The eight studies contained in this volume complete the effort pursued by the National Middle School Association to provide practitioners with some of the research available from the recent past. Research briefs deal with such topics as teacher attitudes; the degree of middle school program implementation; gifted students' and educable mentally…

The effectiveness of a preemployment program that was initiated at Robert E. Abbott Accelerated Middle School in Waukegan, Illinois, was examined through a follow-up survey of the program's graduates. The survey population consisted of all 176 individuals who had participated in the preemployment club since its inception in 1994 (28 individuals…

Describes a middle school program that integrates history/social studies, language, and visual arts. Describes how the program links two different middle schools through electronic mail in their study of world cultures. Includes examples of student writing and descriptions of classroom activities. (CFR)

Maintains the Holocaust is part of the national history curriculum for all 11-14 year olds in England and Wales. Examines ethical and pedagogical issues involved in teaching the subject, concern about promoting antisemitism, freedom of speech, and the right of parents to withdraw their children from this part of the curriculum. (CFR)

Describes two programs (College-for-a-Day and Scholars Club) to encourage higher education as a realistic goal and to promote scholarship and leadership among middle and high school minority youth in Lee County (Florida). College-for-a-Day is operated in collaboration with University of South Florida and Edison Community College. (SM)

Maintains that adaptive help seeking exemplifies how elementary- and middle-school students regulate their own learning and intellectual development. Discusses how parents, teachers, and peers contribute to the development of children's skills and attitudes associated with adaptive help seeking. Traces early help-seeking behaviors in the home and…

This article reports on the results of a planning grant studying the effects of a highly rated curriculum unit on a diverse student population. The treatment was introduced to 1500 eighth grade students in five middle schools selected for their ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity. Students were given pre-, post-, and delayed posttests…

The failure to consider factors that make a key contribution to violence and its prevention may create serious problems of construct validity for school violence surveys. Further, few studies have assessed the relative importance of variables contributing to perceptions of safety by examining correlations between survey items and overall feelings…

These proceedings contain the papers of the IADIS International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2013), October 22-24, 2013, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS), co-organized by The University of North Texas (UNT), sponsored by the…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2014, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (Lisbon, Portugal July 15-19, 2014). The e-Learning 2014 conference aims to address the…

The goal of this action research project goal was to improve students' taking responsibility for their own learning. The targeted population consisted of 120 intermediate and middle school students in 5 classes from 2 middle-class communities in northern Illinois. The lack of student responsibility in the learning process was documented through…

"Teacher Education for America's Minorities" (TEAM) is a project of seven institutions of higher education in Florida. The project's goal has been to work within the teacher education systems at the seven institutions over a 6-year period (1990-1996). This paper addresses some of the issues and strategies related to barriers in the…

Drama and role playing are effective ways for teachers, school counselors, and other individuals who work with young people to teach and discuss sensitive issues. The eight plays in this publication are designed to help middle school students develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, and logical decision-making skills. The eight scripts use a…

This document reports the results of The Oregon Mathematics Teachers of Middle School (TOMTOMS) project focused on improving the curriculum and the teaching of mathematics in middle school in support of recent calls for mathematics education reform. Twenty seventh-grade teachers, representing the geographic regions in Oregon, were chosen from a…

The Illinois Rivers Project was developed as an integrated, multidimensional science/technology/society pilot project designed to introduce water quality dimensions into Illinois high schools. The project involved high school science, social science, and English teachers in an integrated study of their local river and community. Science students…