The present study examines the feasibility and effectiveness of a short-term (five- to ten-session) school-based parenting intervention for children ages five to eleven. The intervention teaches parents to improve child behaviors at home and at school. Pre-test and post-test questionnaires were completed by parents at the beginning and end of the…

The participation of children with disabilities in regular schools is too often the prerogative of education boards, who decide whether a child can learn within existing educational environments, rather than pressuring for systemic change and organization in school curricula that would grant the right of education to all children. This article…

The obligatory use of the preposition a with animate, specific direct objects in Spanish ("Juan conoce a Maria" "Juan knows Maria") is a well-known instance of Differential Object Marking (DOM; Torrego, 1998; Leonetti, 2004). Recent studies have documented the loss and/or incomplete acquisition of several grammatical features in Spanish heritage…

We analyze probability content within middle grades (6, 7, and 8) mathematics textbooks from a historical perspective. Two series, one popular and the other alternative, from four recent eras of mathematics education (New Math, Back to Basics, Problem Solving, and Standards) were analyzed using the Mathematical Tasks Framework (Stein, Smith,…

This study examined the impact of the 2+2 Alternative Teacher Performance Appraisal System that has been implemented in Shanxi province in China. A mixed research design was used to evaluate the program. Six high schools and a total of 78 teachers (13 teachers in each school) in Shanxi province were selected. Three of the schools participated in…

A longstanding debate in education pits advocates of liberal curricula against advocates of "back-to-basics," fundamental education. The study described in this publication examined the long term results of a fundamental elementary school that began operating in August 1978 with 347 students. During the 1989-90 school year, the first…

This report examines whether a high school curriculum organized around the five "new basics" suggested by the National Commission on Excellence in Education is likely to enhance student achievement. Data from the ETS Growth Study reveals that completion of the core curriculum has sizable effects on senior-year test performance, even when…

This study compared the academic achievement and other outcomes of three public fundamental elementary schools with three regular elementary schools in a metropolitan school district. Modeled after the John Marshal Fundamental School in Pasadena, California, which opened in the fall of 1973, fundamental schools differ from regular schools in that…

Discusses the Maryland Test of Citizenship Skills and the controversy surrounding its adoption. Presents results of a study of teachers' attitudes toward the test and remediation efforts. Concludes that competency-based testing discourages higher level thinking but encourages recall. Suggests that performance on the test does not reflect students'…

A survey of parents in urban and rural school districts showed a strong belief in the importance of elementary school social studies and more support for innovations such as the curriculum guidelines of the National Council for the Social Studies than publicity about demands to return to basics would suggest. (IS)

To test whether elementary social studies texts have changed in response to the back-to-basics movement, a content analysis was made of selected basal texts series published between 1969-1972 and reissued between 1979-1982. Quantitative data, anecdotal data, and educational criticism were used to compare eight matched text series for knowledge…

Examining the history of a "promotion by achievement" program begun in 1973-74 in Greensville County, Virginia, the authors argue that the effects of the program were not racially discriminatory as alleged by a 1980 suit that led to the program's termination in 1981. (JBM)

This study focuses on vocational education curriculum and staffing changes among California school districts as a result of 1983 state back-to-basics educational reform legislation (Hughes-Hart Educational Reform Act of 1983). Data were gathered from 1981-86, beginning with baseline data two years prior to, during, and two years after legislation.…

Differential effects of promotion from and retention in grade on second- and fifth-grade students were investigated. It was hypothesized that (1) children retained in grade will evoke negative perceptions and thus have lower status than children regularly promoted; (2) more favorable attributions will be made to children who are regularly promoted…

To examine long-term effects of a fundamental elementary education in Mesa (Arizona), this study assessed student characteristics, academic achievement based on standardized testing, and social interactions based on high school extracurricular activities. Students who had attended the fundamental school for 6 complete years, had remained in the…