This study was a 2-year comparison of the effects of open classroom versus traditional instruction on children's self-concept, attitudes toward school and achievement of basic skills. The 250 participants were students in grades 1-6 of two elementary schools -- one utilizing an open classroom approach and the other a traditional approach. The…

This study was designed to test four groups of pupils entering the second grade in the York County School Board area--two groups in open schools and two in traditional schools--chosen because of the similarity in the schools' size and location and in the socioeconomic status of the pupils. The students were tested once each year for three years…

This study investigated whether or not there is a difference in the academic achievement level maintained by a student after a transition has been made from a self-contained classroom to an open classroom. The sample included all the population in a fifth grade open classroom. The experimental group were from a fourth grade self-contained…

This article reports on the performance of reception-aged, home-educated children. Media reports tend to focus on older home-educated children withdrawing from school but very little is known about younger children many of whom have never been to school. This research sought insight into the learning experience of these young children. The study…

This study investigates differences in eighth-grade mathematics students' engagement in standards-based curriculum and instruction practices between block and traditional-schedule schools. Survey data were gathered from 156 middle level mathematics teachers to access the use of standards-based curriculum and instruction practices in their…

In Kuwait, there are currently two secondary school programs moving in parallel arrangements to serve the increasing number of secondary school students: the General Secondary School Certificate (GSSC), and the Unit Credit System (UCS). This paper compares and contrasts major characteristics of both programs in terms of program objectives and…

This book brings together in a convenient form a large amount of recent research on open classrooms. Pointing out that open education is more a philosophy than a set method, the book begins with an attempt to sketch the dimensions of the term. The chapter on recent evaluative research is especially helpful. A large number of studies are grouped by…

Fifth-year pupil and teacher attitudes and opinions in innovative and conventional school plants during the 1970-1971 school year are contrasted. Teachers' educational backgrounds are also compared. The most significant finding of the study was that very few teachers in innovative plants favored a return to traditional school plants or…

Reports on a comparative study of a traditional and an alternative course offered in Victoria, Australia. Student attitudes provided the indices to changes in students' perceptions of themselves and their courses over one-year period. Students from the alternative course showed a greater increase in self-esteem, higher satisfaction with school,…

This paper describes a study which examined kindergarten students' concepts about authorship and how these concepts affected their view of themselves as readers and writers. The teachers' role in helping form students' attitudes was also examined. Thirty-eight children from two kindergarten classrooms and their teachers were interviewed. The…

Children whose primary school experience was consistently "open," consistently "traditional," or "mixed" (open education followed by traditional) were compared on a number of psychological variables. Subjects were 120 children, aged 10 to 11, from six primary schools in suburbs of London, England. The open classroom…

One objective of this study was to discover whether education of students on the 45-15 plan differed from that provided on the traditional schedule. Another objective was to assess the attitudes of the educators, parents, students, and business people of Prince William County toward the two plans. The educational evaluation compared, across…

Research compared Mexico's television-based Telesecundaria (TS) with its more traditional secondary school counterpart, the Ensenanza Directa (ED). The data collected indicated that the TS schools tended to be located in poorer rural communities and to have larger classes and less adequate facilities; its students were generally older and from…

This study compares open education groups and traditional education groups with respect to student attitudes toward high school; creative thinking of students; collaborative behavior among students; and student preferences for intellectual activities, activities involving change or sameness, and activities involving autonomy or dependence. Groups…