Analyzes a collaborative activity, both as a traditional classroom event and as a collaborative event. Finds that, even when the activity is explicitly collaborative and students are experienced collaborators, patterns of traditional classroom discourse dominate their communicative choices. (MG)

A case study of change leadership in a Thai school illustrates the salience of multicultural perspectives on school leadership. A cultural analysis of the change process contrasts the nature of "empowering" reforms with the underlying cultural norms of Thai society. Implications for leading East/West reforms are discussed. (Contains 52…

This study compared the time use and perceptions of schools, teachers, and friends of approximately 290 demographically matched students in Montessori and traditional middle schools. We used the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and questionnaires and conducted multivariate analyses showing that the Montessori students (a) reported more positive…

This study compared the effects of multi-age classroom strategies to those of traditional classroom strategies on the academic achievement of fourth grade students in reading and math. Standardized test scores from 20 fourth-grade students in two multi-age third- and fourth-grade classrooms were compared to the scores of 20 students from 7…

A study compared performances on a test of selective auditory attention between students educated in open-space versus closed classroom environments. An open-space classroom environment was defined as having no walls separating it from hallways or other classrooms. It was hypothesized that the incidence of auditory figure-ground (ability to focus…

A total of 59 Senegalese adult and college students filled out a questionnaire in a study designed to gather data about their reading habits. The 15-item instrument, written in English and French, required yes or no responses to questions that described students' satisfaction with reading ability, types of materials read, perceptions of reading…

To analyze the popularity and merits of the year-round school, this report reviews research and other literature on (1) the history of the year-round school including highlights of a few school district programs from 1800 to the present; (2) the academic, economic, and social impact of year-round schools; (3) school districts' concerns about…

As a part of a longitudinal study of learning in open plan and conventional design classrooms, the present study focuses on school design and its influence on selected behavior of pupils and teachers. The behaviors of pupils and their teachers in eleven learning areas of open plan and seven of conventional design were observed. Among the 18…

The debate about appropriate student-teacher authority relations in schools has persisted at least since the movement for "progressive education" in the 1920's, and it is reflected today in the debate between "open" education programs and "traditional" education programs. This paper, based on data from 7,361 students in elementary and secondary…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were significant differences in the academic achievement of children attending three different types of school: a model "open" school, a comparable "traditional" school, and a traditional school with a student population from a higher socioeconomic area. Data based on…

Ten hypotheses were tested to evaluate the effects on pupils and teachers of open space construction. Over 2,000 students in open and traditional schools were selected for experimental and "control" groups. Grades 4 and 7 pupils were selected specifically since major data indicative of academic achievement were drawn from the County…

A study tried to determine if development can continue through middle age, if education can stimulate adult development, and, if so, what the contributing factors are. The subjects were 60 men and women who had begun doctoral studies between ages 37 and 48, half of whom had just finished and half of whom had just started. Half of the students were…

Based on primary research relating to the theoretical framework of alternative schools, this study investigated teachers' and students' perceptions of instructional practices in alternative and conventional public schools to determine if differences in actual teaching practices do occur between the two types of schooling. Ten high schools…

Teacher achievement expectation effects were investigated for third- and fourth-graders (24 boys and 24 girls, each grade) in open and traditional classrooms. The main and interaction effects of teacher achievement expectation (High/Low), class type (Open/Traditional), sex of child and grade level on students' behavior and teacher-student…

This study explores teacher and principal role expectations in conventional versus alternative secondary school settings. A 59-item "Role Expectations Instrument" was to give to 472 teachers in 11 conventional high schools, each having a mini-school associated with it, and in five independent alternative high schools. In addition, 11…