This study examined the effects of public service advertising from two theoretical backgrounds: social learning theory and social control theory. Traditional social learning theory assumes that learning occurs by subjects performing responses and experiencing their effects, with reinforcement as the main determinant. Social control theory, as…

This paper examines research on the individual needs of gifted children, with a special focus on underachieving gifted students, and provides results of a study of students in a 10-week after-school enrichment program in Queensland, Australia. Over 300 gifted children (ages 5-8) attended the program, and five case studies are provided using…

This paper provides techniques and resources for integrating peace education into early childhood education programs. After discussing the history of peace education in the United States and its role in an increasingly diverse society, the paper provides curriculum ideas and best practices for use in early childhood peace education. The need to…

This report explores the situation of at-risk students in small and rural schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, and compares this information to the at-risk student situation nationwide. In order to explore both the complexity and the degree of risk of dropping out in rural school settings, research questions were posed…

This study identified the characteristics of charismatic teaching behavior by interviewing deans, department chairs, teachers, and students at a midwestern state university. Based on interview data, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 19 classes, 10 taught by teachers recognized by the university for teaching merit and 9 teachers not…

The "Talk It Out" approach is presented for use by elementary school teachers. Talk It Out employs the techniques of conflict resolution, mediation, and negotiation in order to resolve problems that occur in most classrooms, such as teasing, put-downs, pushing, hitting, cheating, gossiping and refusing to share. Readers are provided classroom…

This study examined the relationship between varying patterns of maternal employment, the use of child care, and the infant's establishment of a reciprocal, responsive relationship with the mother. Parental and non-parental caregivers were located within a family system to examine attachment theory within an ecological framework. The subjects were…

This study examined the impact of the multiage classroom on second, third, and fourth graders in an Elkhart, Indiana elementary school. One classroom from each grade participated in the multiage classroom. The classroom of 70 students was combined for at least 1 afternoon per week during the 1995-96 school year. During February, the classroom was…

Bullying in schools is a widespread phenomenon that has been largely ignored by professional investigators. It is often a covert problem, but once it is put into the context of social interaction, schools are able to respond to it in productive ways. A multifactorial response is best, and prevention is far better than crisis management. One of the…

Effective schools research, as elaborated by R. R. Edmonds and others, gives a picture of what successful urban schools look like and helps identify the characteristics that led to success. This paper offers the proposition that looking at a school as a caring community provides a way to show effective schools by providing a framework to make…

A practicum was designed to increase the number of primary teachers who possess a more current reading and writing philosophy and would implement theory-driven teaching practices. The problem addressed in the practicum was that primary reading and writing instruction did not reflect current research, theory, and practices. Many classroom teachers…

The Inventario de Comportamiento de Estudio (ICE), a Spanish translation of the Study Behavior Inventory (SBI) was developed and tested using a group of 594 undergraduate students from randomly selected classes at a private comprehensive university in Mexico. Both instruments were designed to assess the study behaviors of students in institutions…

The dynamics of underachievement among gifted and nongifted black students were studied with students in grades 6 through 9 in 5 Virginia public school districts. A traditional model of underachievement, defining it through a regression model, and a nontraditional model that used grade point averages (GPAs) and self-reported level of effort in…

Teacher education programs are rapidly changing to ensure that pre-service teachers are well prepared to successfully conquer the critical issues they will encounter in K-12 public schools. The major issue influencing teaching and learning is school violence and the lack of a sense of peace and caring in educational institutions. The educational…

This policy brief describes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as involving three characteristics: inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. The brief reviews the causes of ADHD, including the belief that it is primarily an inherited, neurobiological disorder. The effects of ADHD on children are discussed and may include: other…