Eight papers are presented that illustrate the important impact of social factors in learning and the development of thinking. Some contributions focus on the modalities of teaching and learning and others are concerned with possible new ways of showing how learning is regarded by different social groups. (SLD)

This special issue provides a comparative review and analysis of early childhood education and care policies in several countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The five chapters contain cross-national research reviews and scholarly examinations, illustrated with detailed country case studies. (SLD)

The nine chapters of this theme issue show how, in diverse cultural settings, cooperative learning methods enhance learning and reduce frictions among learners. A second goal of these papers is to indicate how cooperative learning fits or doesn't fit in several societies. (SLD)

The eight chapters of this theme issue use quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the nature and nurture of young participants in the mathematics Olympiad from five countries. Parallel studies are presented of winners from China, Taiwan, and the United States, along with descriptions of programs in Japan and Russia. (SLD)

This special issue summarizes parallel studies in five countries (Japan, Greece, Thailand, Republic of China, United States) investigating the causal linkages among socioeconomic status variables, family processes, and school variables on the mathematics achievement of urban elementary school children. Methodological problems in cross-cultural and…

These five reports discuss electronic books; the Internet speed and digital reference; Internet publishing from the perspectives of libraries, publishers, authors, and scholars; a cross-cultural comparison of intellectual freedom in the United States and Canada; dissemination of government information; and the implications of technology for…

Six articles analyze 1989 data from the Computers in Education Study of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), a cross-national elementary and secondary education assessment. A seventh paper describes the rationale and procedures for construction of tests used in the study's second stage in 1992. (SLD)

Six papers review international issues in educational opportunity, with emphasis on Europe and Japan. The various contributions provide confirmation that, although the connection between school success and social background continues to resist educational measures, an increase in the average level of education is becoming apparent. (SLD)