In 1965, queries sent by the Educational Research Service (ERS) to 461 school systems identified only 63 middle schools concentrated in 20 systems. Only 13 of these 20 systems enrolled more than 12,000 pupils. When school systems of similar size were again polled at the opening of the 1968-69 school year, 70 systems reported 235 middle schools.…

Learning how to informalize and integrate the school day was the major quest of 22 American students assigned to practice teach in English primary schools. Informal, integrated English classrooms are defined and described. American and English teaching in these classrooms is assessed for seriousness and clarity of purpose, organization,…

The educational program in Community School District Number 24 was supplemented by a quality incentive grant from State Urban Education funds. These funds were used to establish a Corrective Reading Program and anEnglish as a Second Language Program which were supported by school volunteers. The primary objectives of the Corrective Reading Program…

Reports on a series of structured interviews with 176 secondary teachers to elicit opinions about their initial professional training and their later practical experience with classroom behavioral management. Finds that the vast majority of teachers believe classroom management skills to be of major importance to them. (CFR)

The knowledge and abilities are available today to ensure that teacher preparation programs graduate only potentially superior teachers. Process-product research of the past decade has confirmed many aspects of what superior teachers in prior times knew only intuitively. To aid in the organization of this research the acronym TEMPO can be used. T…

Purpose of the handbook is to ensure a commonality of concept and practice in bilingual education for the San Ysidro School District (California). Prefaced by excerpts from the state legislation enacting bilingual education and a statement of the district's bilingual-bicultural education philosophy, the handbook delineates the membership,…

Although over 77 percent of American school districts use ability grouping, or tracking, research overwhelmingly indicates that the practice benefits only the gifted. High schools commonly have two or three tracks. Regardless of the methods used to place students, the effects of ability grouping are uniform; furthermore, placement in low ability…

In a 6-month study of a small private school (Fielding) in central Virginia, seven participants in a curriculum practicum tested a research strategy for investigating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes fostered by a school's environment. Given the subjectivity of environmental influences, the team rejected scrupulous data collection to…

An overview is presented of research studies (carried out in the 1970s) dealing with the influence of time on student academic achievement. Discussions illuminate studies and findings about: (1) length of school day; (2) academic learning time; (3) achievement levels and academic time; (4) clarity of first day organization and planning; (5) time…

The findings of eight reviews of process-product studies are synthesized. Results are organized under the main headings of time, instructional organization, monitoring, management, instruction, and environment. The paper begins with a brief history of research on teacher effectiveness, a description of the process-product paradigm, and a…

In physical activities, students' attitudes, values, and motivations change during their school years. Two theories concerning these changes are that teacher-student interactions and teachers' behaviors will differ according to the age level of the student groups and that evaluation of a teacher's effectiveness should be specific to the population…

Two basic reasons for concern over classroom size are the desire to optimize learning conditions and the tremendous impact of class size on school finances. The first reason of concern is not as well defined as the second. Rather than looking for the optimum figure, as has been done in the past, the question should read "Best classroom size for…

This paper proposes that a more flexible approach to the development of teaching groups, accompanied by the necessary changes in staff and facility utilization, would help solve problems arising from declining enrollments in elementary schools. Such problems presently occur in many elementary schools in Western Canada. The problems of educational…

A requirement of Arizona's Migrant Teacher Institutes was the preparation of instructional resource units. Development of these units was a key element in the three-stage recommendations related to individualizing instruction in both reading and oral language. The three stages were: Room Organization--Realistic Learning Centers, Unit Themes and…

Reviews the literature and identifies and explores five characteristics shown to exist in both the adventure-based learning environment and effective traditional classroom settings. Discusses small learning group size, cooperative learning environments, communication of high expectations for students, building on student success, creating a…