Third- and fifth-grade teachers in four South Carolina elementary schools identified certain students as potential high school dropouts, and indicated factors affecting their predictions for these students. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with the teachers and with 40 identified students and their parents. About 17% of sampled students were…

A study analyzed some of the characteristics of junior high students' oral communication behavior that accompanied the assignment, production, and evaluation of a writing task. It involved fieldwork in three junior high school English classes--first in a six-month pilot study and then in a year-long period of observation. Through direct…

This handbook is intended to provide parents and students with an orientation to the high schools in the Rowland Unified School District (California). It can also serve as a model for other districts and schools which are developing orientation handbooks. Topics which are covered include: (1) school district personnel; (2) counseling and guidance…

Twenty years ago, anyone proposing to help teachers with the problem of classroom discipline had few resources at hand. It was approximately at that time that Jacob Kounin began a series of investigations that have changed our way of talking and thinking about classroom discipline. He changed our focus from a sterile concern with exercising…

A review of pertinent literature on the evaluation of student teachers is presented. Descriptions are given of differing evaluation approaches and techniques, and several recent works discussing how to evaluate student teachers are appraised. One of these works focuses on what to avoid in teacher evaluation, while others describe different…

Using qualitative methods (longitudinal observations and intensive interviews with teachers), this study examined in elementary classrooms the socialization over time of one race-gender group: white girls. Analysis focused on four domains of classroom social life that contribute to race-gender differentiated socialization: teachers' perceptions…

A comparative study was made of disruptive behavior in British comprehensive schools and American high schools. A survey was conducted in 41 British schools to obtain the opinions of teachers and administrators on severe discipline problems, causes of disruptive behavior, and possible solutions. There was general agreement that classroom…

The aim in this study was to develop a way of identifying resilient and non-resilient middle adolescents in a formerly black-only urban residential (township) school, in order to ultimately support the development of learners' resilience under stressful circumstances. A Resilience Scale was developed to screen for resilient and non-resilient…

The impact of the home learning environment on children's autonomous learning behaviors (ALBs) was examined. The three key topics addressed were: (1) the relation of types of helping techniques used by mothers to their children's help-seeking and persistence behaviors in the classroom; (2) the relation of children's ALBs to gender; and (3)…

This literature review considers research dealing with social skills instruction for handicapped preschool children in a mainstreamed or integrated setting. It offers a literature-based rationale for preschool mainstreaming, notes the fundamental objectives of preschool mainstreaming that relate to the process of socialization, and addresses the…

In compliance with a state mandate to maintain accountability for matriculation funding, Moorpark College (MC) conducted a survey of new students to assess their satisfaction with the college's student services. A random stratified sample of 400 first-time students were contacted by mail and telephone during May and June 1990, and 295 usable…

A poetry unit was developed for a practicum project in a regular eighth-grade English class to improve student participation and to decrease speech anxiety for students. Methods employed within this unit included the use of clarity and structure, classroom environment, student-chosen seating, praise and success, small group activities, share time,…

There were declines on achievement tests between 1972 and 1980. This study, the first part of A Study of High School Excellence, was designed to document changes in the achievement of high school seniors between 1972 and 1980, to identify the school and student factors related to these changes, and to examine the policy implications of the…

The effects of faculty training in sex equitable and effective interaction skills were assessed. Twenty-three professors participated in a two and one-half day training workshop that focused on (1) the elimination of sex-biased teacher-student interactions in the classroom; and (2) the distribution, precision, and quality of teacher responses to…

Suggestions for instructional improvement are offered for science teachers in this compilation of research summaries on specific areas of science education. This series includes the articles: (1) "Improving Students' Understanding of the Nature of Science" (discussing the relationship between teachers and students conceptions of science…