Graphics presented alongside expository science texts can have a number of positive effects for instruction, including facilitating engagement, arousing interest, and improving understanding. However, because students harbor expectations about which contexts are likely to support better understanding, the mere presence of graphics also has the…

Objective: To investigate parental influence on adolescent boys' use and risk-perceptions of using appearance-related products. Design: Using appearance-enhancing products can present a health threat to adolescents, as these products are not only applied to the body, but can also be ingested. Adolescents may look to their parents for information…

This descriptive study examines the unique cases of three middle grades education majors who completed a year-long student teaching experience in the same school where they were hired for their first year of teaching. Surveys of the new teachers, their mentors, and observations of the new teachers were used to examine the preparation received in…

In this paper we analyze the link between people's "subjective" expectations of returns to schooling and their decision to invest into schooling. We use data from a household survey on Mexican junior and senior high school graduates that elicits their own and their parents' beliefs about future earnings for different scenarios of…

Students should start career planning as early as middle school by learning about their interests and their academic strengths and weaknesses as they begin to consider postsecondary and career options. This issue brief presents the results of a study that provides a financial rationale in finding that those students who engage in such long-term…

A study was conducted concerning the development, implementation, and evaluation of a preservice teacher field practicum for a content area reading course. The evaluation includes supervising and preservice teachers' survey results identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the field placement. Survey participants included 11 students enrolled in…

Presents the results of an opinion poll asking student teachers in a preservice education curriculum what their justification was for teaching literature to children in the 9 to 13 age range. (RB)

The authors examine national trends, 1975-1978, in state certification requirements and teacher preparation programs which recognize middle school teaching as a specialty. They list states which issue middle school certificates and note the percentage growth at universities of middle school teacher education program offerings. (SJL)

Explores the data gathering process for the 'Views and Visions Project,' a part of the Land Use-UK (United Kingdom) survey. Discusses the questionnaire's creation; how teachers prepared for administering the survey; how one portion of the survey was conducted; questionnaire feedback results; and how data were coded and analyzed. (DAJ)

A study surveyed independent reading habits and identified causal factors related to the decline in independent reading from middle school to college. Subjects, 100 students enrolled in a developmental reading course at a state-supported university in Kentucky, completed a 19-item survey instrument. A second survey was developed due to the results…

Conducted a survey to determine the current status of middle level science teacher preparation at major state research universities. Reports the lack of independent programs leading to the certification of middle school science teachers and the inconsistency of requirements where such programs are offered. (JRH)

A Southern Regional Education Board study has revealed widespread lack of proper training and certification for teachers at the middle school level in the South. A major recommendation is that states require teachers of middle-grade students to have special licensure. Some efforts in statewide testing and accreditation are targeting such problems.…

Examines the ideas about citizenship held by a group of 14 African American, middle school students who live in an inner city. Finds that the students exhibited high degrees of political cynicism and low levels of political participation, with most believing they could positively contribute to their communities. Discusses the implications for…

Argues that teachers should, in most cases, follow their own and school rules set for students. Surveys teachers and principals from middle and junior high schools on their typical school behaviors. Offers suggestions for preservice and inservice teacher education to heighten teacher consciousness of the classroom behaviors they model--elements of…

The Library Power program is a school improvement initiative of the DeWitt-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund that began in 1988, designed to promote the full integration of the school library media program into the school curriculum in public elementary and junior high/middle schools. With a total investment exceeding $45 million, Library Power is the…