A study compared the GCSE benchmarks of all local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales. The impetus was that a comparison on almost any performance indicator of initial education flattered England, and comparisons led to the conclusion that the education system in Wales was failing. The performance measure was the GCSE benchmark of…

Suggests that intimate, proximal situations within the genetic environment, more than heredity, determine child development and achievement. Stresses the need to compensate for skill deficiencies among children from disadvantaged environments through early training for language acquisition and personality development. Describes a program in Iran…

Recognizes that the debate on the Program for International Student Assessment 2000 (PISA) has been dominated by comparisons of the ranks achieved and by the question of the consequences to be drawn from the results. Discusses the educational concept forming the basis for the investigation and aims of PISA. (CAJ)

Reviews research findings concerning elementary education in the inner city. Explains low-income children are vulnerable to school failure before entering school. Examines classroom variables and instructional factors, claiming conventional schooling places low demands on students. States research provides a model for making data based decisions…

"Student Success" is EPI's occasional e-magazine dedicated to the discussion of retaining students in higher education. Over the course of the next issues of "Student Success," the Educational Policy Institute (EPI) will explore three questions about retention on our college campuses. Part I will look at the barriers to student retention, both…

In this article, the authors explore the sources of gender variations in African American middle school students' academic performance. The roots of Black males' underachievement are of particular interest. Because middle schools are essential links in the sequence of opportunities to learn, it is imperative to understand the social and…

The article presents the findings of the research into professional development needs of study programme managers at four Lithuanian higher education schools (two universities and two colleges) and a revised methodology for research into study programme managers professional development needs in the didactical domain of teacher qualification…

A study of 786 fourth-grade students (229 gifted and 557 nongifted) assessed the effects of both heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping in cooperative learning settings on the performance of gifted and nongifted students. Results found that gifted fourth-grade students experienced no adverse effects as a result of interacting with nongifted…

This study evaluates the personal, academic, and social factors associated with high school graduation and non-graduation among Hispanics. Subjects for this study included 56 high school graduates, 58 high school equivalency (GED) students, and 50 dropouts from high schools in the South Bronx (New York). The following measurement instruments were…

The study compared the academic achievement of 59 recent Mexican immigrant and 59 native-born Mexican American junior high school students in Nogales, Arizona. Three different types of variables were investigated: measures of student achievement, family background factors, and acculturative stress variables. Data were obtained from the school…

This study examines, by adaptation of the Likert-type scale, the attitudes of a random sample of Bayfield citizens toward a new national park comprising 20 of the Apostle Islands and 42,000 acres of Lake Superior shoreline in northern Wisconsin, and its possible impact on the community. With the use of correlation analysis and regression…

Presents a rationale for future research relating to educational computing, discusses beneficial studies that have been undertaken, and outlines specific areas where further research is needed, including studies on achievement, retention, and transfer measurement; material characteristics which enhance achievement; implementation variables,…

Educational leadership for social justice is founded on the belief that schooling must be democratic and an understanding that schooling is not democratic unless its practices are excellent and equitable. Moreover, educational equity is a precondition for excellence. The failure to achieve universally effective education in U.S. society is known…

Summarizes a longitudinal study that identifies a variety of mechanisms within the French school system that continue to generate social inequalities. These mechanisms include school status, parental choice, and economic status. Briefly reviews social inequality and French educational policy. (MJP)

Investigates the informal curriculum of a state-funded after-school dropout prevention program for adolescents. The program's goal is to resocialize them into their schools and enable them to achieve academic success. The paper proposes that the program fails to achieve its goal because of its ideology, and it recommends an alternative perspective…