This issue of the quarterly newsletter, "PLAINTalk," is the second in a four part series, reprinting chapters from Sharon and Craig Ramey's book, "Going to School." Other articles in this issue include: (1) Ten Hallmarks of Children Who Succeed in School (Craig T. Ramey and Sharon L. Ramey); (2) Questioning to Aid Reading Comprehension; (3) Basic…

From a social-interactionist's view of language learning, "reflective conversation" via CMC, particularly through the asynchronous mode, has been advocated (Lamy & Goodfellow, 1999). It emphasizes learning through reflection on experience and through the exchange of thoughts with others. Guided by this pedagogical model, asynchronous…

Due to many of the stresses and societal challenges that African American parents face, parents who have children with antisocial behaviors need guidance and support to assist them with their children in the areas of parenting, academics, and social support. This study proposed a program that focuses on the parents and caregivers as vital persons…

This report examines heterogeneity in young adult outcomes among students at risk for school failure due to low socioeconomic status (SES). It addresses the question: "Among students at risk due to status characteristics, what are the relationships of high school engagement and attainments with post-high school outcomes?" Two sets of…

A study identified and compared characteristics of enlisted soldiers who participated in postsecondary educational offerings to those who did not and identified barriers to participation for participants and nonparticipants. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 92 soldiers at one Army installation. Nonparticipants named these…

This volume contains the proceedings of the International Conference on Technology in Mathematics Education (TIME 2000). It includes papers, posters, and short oral reports. Research papers include: (1) "Implications of the Shift from Isolated Expensive Technology to Connected, Inexpensive, Ubiquitous and Diverse Technologies" (Jim…

This 2001-2005 strategic plan for Texas Public Community Colleges assesses external as well as internal factors relevant to the role of community colleges in the state. Plan highlights include: (1) between 1995 and 2005, the Texas population is projected to increase by 31%, an annual growth of nearly 2%; (2) the Hispanic population is expected to…

This study investigated the lives of adolescents with and without disabilities in nine high schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas in Kansas, Washington, Oregon, and California. It gathered information on key contextual factors and realities that adolescents confront throughout the day. In this investigation, 53 ninth-grade high school…

This book examines how culturally specific aspects of Japanese preschool children's narrative discourse skills develop and eventually lead to literacy. It discusses how language shapes and is shaped by culture-specific experiences, analyzing how young Japanese children develop narrative structure and how Japanese parents guide their children in…

This study examines whether there are differences in men's and women's use of computers and the Internet in the United States and Japan and how any such gender gaps have changed over time. The authors focus on these two countries because information technology is widely used in both, but there are substantial differences in institutions and social…

IMHE-Info is the newsletter published by the Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) programme. This issue includes: Spotlight on IMHE and its Environment, including comments from Donald J. Johnston, Barry McGaw, Richard Yelland, and Marijk van de Wende. IMHE News, publications of interest and upcoming events are included.

Two studies explored the experience and performance of students at Williams College in three-person groups that were homogeneous or heterogeneous in rated academic ability. In accord with hypotheses from Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory, students in academically homogeneous groups had more positive experiences and performed better on…

A number of papers each of which explains aspects of the life and background of new secondary school teachers in Papua New Guinea, have been produced as a result of the 1982 New Teachers Survey. This paper will summarise the major points which have been revealed so far. There appears to have been no previous research on new provincial high school…

This paper has as objective to investigate the nonverbal features used in beginners' EFL classroom in Morocco. It is based on a field research conducted in a junior high school in Sale, Morocco. The main sample is composed of 3rd form students in junior high school (their age ranges from 15 to 19), and the techniques for data collection are…

The chapters in this book were prepared during the second phase of a study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to develop a set of International Indicators of Education Systems (INES). They were among the many studies presented at the General Assembly of the INES Project in Lugano (Switzerland), September 16-18,…