Reviews Tesar and Smolensky's, "Learnability in Optimality Theory" (2000). Discusses the main tenets of the book as well as the different topics included in each chapter. (Author/VWL)

Notes that Weber's book provides many elements of a model for what a reflective teacher might be. Asserts that some of the ideas do not seem fully formed; maintains that the editor of the book failed to organize Weber's articles in a way that reflected Weber's vision for education. (JS)

Introduces this special issue on nonparametric item response theory and discusses its use in psychological and sociological research. Outlines each of the eight articles in the issue. (SLD)

Discusses the papers in this special issue, emphasizing the practical applicability of nonparametric item response theory (NIRT) and how NIRT addresses lack-of-fit issues. Also discusses the ability of NIRT to assess latent multidimensionality and the relation of latent multidimensionality analyses to construct validity. (SLD)

Some comments are provided about challenges facing the "instructional theory community," and specific remarks are made about papers presented at a session on expectations about instructional theory at the 1998 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (Session 2). An area of particular interest is that of…

Three books examine works of Paulo Freire and the concepts of critical pedagogy and emancipatory education as they relate to current world political situations: dominance of neoliberal politics on one hand and Brazil's election of a working-class president on the other. Freire's thinking can be a foundation for a new leftist "common…

Reviews "Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print," a book which reviews and synthesizes decades of research on beginning reading. (MG)

Reflections on Tobin's "Semiotics and Linguistics" and Shaumyan's "Semiotic Theory of Language" are offered. (23 references) (LB)

Reviews Gabrielle Maguire's book "Our Own Language: An Irish Initiative" and Joshua A. Fishman's "Reversing Language Shift: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations of Assistance to Threatened Languages." (seven references) (JP)

Monik Charette's "Condition on Phonological Government" is reviewed. It is the first book-length study written in the framework of Government Phonology (GP), a theory that makes a dramatic break with the classical generative approaches to phonology. (Contains 10 references.) (LB)

Reviews Cannella's book which questions assumptions of early-childhood education and child development. Asserts that children develop in a progressive, stage-related fashion that blends with adulthood rather than being separate from it. Considers the quality of the theoretically rich investigation and reconceptualization of early education. (JPB)

The heuristic value of Chilcott's essay lies less in its support for structural functionalism and more in its concern to reexamine theory in the work of earlier educational anthropologists for what earlier theories and practices can add to current research. (SLD)

This volume is designed to supplement contemporary textbooks on measurement and testing by explicating some often neglected topics, with particular emphasis on item response theory (IRT). Six chapters focus on the measurement of cognitive abilities, four focus on personality measurement, and a closing chapter contains an overview of IRT. The book…

Reviews the most recent version of the BILOG computer program, which estimates item and trait level parameters for the one-, two-, and three-parameter logistic unidimensional Item Response Models for dichotomously scored data. Finds this version useful. (SLD)

Reviews two books that address fundamental issues of good and evil; a collection that addresses fundamental questions about child care; two books on recent developments on the study of the self; a two-volume collection on children's development within social contexts; and a comparative study of theories of child development. (AA)