire, interviewing six randomly-selected teachers, and videotaping the six teachers'…

Describes 12 German-American projects designed for high school students of German, including a biography of a German-American; video presentation on German immigration; oral report on German ancestors; Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and Mennonites; German inscriptions on cemetery headstones; interview with a German-speaking immigrant; immigration…

Develops an initial theory of teachers' conceptions of classroom discussion using in-depth interviews and grounded theory's constant-comparative technique. Identifies six generally held conceptions of discussion and five factors that influenced teachers' use of discussion. Examines implications for teachers, teacher educators, and researchers…

Examines the benefits to student teachers, teachers, students, and teacher educators of a 1-year, Masters-level teacher education program that is part of a larger Professional Development School (PDS) partnership between a high school and the University of Louisville. Data come from interviews with individuals from each of these groups within the…

Kogan, who has headed the Samara (Russia) Education Department since 1992, believes education reforms cannot succeed without overarching objectives and desirable outcomes. Communities are struggling with cooperatively choosing and implementing curricular and other reforms because they have no "civil society" or democratic traditions on which to…

Presents the theoretical principles, integration, and final evaluation of a multimedia program tailored for an intermediate Italian language course. The program, designed as a metaphorical journey, contextualizes the themes of the course while bringing the student into contact with real Italian cities and people. Provides a sociocultural context…