Since at least the 1980s, motivated, in part, by findings from international comparisons of students' mathematics achievement, some American (U.S.) educators and policy makers have initiated educational reform that focuses on improving teaching practices and curriculum designs by advocating for the adoption of Asian educational models. The…

The effect of a listening-to-literature program on the attitudes toward reading of 1,712 middle school (grades 6 through 8) students was studied. Selected teachers read aloud to students four or five days a week for six months. An experimental group pretest/posttest design indicated a positive difference in student attitudes. (SLD)

Discusses the origin, development, and current status of a history-geography-English integrated curriculum program for eighth-grade students. Summarizes the "pluses" and "minuses" of the approach. Describes classroom activities and student projects in the program. (CFR)

Reports on a content analysis of all pictures of music-related figures appearing in grades six, seven, and eight music textbooks published in 1988. Finds females underrepresented and stereotypes common. Calls for more research on equity in curriculum materials and gender-related issues in music education. (CFR)

The validity of eight critical thinking tests developed for the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) public schools was studied using scores from 100 students each in grades 5, 8, and 11 and questionnaire responses from teachers. Validity is discussed for providing diagnostic information, monitoring achievement, and influencing the curriculum. (SLD)

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, this report examines eighth grade school variables that might predict college attendance for students whose parents have no college education (n = 2,521). The selected school variables are amenable to public policy and/or skilled leadership, and they include "school structure" (e.g.,…

Understanding and preventing high school failure is a national priority. Structural strain and general deviance theories attempt to explain late high school failure. The authors tested the hypotheses that general (vs. specific) deviance and academic competence mediate the relationships between structural strain factors (gender, ethnicity, and…

In this study, the quality of the computer and Internet based social studies course was investigated. A case study design was chosen to understand, a) how computers are used in the eighth grade classroom, b) what the students' and teachers' perceptions are about the advantages and problems of using computers. Qualitative data sources showed that…

This paper draws on data gathered from a five-month phenomenological study of middle school students' perceptions of the effects of computer-based technologies on a learning community in an online synchronous environment. Twenty-four eighth-grade students participated in the Web Pen Pals project, a university-secondary telecollaborative…

Explains the advantages to Wellington Junior High School (Colorado) of being a small school (250 students) in a large school district which includes Fort Collins, a city with a population of 80,000 and the home of Colorado State University. (MH)

Forty-five boys and 45 girls in grades 5, 8, and 11 from schools for academically gifted students and 90 students in the same grades from regular schools described their uses of 14 self-regulated learning strategies and estimated their verbal and mathematical efficacy. Results support a triadic view of self-regulated learning. (SLD)

Investigates ethnic acceptance among 613 Israeli middle grade students. Using self-reports determines the degree students wish to be involved with their homeroom classmates. Finds lower ethnic status peers accepted more readily when they score higher on indices of sociability, academic track level, and achievement. Discusses implications for…

Background: Parents' use of physical discipline has generated controversy related to concerns that its use is associated with adjustment problems such as aggression and delinquency in children. However, recent evidence suggests that there are ethnic differences in associations between physical discipline and children's adjustment. This study…

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) refers to the collective perception that teachers in a given school make an educational difference to their students over and above the educational impact of their homes and communities. Significant positive relationships were found between CTE and student achievement on the grade 8 math, writing, and English…

The authors assessed a cohort of 2,335 students from the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area to identify predictors of violent behavior and to determine whether the predictors varied by gender. The sample was 76% White; boys and girls were equally represented. The majority lived with two parents. A measure of violent behavior collected at the end of the…