Researchers used the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine the prevalence of health risk behaviors of students attending an alternative high school (AHS) and students attending a regular high school (RHS). More AHS than RHS students engaged in health risk behaviors and initiated risk behaviors at younger ages. (SM)

Examines factors influencing choice of a new school, using data from a large-scale study in Wales. The "domino effect" sometimes covers three generations; decisions made today reflect, but are not identical to, past decisions. Simple reproduction cannot explain this diversity. Consumer nostalgia may lead schools to conservatism and…

Examined cross-sectional trends and contextual influences in the development of private speech among preschool children in Montessori and traditional classrooms. Found that diminished make-believe play, greater teacher direct involvement, and heightened time spent in transitions largely accounted for a lower incidence of private speech. (JS)

Results of three experiments indicated that school achievement is predicted by intelligence and academic time on-task in traditionally-structured schools and by intelligence and student commitment in open structured schools. Increasing the amount of teacher-directed time would increase achievement in traditional schools but decrease achievement in…

A random sample of 200 charter schools that had been in operation for at least 3 years was chosen from the National Charter School Directory. Charter schools were sent a survey of personnel policies. When 132 charter schools responded, the information was compared to a random sampling of traditional schools. In the seven states covered by the…

A study comparing Open University (OU) and conventional university (CU) student performance in economics shows OU students even with CU students in microeconomics and higher in macroeconomics. The research was controlled for both test-wiseness, previous experience, and representativeness of OU students. (MSE)

The perceptions of Black and of White students toward each other in team-organized and traditionally organized schools were compared. Although Whites appear to have more negative perceptions of Blacks than Blacks of Whites, closer contacts of Whites with Blacks in the team-organized schools improve perceptions. (CJ)

The academic success of students with previous open school experience who entered structured or traditional schools was impeded. (MM)

Shares experiences of one teacher and two administrators attempting to implement critically oriented, democratic practices in their school systems. Examines three specific events and interrogates them through scientific, critical, and postmodern lenses. Presents five suggestions to unshackle practitioners from educational traditions that neglect…

Purpose: The paper sought to clarify the concept of learning organisation/community; to identify the barriers that are perceived to obstruct the creation of learning communities out of traditional schools; to identify how principals go about the task of converting their schools; and the special characteristics of leadership required to transform…

Farley's theory of arousal and stimulation-seeking proposes specific educational alternatives for high and low arousal and hyperkinetic children. This study tested the prediction that open classrooms provide children at the lower end of the physiological arousal continuum with enough external stimulation to reduce their overt seeking of…

This study investigates the moral development of thirty 5-year-old children in Montessori and traditional preschools. Data for the study were derived from five sources: an intelligence test; a perspective taking task; an altruism/helping task; an altruism/sharing task; and an interview for exploring moral reasoning. Two 30 to 45 minute sessions…

This history of Greek education traces the path of modernization from the emergence of Greece as an independent state in the early 1800's up to the present date. Educational philosophy and content are seen as pawns in the social and political struggles of those years. Detailed coverage of the historical events describes the structure of education…

This two-phase study identifies the techniques used by teachers in their classrooms to arouse and maintain the attention and interest of their students (student engagement). During the first phase (reported in another document), 24 third- and fourth-grade teachers and their students in nine elementary schools in low-income communities were the…

Four-year-olds attending traditional and Montessori preschools were compared on two memory tasks and on three social cognitive reasoning tasks. Although the Montessori students performed better on the recognition task, there were no other significant differences between the groups. Conclusions about the Montessori curriculum were made. (GDC)