The notion of educating and encouraging the whole child is not a new idea, but it awaits full acceptance. Strategies for teaching the whole child in a middle-school environment are presented here. The text opens with an overview of how schools have failed to use the latest ideas and technologies in educating students and how schools can draw on…

This pamphlet relates this quotation by R. Buckminster Fuller to the educational process: "To be optimally effective, undertake at outset the most comprehensive task in the most comprehensive and incisively detailed manner." The principle of synergy can be used to determine when something is "optimally effective." One example…

Free verbal responses to pictures as an indication of cognitive style were studied for 199 college students, at Eastern Kentucky University. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was administered following presentation of the pictures, a series of colored pictures of simple, medium and complex configuration. Responses given to three graduate…

The assumption behind this paper is that teachers should adopt the strategy of simplification of a learning task by integration that captures the inherent tendency for the integration of the objective world into subjective wholes, rather than through simplification by isolation of topics. An effective way of establishing the theme of a course is…

The current "third-wave" educational reformers are committed to deeper and more far-reaching school improvement efforts that have been conceived almost totally in structuralist terms. The word "restructuring" often appears in such reforms to signal reformers' intent to institute "systemic" reform. The latter term…

This presentation addresses ways to meet the needs of African-American gifted students and offers suggestions for inclusive classroom interventions that are liberating for students who exist simultaneously in African American culture, American mainstream culture, and as gifted and talented learners. The identification of these learners must begin…

This article examines two aspects of preservice English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher education programs: (1) the knowledge base or information that students must learn; and (2) the way or ways in which the knowledge is delivered to students. The knowledge base includes content knowledge, pedagogic knowledge, pedagogic content knowledge, and…

Two major trends have affected the responsibility of the public schools in providing health education and services over the past 2 decades. First, the structure of the family and the demographics of the school-aged population have changed dramatically, placing greater burdens for child welfare on school systems. Second, the leading causes of…

This document offers administrators a concise approach to the various theories of total quality management (TQM) and the tools necessary to implement these theories at postsecondary educational institutions. The book is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the principles of TQM by briefly: (1) reviewing the ideas of TQM leaders; and…

Findings from a study to formulate a comprehensive program for the promotion of greater gender equity for women in educational administration, especially at the secondary principal level, are presented in this report. Two research focuses include an assessment of the status quo of women in educational administration in the United States, United…

The combined concepts of holism and general systems theory have led to the belief among health care professionals that people cannot be fully understood unless the mind and body are seen as having an integral relationship. The relationship between nutrition and behavior is one area in which the holistic approach is relevant for the field of…

Methodologies for life course analyses must explain complex biological, psychosocial, and social factors which result in various patterns of life trajectories. Four problems are characteristic of current research: a seemingly endless list of potentially significant variables; a dearth of life course theory beyond childhood to assist in targeting…

Those to whom teachers are accountable--administrators, parents, and the public--seem to be inclined to ignore the findings of more than 20 years of research into the process of efficient and proficient reading in favor of dehumanized instruction that reduces reading to bits and pieces of skills instruction. They cling to the metaphor of mind as…

Theme study is student centered and emphasizes a coherent and holistic approach to learning through the study of broad themes rather than compartmentalized subject areas. This book explains what is meant by a theme studies approach to education and illustrates how it works with case studies--descriptions of theme studies that were conducted at a…

Intended to provide support, encouragement, and ideas for teachers wanting to make the transition from skill-oriented basal texts to literature-based whole language programs, this book describes a successful existing program and offers suggestions on how any elementary classroom can benefit from such a transition. Its 17 chapters are entitled: (1)…