We are entering a new phase in learning about childhood disabilities. While we have found out much of what we need to know about their causes and aetiology, solutions to many of the challenges we will face in the future will come from the evidence base held by practitioners. Practitioners are ideally placed to carry out "real world" research but…

Findings from four lines of inquiry that attempt to identify teaching skills are reviewed. Following a brief introduction, the first section discusses definitions of "skill" and outlines empirical attributes of teaching skills. In the following section, the four lines of inquiry are described. Results are analyzed in the third section.…

The needs-press model, as operationalized by the Stern Activities Index (AI) and the Organizational Climate Index (OCI), was examined for its usefulness in evaluating and measuring organizational climate in a school setting. According to the model, needs represents personality and press represents the environment. This research was designed to…

Brings together the literature of school-based evaluation, teacher appraisal, and effective schools and links those studies with the idea of the culture of the school. Analyzes curriculum needs in relation to eight cultural systems existing in every society: sociopolitical, economic, communication, rationality, technology, morality, belief, and…

Presents the results of a study that assessed the influence of individual and contextual factors on adolescent girls' interest in school physical education. Suggests that classroom environment is more important than individual goals in influencing pupil interest. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical propositions of goal perspectives…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ethical and methodological significance for children and university researchers to participate together in data collection and research interpretation. We examine this process in the context of a three-year study with the aim of understanding how children become identified as having difficulties in a…

This third volume of a six-volume study of a school district code-named "Milford" shifts attention to the Kensington School itself. To explain the "profound changes" this "once innovative school" went through, the authors begin with such wider topics as demography, neighborhoods, and political jurisdiction. Chapter 1 traces Milford's "Native…

Findings are presented which provide information about the extent to which fundamental schools (learning in a highly structured setting with instructional emphasis placed on "basic" subjects) at the elementary and junior high school levels in a large school system in Virginia have achieved their objectives. In this report, four schools…

This paper is one of a series to guide research linking educational policy and management with student achievement. It specifies the determinants of key paradigm variables and teacher and principal work. The paradigm developed for this type of research is presented in an earlier paper in the series. The constructs of the paradigm are defined,…

In the attempt to improve achievement test scores, schools may overlook affective activities and events as well as processes and procedures that influence students in positive ways. The self-fulfilling prophecies held by teachers, administrators, and others for their students and the self-concepts the students hold for themselves are two major…

This study investigated the influence of student and classroom characteristics on a sample of 17-year-old students' (N=1955) inquiry ability. The sample was obtained from a 1981/1982 national assessment in science carried out by the Minnesota Science Assessment and Research Project. Specific areas addressed included: (1) the effectiveness of the…

Identifies components of a comprehensive assessment of an educational institution's external environment; i.e., demographic trends, social indicators, economic trends, political change, technological advances, changes in the workplace, advances in information technologies, and value shifts. (DMM)

The extent to which claims to educational rights are actually fulfilled in a society depends on a variety of conditions. There are eight conditions that can contribute to a society's falling short in the implementation of those rights. The conditions include: (1) complacency--failure to take steps toward ensuring that the right is honored in…

Administered measures of negative and positive life experiences and psychological distress to early adolescents on two occasions about 5 months apart. Results are reported and compared with previous studies of adult life events and suggest importance of ongoing stressful processes as engendering both maladjustment and stressful events in lives of…

Observes early social interactions in free play settings of Israeli kibbutz and urban preschool children. Kibbutz preschoolers displayed some aspects of more advanced group functioning (e.g., coordinated play) but also more behaviors reflecting affective distancing (e.g., solitary play, reduced affective expression, verbal aggression). (Author/NH)