The Education Resources Center (ERC) is a community-based organization that serves students from various elementary schools united by the Phoenix Coalition for Youth and Families (PCYF). The PCYF Project was authorized to organize agencies and schools in the lower socio-economic areas of inner-city Phoenix into one collaborative arrangement. This…

This revised version of the 1988 essay "Working with Vietnamese High School Students" includes updated demographics, profiles of the Amerasian newcomers and the children of Vietnamese re-education internees, who have been among the latest arrivals from Southeast Asia, a review of the literature on Vietnamese students, and a discussion of key…

This study of metacognition and motivation explored variations over time in the relationships between children's metacognitions about their study activities and various components of motivation for achievement. The study attempted to: (1) identify possible causal relations between metacognitive and motivational variables by looking at their…

A study compared the historical awareness of 2,000 East and West German children in the sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades. Because of differing school systems and the general design of the study, researchers analyzed ninth grade data. The study was conducted during the disintegration and reunification of Germany. Students from the two regions…

Two studies examine the nature of Japanese elementary school and junior high school students' preconceptions about media, the effects of teachers on these preconceptions, and the effect of such preconceptions on learning from instruction in multimedia situations. In the first study, 109 fifth graders reported their preconceptions toward watching…

This report summarizes an assessment effort that began in the summer of 1990 and completed its first year in the summer of 1991. It is the initial stage of a longitudinal study that focuses on the academic achievement and attitudes of students in the St. Louis (Missouri) metropolitan court-ordered desegregation program administered by the…

Since 1988, the Achievement Formula/TRIVET project has enabled researchers at Kent (Ohio) State University to collaborate with a large urban school district to assess, predict, monitor, and improve student achievement. The achievement portion of the project involves collecting and analyzing data on student performance and various contextual…

This study examined the attitudes of fifth and sixth grade students from Chicago (Illinois) toward classroom climate in an effort to better understand factors that would encourage greater self-concept, higher achievement, and student and teacher behaviors. The study population included 185 fifth and sixth grade students attending the Philip…

As part of the investigation into the achievement differentials between white and black students in Michigan, a study was done of the nature of sense of futility (SOF) at the individual student level and the relationship between the SOF correlates and self-concept ability. The sample included 2 groups of fourth and fifth graders in a random sample…

This study was conducted to compare upper elementary school children's attitudes toward physical activity, by grade level and gender across six attitude scale subdomains in order to assist physical education teachers in planning programs designed to foster positive attitudes toward physical activity. Subjects (N=429) were 243 girls and 186 boys in…

This thesis reports on a study of the use of first and second languages among students of a Spanish immersion program. Eight fifth- and sixth-graders with varying levels of Spanish proficiency participated in the study. Data were collected through student verbal reports, questionnaire-based interviews, classroom observations, and background…

This study investigated the effects of Oregon's Lane County "Problem Solving in Mathematics" (PSM) materials on middle-school students' attitudes, beliefs, and abilities in problem solving and mathematics. The instructional approach advocated in PSM includes: the direct teaching of five problem-solving skills, weekly challenge problems,…

The purpose of this project was to develop and field test supplementary mathematics curriculum materials that could be used in a typical school setting to introduce elementary school children to calculators and computers in the process of solving everyday mathematical problems. The materials were designed to help teachers: (1) familiarize children…

The Israel Ministry of Education and Culture (Jerusalem) has attempted to establish a feedback system to provide information about the functioning of the educational system in Israel. Feasibility of such a system and ways to ensure its effectiveness were studied through an assessment of the teaching of mathematics in grade 4. Data were collected…

Presented are findings of a 1986 national survey of 1000 American students between the ages of 8 and 17 years. Face-to-face interviews focused on youths' perceptions of their families, their schools, and major social issues confronting them. After a preview highlighting important findings, in-depth results and commentary are offered with…