A longitudinal study of 101 college students investigated the ways in which their college and postcollege experiences fostered development of complexity in their assumptions about knowledge, by emphasizing independent functioning, collaboration, direct involvement in learning, and subjective decisionmaking. Results suggest these experiences be…

Maintains that South Africa is on the brink of large-scale reform of its educational system, with emphasis on such areas as multicultural education, school restructuring, and comparative education. Asserts that comparative education is assuming a larger role in undergraduate teacher education and is becoming a full-fledged field of study. (CFR)

Describes the use of practical rationality from the vantage point of a graduate student and an elementary teacher in an urban school. Discusses how using the approach led to revised policies regarding reading strategies and discipline. Contends that practical argument philosophy can be useful in practical classroom applications. (CFR)

Criticizes the concept that secular, rationalist thought is more objective than religious thought. Maintains that all human inquiry and interaction is rife with subjective bias and assumptions. Defends the teaching of religious subjects in public schools on this basis and calls for an "intersubjective" approach (acknowledging rationalist…

Proposes a mode of religious education that accentuates the self-actualizing, humanistic aspects of religious thought while downplaying the exclusionary and confrontational pathologies. Maintains that the power of spiritual commitment, devoid of rancorous judgments, can be a force for positive global transformation. (MJP)

This chapter provides general insights into American Indian epistemologies that can assist student affairs professionals in their work and examines the shared understandings of American Indians with regard to tribal knowledge and education.

Background: This study examines the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among cognitive variables, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in Hong Kong Chinese and Caucasian American adolescents. Methods: Community adolescents (n = 2,044) ages 14-18 years from Hong Kong and the United States provided information regarding their…

The key elements of online course design and pedagogy suggested by research as promoting effective learning are discussed through the lens of constructivist epistemology. Presentation of content, instructor-student and student-student interactions, individual and group activities, and student assessment are each addressed, in turn. The focus is on…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

An examination of policy studies in the twentieth century shows that there has been a movement away from an earlier concern for a policy science of democracy. Traditionally, political scientists in the United States have wanted to do good, and for most of them, doing good has meant studying regimes and the state in order to promote liberal…

A study was conducted to describe conceptions of the usefulness of reading (the function or "why" of reading) and conceptions of the reading process (the form or "how" of reading) among preschool and first grade children in Sweden. The research paradigm used--based on the work of Vygotsky and Piaget--was called the "second…

This report contains six research papers and a summary of a panel discussion on the topic of cognition and the adult learner. The papers are as follows: "Psychology and Adult Cognition" (Wilbert J. McKeachie); "Biology and Adult Cognition" (Frank Farley); "Technology and Adult Cognition" (Barbara Grabowski); "Enhancing Cognitive Skills" (Richard…

A new framework for designing qualitative studies is described to optimize the emergence, representation and presentation of insights. The framework, called Reflection Methodology, is presented as a "Conversational Paradigm" that includes four components--interviewer (researcher as participant); child, task situation, and observing…

The purpose of this study was to examine how learners with different levels of prior understanding of a topic interact and learn from computer-assisted video instruction systems when they have control of content, sequence, pace, and mode of instruction. Based on pretest scores, 80 subjects were randomly selected, half with low prior conceptual…

This study investigated effects of rehearsal strategies and immediate test formats on delayed retention and effectiveness of visualization on material acquisition and retrieval. Findings indicate different rehearsal methods have different effects in facilitating delayed retention. Information acquisition is facilitated by visualization, although…