An examination of the issues surrounding the concept of change is fundamental to curriculum improvement for elementary and middle schools. New beliefs surround an integrative rather than a separate subject isolation approach to curriculum. This report examines past, current, and future curriculum practice and considerations, focusing on a new…

This document contains five research reports selected for presentation at a North Carolina research conference. The following are included: "An Examination of Various Shorthand Types and Their Usefulness in the North Carolina University Business Education Curriculum" (Carolyn S. Jewell); "Attitudes of North Carolina Principals…

This book serves as a response to recurring questions from preservice teachers regarding the practice of student-centered teaching within the traditional school culture. The book uses the experience of one beginning teacher, Sheila, to develop its theme. It suggests that if practicing teachers have direct continuing access to teacher educators for…

This manual describes the PACT (Parent and Community Team) for School Success concept, which was developed from insights and techniques gained from three dropout and intervention projects with high-risk junior high school youth and families. PACT focuses on ways to initiate and maintain a group that meets frequently to create ongoing cohesive…

A study followed 445 Wellesley College (Massachusetts) women students matriculating in 1991 through their college years to isolate factors associated with persistence in math and science. Data were gathered through three surveys (at orientation, at the end of the sophomore year, and before graduation) and in focus groups over the 4 years of the…

Each of the four annual issues of this publication explores a single topic through an interdisciplinary, multicultural approach. Science-based technologies and their impact on the lives of everyday citizens are the focus of this issue. Activities encourage students to think about the profound influence science-based technologies had on U.S.…

This book describes how "at-risk" Hispanic youth defy the odds and stay in school to earn a high school diploma. Information about success is needed because Hispanic youth drop out at about twice the rate of non-Hispanic Whites. The discussion is based on the results of a 4-year longitudinal study of 100 Hispanic youth labeled at-risk by…

This teacher resource packet encourages exploration of history and culture through art images. The packet consists of three units: "Daily Life around the World," which explores the rituals of daily life in ancient Egypt, China, and Greece, as well as colonial and turn-of-the-century America. "Images of Power," examines the…

A study evaluated experimentally a technology education program designed to provide mastery experiences described in Bandura's self-efficacy theory (1986) and predicted to improve career decision making. Seventh graders (n=97) and eighth graders (n=72) were stratified on grade level and randomly assigned either to a commercially published…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a second language program in seven schools in a medium-sized school district in central California during the 1994-95 school year. Three educational levels (elementary, middle, and high school) were examined from the perspectives of teachers (n=194), administrators (n=23), instructional aides (n=40),…

This report examines reasons for and offers recommendations to end the consistently found deficit in children's well-being in the southern states of Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and West Virginia--a deficit which places both the children and the future…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Idaho's children. The statistical portrait is based on 15 indicators of child and family well-being: (1) poverty; (2) single parent families; (3) infant mortality; (4) low birth weight babies; (5) percent of all mothers not receiving adequate prenatal care; (6) mothers ages…

This report overviews the rationale for conducting an ethnographic study of cultural factors that influence student aspiration in Tremont, a small rural community on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Although Tremont is the poorest community on Mount Desert Island, Tremont students scored as well or better on the Maine Educational Assessment than did…

This is the first publication in this series on education in South Africa that provides a picture of education in the new South Africa. For the first time in 1995, data were collected by nonracial education departments in each of the nine new provinces. In the past, data had been collected for 17 different, racially based departments. Data…

This curriculum guide, which is intended for middle school agriculture teachers in Virginia, outlines a three-course competency-based agriscience program to give middle school students an understanding of basic science concepts through agriculture. The guide begins with a program description that includes descriptions of the program's three…