Governing multi-level education systems requires governance models that balance responsiveness to local diversity with the ability to ensure national objectives. This delicate equilibrium is difficult to achieve given the complexity of many education systems. Countries are therefore increasingly looking for examples of good practice and models of…

A meta-analysis of 268 studies suggested a deficit in subjects with mental retardation (compared to controls without mental retardation) across 12 categories of learning tasks, a relative deficit which remained, after training, across 7 categories of strategies. When strategy training was evaluated, the effect size was 0.701, which compares…

Case studies of two children (ages 7 and 9) with autism investigated whether they would tolerate virtual reality (VR) equipment and respond to the computer-generated world in a meaningful way. The children accepted the VR helmet, identified objects and their qualities, and located and moved toward objects. (CR)

It has been suggested in the existing literature that the use of constructivist approaches in the educational setting contributes to active learning and knowledge transfer for students. This paper provides an overview of constructivist approaches used in a graduate-level instructional media production course at a midwestern comprehensive…

A research study was undertaken to determine how U.S. history is taught and what is learned in Indiana public high schools. The objectives of the study included: (1) to ascertain the status of U.S. history in Indiana public schools; (2) to compare results of data with national literature; (3) to identify what is actually taught; (4) to ascertain…

This study examined faculty characteristics and teaching environments of higher education institutions that may hinder or facilitate student-centered pedagogical practices derived from feminist theory. Feminist pedagogy generally advocates democratizing the classroom, building cooperative learning environments, legitimizing personal experiences as…

Special education students (21 learning disabled, 12 emotionally/behaviorally disordered, 14 educable mentally retarded) and 30 nonhandicapped students were observed to identify teaching structures and tasks experienced during reading in both mainstream and special education settings. Several setting effects and a difference in the amount of time…

There are many approaches to studying the classroom environment. This publication is a collection of papers presented at the fourth Research Seminar and Workshop at the Western Australian Institute of Technology on educational research in the classroom. The four papers contained in this document describe various approaches and perspectives to…

A "cognitive apprenticeship" approach was evaluated with 58 high-risk grade 7 social studies students. The three teachers were trained to provide explicit instruction of higher order cognitive strategies through modeling, monitoring, and collaborative role-playing activities. Students' writing showed significant improvements and was judged similar…

This study examined the efficacy of two educational practices designed to prevent learning difficulties in children from high risk families (N=64) during the first 8 years of life. The preventive treatments included: (1) educational daycare plus family education from birth to age 5 followed by a home/school resource program from kindergarten…