Morality and moral intelligence are important in our society and schools. Moral intelligence is discussed in the context of Gardener's theory of multiple intelligences. Moral intelligence helps apply ethical principles to personal goals, values and actions. It consists of four competencies related to integrity, three to responsibility, two to…

A model that includes three distinct syllabi for orientation courses for different subgroups of the college or university freshman population is presented. Among the groups with special needs are underprepared students who may be motivated but need skill development, and underachieving students characterized by untapped potential. One means of…

In the Soviet theory of cognitive development, originated by Vygotsky and elaborated by Leont'ev, acts occur at three levels of abstraction: activities, actions, and operations. According to this theory, an activity has an associated motive and may function directively as a motive. While many activities are possible, one activity tends to…

Sport has been widely discussed, by conservatives who argue that sport operates within the realm of freedom, and so lies outside the deterministic nexus of capitalist economics and policies, and leftists who argue that sport reproduces the repressive features of capitalism and serves as an ideological tool of the latter. The purpose of this study…

A respected and effective college writing instructor (who happens to be gay but does not find it necessary or desirable to announce his sexual orientation) considers himself respectful of all people and even tolerant of those wish to express views the instructor personally finds reprehensible. This has allowed students to open up to the…

This keynote address discusses the importance of having a dream, or shared vision, of the future of individuals with severe disabilities within society. A dream of a social environment that encourages and enables communication with individuals with severe disabilities is proposed. A plan for turning that dream into reality focuses on effective…

Among the characteristics of communicative apprehensive individuals are fearful reactions to communication situations, perceptions of low personal competency, an inability to identify appropriate social behaviors, and an anticipation of negative outcomes to interaction. One proposed model for communication apprehension assumes that a state of…

First-year students taking developmental courses need the kind of guidance a freshman seminar can provide when the advice is directly relevant to their progress. An alternative to assigning a heterogeneous group of students to an academic advisor is to offer a course which enriches the key elements of a freshman seminar while applying the standard…

The new board member will always have concerns about his/her forthcoming trusteeship, such as determining how much time he/she is willing to devote to the job; how he/she should obtain orientation for the job; and what he/she should know about the controversial issues in which the board has previously been involved. In addressing the first of…

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) are pleased to present a copy of the fourth annual Jacqueline P. Danzberger Memorial Lecture, presented at NSBA's Annual Conference (March 2004). The lecturer, Mrs. Melinda French Gates, Co-Founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, asserted…

Addresses effects of beliefs of professionals working with families of children with disabilities and/or from culturally different groups. Considered are beliefs about groups of people such as stereotypes and generalizations, beliefs about what disabilities mean, beliefs about parenting skills, and beliefs about goal setting. Greater awareness of…

Although many people have studied social intelligence and theorized about it over the past 60 years, no one has been able to provide a clear picture of its nature. Traditional methods have overemphasized the social-cognitive outcomes of human functioning instead of social-behavioral outcomes. Two approaches used to study social intelligence can be…

These four papers by a reference librarian discuss the potential for students at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego to engage in a positive academic career that will have a significant impact not only on their growth as people, but also on their future endeavors. The first paper, "Self-Definition: Naming Yourself in a College…

The key to educational excellence is rethinking a new role for excellent teachers that embraces the classroom and extends beyond it into leadership activities. Among current policy initiatives are attempts to integrate stronger teacher roles into guidelines for incentive plans and to use teachers' strengths in the decision making process at local…

The Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) initiative seeks to provide students with discipline-specific skills they will need in order to succeed, first in the university, and eventually in their chosen professional careers. This goal is accomplished in an egalitarian framework: all students are educated in the conventions of "academic writing" in a…