Reports a study that examined the effects of combining home and classroom reading of multicultural storybooks on middle class Caucasian elementary students' awareness of and attitudes toward other cultures. Surveys of students who did and did not participate in story reading indicated positive gains for story participants and negative change in…

Discusses interviews of third- and sixth-grade students and their teachers regarding their perceptions of what makes a student a successful responder in classroom interaction. Findings reveal that students designated by their teachers as "effective responders" could articulate behavioral and content features of effect response, whereas…

Explores how fifth- and eighth-grade schoolchildren picture the past by asking them to project themselves into historical roles and to illustrate specific historical figures. Results reveal boys and girls differed across task and historical role as well as in their depictions. Discusses what these findings say regarding students' beliefs about…

Academic self-concept, academic locus of control, and achievement expectations were investigated over a two-year period for 78 children identified as learning disabled (LD) and 71 normal children. It appears that negative school-related attitudes develop early in LD children and remain consistent through high school. (TJH)

Examination of 71 American Indian and 149 White children from grades three through six on an open self-description measure and a transformational measure of self-concept reveals differences between the groups on specific external, behavioral, and internal attributes of self-concept. (Author/BJV)

Analyzes the complexities of the concept of attitude: the origin and history; subcomponents; related concepts including beliefs, opinion, and values; traditional trilogy--cognition, affection, and conation; and some controversies. (YP)

Relations of social-goal pursuit to social acceptance by teachers and peers, prosocial and irresponsible classroom behavior, and perceived support from teachers and peers were examined for 475 sixth and seventh graders. Findings reflected, in part, significant relationships between social-goal pursuit and displays of social behavior. (SLD)

Two studies examined elementary school students' self-beliefs over time and how the transition to middle school affected those beliefs. Found that self-esteem did not change during elementary school but decreased following the middle school transition. Competence beliefs and beliefs about the usefulness and importance of different activities…

Examined differences in children's perceptions of school tasks. Found that even kindergarten children are able to understand the learning purpose of tasks if teachers include that information in their lesson presentations. Results suggest that in order to motivate children's learning, teachers should emphasize the learning aspects of tasks, and…

In rural northeast Nevada, the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Lander County School District collaborated to develop and administer an after-school program for at-risk elementary students that provided care, homework sessions, and life skills education. Results included increased community support for such programs and improvements…

Discusses projects used by some teachers, texts, and other instructional materials for teaching the responsibility and participatory aspects of citizenship. Suggests that texts currently in use neglect teaching the protection of rights. Argues that corporations do more educating than schools through their commercials. Questions how some teachers…

The responses of 194 fifth graders to a questionnaire assessing causal attributions, academic expectancies, and self-evaluation of smartness varied as a function of whether the questionnaire was administered individually or in a group. Children expressed lower and less accurate predictions in the individual condition than in the group condition.…

Describes the reactions of a fourth grade class in Oklahoma City (Oklahoma) to the death through racial violence of their hero, a sailor with whom they had corresponded during the Persian Gulf War. The intended lesson in patriotism became a lesson in racism and violence. (SLD)

Teachers, students, and parents surveyed in a rural school district regarded elementary physical education programs as important but inadequate. A university-school collaboration assisted classroom teachers in redesigning the physical education curriculum and included consultation services in the form of school visitations and follow-up inservice…

Discusses the impact of culture and sociocultural characteristics on student behavior and attitudes, focusing on Filipino students in Hawaiian public schools. The article makes recommendations for teachers who work in multicultural classrooms, explaining the teacher's role and discussing how teachers and students can be partners in learning. (SM)