The internal perceptions of students enrolled in voluntary and required physical education courses are compared, using the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, to each other and to expected norms. (JMF)

Describes a literature course that used popular paperback novels to motivate reluctant readers. Reports on a study showing that liking the materials read could be a strong motivational factor in the increase of basic skills. (FL)

A strong statement about the declining academic standards in Australian high schools and about the need for an educational system that embodies diligence and self-discipline. (AEA)

Describes and analyzes an elective course which enables students to relate the viewpoints presented in literature to their own personal philosophies. (DD)

Describes a fifteen-week elective course for juniors. (DD)

Compiles a listing of colleges and universities teaching business communication as a required or elective course. (KS)

Attempted to cross validate a model of relationships among social--contextual factors, individual differences, and intrinsic motivation in 219 adolescent students in required courses and elective courses. Results indicate data are best represented by a model that separates social-contextual factors, individual factors, intrinsic motivation, and…

The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine's recently established computer program involved creation of a lab with six microcomputers and design of a course in computer literacy for dentistry. Students (N=94) found the course appropriate in format and time, and self-reported knowledge increased in all but three subject areas. (MSE)

"English 200: Intermediate Composition" is a program elective for English majors and a writing-intensive elective for nonmajors at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), a comprehensive institution of 11,000 undergraduate and graduate (master's level) students. English 200 is described in the departmental course catalog as a…

Students often arrive at universities ill-prepared for the reflective practice needed to derive maximum benefits from a Freshman Seminar. At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, portfolio projects are semester-long assignments in which the portfolio serves as a capstone activity to help freshmen more thoroughly analyze their first year…

A survey of university and polytechnics in the United Kingdom revealed that a small proportion of students who take economics courses continue very far with the subject. Included are analysis of non-specialist courses, justification for them, staff and student attitudes, and conclusions regarding re-examination of the content and approach for…

This article discusses (1) the rationale for eliminating required physical education programs, (2) the advantages of expanding elective physical education programs, and (3) the advantages of limiting elective physical education programs. (RC)

Elective English courses in grades 7 to 10 of 10-grade "general educational" polytechnical schools in the GDR are facing increased demands. Student testing has revealed increased attention by teachers to the strengthening of lexical and grammatical knowledge, development of free-variation procedures, and introduction of teaching aids.…

The middle school is a bridge between elementary and secondary schooling that helps students pass from childhood to adolescence. Within the middle school is another bridge--the exploratory/elective program. Whereas the core curriculum focuses on students' academic development and the cocurricular program on their equally important personal and…

Two studies--conducted in 1987 and 1988 in high schools in the Madison, Wisconsin, Metropolitan School District--investigated the existence of gender related differences in high school elective computer courses and factors affecting the differences. In the first study, a two-part survey was administered to the total population of students enrolled…