It is suspected that educators have many interpretations of developmentally appropriate practice and, therefore, a wide variety of practices exist in classrooms labeled "developmentally appropriate." This study investigated daily practices of 10 full-day public school kindergarten programs identified as "developmentally appropriate" by teachers or…

The problem of this study was whether there was greater improvement in cognitive abilities and affective behaviors of disadvantaged black students in an open education program as compared with a traditional education program. Two random samples were drawn from the sixth grade population of a middle school. Ninety students were selected from the…

This study examined the relationship between various levels of teacher restriction or accommodation of student behaviors and the levels of interest shown by pupils in certain types of classroom activities. A total of six first grade teachers in two schools were given the Open Program Structure Index (OPSI) and, based on their scores, were rated…

This study investigated achievement and attitude changes of students, and attitude changes of teachers in open-space and closed-space classrooms. Two hundred students stratified on sex and elementary school were randomly selected from open- and closed-spaced high schools. Students were pre- and post-tested on reading comprehension, language usage,…

This study was concerned with the identification of assumptions underlying language arts instruction in open education, the identification of individuals knowledgeable about language arts instruction in open education, a discussion of implications of the identified language arts assumptions for curriculum development in open education, and the…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a project in which two college instructors established a model open classroom in an elementary school during one school year. Primary-grade children participated in a wide variety of activities in the classroom and were taught by means of a language experience approach in which they talked…

The problem presented in this dissertation was to describe and investigate open and traditional classrooms and their effect on black, urban, middle school students' attitudes, creativity, and achievement. Research suggested that specific areas that needed examination were students' attitudes toward school, basic skills, creativity, and…

The purpose of this practicum is to improve the reading and mathematics achievement of pupils in grades 3, 4, and 5 in the Hartford, Connecticut, public school system by retraining teachers in techniques that include diagnosis and prescription of learning needs. A one-week training workshop for teachers was held, which emphasized open education…

This study investigated the relationship between organizational climate and selected organizational variables--reading achievement, teacher experience, and teacher attrition. The study sample consisted of the total teaching staffs and 642 randomly selected students from five elementary schools in a metropolitan school district. Data were collected…

Word recognition, factual recall, and inferential comprehension skills of 30 fifth-year students who had been in an open education classroom for four years were compared with similar skills of fifth-year pupils who had been in a traditional classroom for four years. Pupils had been placed in an open or traditional classroom by parental choice, but…

A study sought to determine whether intermediate age children exposed to open classroom teaching strategy have a more positive attitude toward school than intermediate age children exposed to conventional teaching strategy. The hypothesis was that there would be no significant difference in attitude between the two groups. The study was limited to…

The author's primary goal was to investigate the relative viability of different kinds of open teaching. Project Learn, an open elementary classroom, met all the criteria set forth to be called such and was selected for the study. The independent variables were: teacher-guided instruction, small-group instruction, and individual-oriented…

This study compares open education groups and traditional education groups with respect to student attitudes toward high school; creative thinking of students; collaborative behavior among students; and student preferences for intellectual activities, activities involving change or sameness, and activities involving autonomy or dependence. Groups…

In order to help social learning become a more operational theory, this thesis attempts to create a better understanding of the conditions conducive to effective group action in a social context. Parts one and two trace the evolution of social learning theory in education and planning. Part three attempts to identify within a practical setting --…

To determine whether the open classroom environment produces a higher degree of internal locus of control than the traditional classroom, 200 seventh-grade students, matched for sex, socioeconomic status, academic achievement, and intelligence, were assigned to either open or traditional classrooms. It was hypothesized that both high and low…