Analyzes teachers' attitudes regarding the value and practicality of adapting their teaching to the needs of heterogeneous classes. Surveys teachers and administrators in five German comprehensive schools. Finds that teachers do not support the view that within-class grouping may be a viable alternative to systems of across-class setting by…

This study examined the perceptions of teachers experienced in working with mixed-age groups in child care settings for children from birth through age 12. A mixed-age group was defined as one with children having at least a two-year range in age. Questionnaires were mailed to 92 licensed family child care and school-age child care providers in…

This presentation provides an overview of research on classroom management, emphasizing results from a program of research conducted at the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education (University of Texas) during the last 5 years. These studies, along with others, provide a basis for describing important dimensions of teacher behavior…

Considerable research has been done relating measures of teacher personality or attitudes to classroom behaviors, pupil achievement, and pupil attitudes. The major purpose of these studies has been to identify patterns of classroom behaviors, attitudes, concerns, and conceptual processes which characterize teachers. Fifty-one junior high teachers…

This paper contains the three sets of interviews (the Children's Interview, the Parent's Interview, and the Teacher's Interview) used to describe and evaluate the classroom learning environments in the New School's Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) during 1971-72. The purpose of these interviews is to systematically study variations in the…

This report describes an observational study of one family-grouped classroom, a system in which elementary school children remain with the same teacher for two or more years. The class was composed of junior kindergarten, senior kindergarten, and grade 1 pupils. Each child was observed over a period of one year. A detailed observation schedule,…

This paper explores both the benefits and the difficulties of using the Project Approach in part-time early childhood education programs. Teachers of 3 different types of part-time programs share their experiences 1 year after taking a one-credit course in the Project Approach. The teachers' responses are organized by topic as follows: (1)…

This paper is the first-year report of a three-year project in Edina, Minnesota, developing a system for measuring differences among classroom environments and organizational patterns. Dimensions measured include teacher preferences for classroom structure, student perceptions of learning environments and classmate behavior, student attitudes,…

A small rural high school initiated an 8-period day to offer students the increased number of credits required for graduation. Elective offerings, elective enrollments, and participation in extracurricular activities increased. Teachers and students liked shorter classes, grades improved, dropout rates declined, and teacher-pupil ratios dropped in…

This paper is a report of a middle-school teacher's study of classroom management. The teacher/researcher was interested in how some of the techniques in the Kovalik Integrated Thematic Instruction model of training would influence the teacher/researcher's classroom management; the effects of direct instruction within a community circle; the…

Reports on a study of 124 secondary social studies teachers about the treatment of the 1991 Gulf War in their classrooms. Finds that, with few exceptions, knowledge about the war was provided by television news and other media and that students were not asked to conduct in-depth research or other critical thinking activities. (CFR)

A study was conducted at a new elementary school in central Virginia to investigate influences on teachers' choices of seating arrangements and to determine the best seating arrangement to use. Four classroom teachers, each with an average class size of 20 students, volunteered to be observed and interviewed. The teachers taught at different grade…

This report summarizes the major findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the 1980-81 British Columbia Kindergarten Needs Assessment. This assessment was designed to elicit a broad base of information, both fact and opinion, from the professional literature, from review panels held across the province, and from a survey of groups most closely…

These four newsletter issues provide information on current research and practice to early childhood professionals teaching in the primary grades in Colorado, focusing on education reform and developmentally appropriate practice. The first issue notes research supporting developmentally appropriate practice, describes Kentucky's primary school…

In an urban magnet middle school serving mostly minority, poor, and low achieving students, the presence of high levels of interracial interaction and positive student-teacher relationships was attributed to the school's curricular, academic reward, and classroom activity structures, and to a faculty subculture that encouraged teachers to foster…