This paper is meant to highlight the occurrence of Simpson's Paradox when using aggregated data obtained from two IEA studies in Israel, while ignoring the effect of a powerful intervening variable in the local context--the ethnicity factor. It will demonstrate faulty conclusions regarding either the absence of relationships between a contextual…

Numerous research studies over the past five years indicate that a high percentage of college students have severe deficiencies in their ability to use mathematics as a language for representing simple quantitative relationships. In the United States these problems are nearly as common among students with strong computational skills in algebra and…

Described are the conceptions held by United States and Israeli students about multiplication and division that may impede their work with decimals. Included are the introduction, method, division and multiplication task results, and the implications for education and textbook development. (KR)

Examines children's perception of themselves and their social world when experiencing academic failure. Studies showed that after academic failure various groups demonstrated higher levels of disruptive and hyperactive behaviors, reported more loneliness, less coherence, and lower peer acceptance than others. Discusses the possible impact on…

Examines 2,000 Strange Situation classifications obtained in eight different countries. Differences and similarities between distributions in classifications of samples are investigated using correspondence analysis. Substantial intracultural differences are established; data also suggest a pattern of cross-cultural differences. (Author/RWB)

Two types of classification error are possible in competency tests: erroneous classification of an individual as a "master" of the subject (Type II error), and erroneous classification of a master as a "nonmaster" of the subject (Type I). If steps are taken to minimize Type II errors, an artificially high number of true masters…

Nisan responds to Turiel, Nucci, and Smetana's (1988) critique by stating that it merely serves to emphasize the difficulty involved in distinguishing between the moral and the conventional without reference to the cultural meaning of the act. (PCB)

This critique of Nisan's (1987) study of morality and convention addresses methodological considerations for cross-cultural research on children's moral and conventional concepts. (PCB)

The moral reasoning of Israeli Jewish, Israeli Bedouin, and Palestinian school children (N=93) who had been exposed to varying degrees of political violence and socioeconomic advantage was evaluated. Mutual solutions to moral dilemmas were given more frequently by Israeli Jewish children than Israeli Bedouin or Palestinian children as questions…

Since the measurement of school achievement involves the administration of achievement tests to various grades on various subjects, both grade level and subject matter contribute to within-school achievement variations. To determine whether achievement test scores vary most among different fields within a grade level, or within fields among…

Described is research which sought to prove the hypothesis that mental models tend to preserve their autonomy with regard to the originals they are meant to represent. The results of this investigation involving 200 Israeli students are presented. (CW)

The difficulties that younger students experience in understanding concepts related to the use of variables in computer programming are examined through descriptions of two studies: (1) detailed case studies of six highly intelligent children--three fourth graders and three sixth graders--who learned to program in BASIC during 60 hours of…

This study explored student mathematical activity in open problem-solving situations, derived from the work of Polya on problem solving and Skemp on intelligent learning and teaching. Assignment projects with problems for ninth-grade students were developed, whether they elicit the desired cognitive and cogno-affective goals was investigated, and…

Most Americans continue to place great faith in the social capacity of the public school system and to displace onto the schools responsibility to resolve some of our most urgent social issues. Israel was selected for observation in order to view American "educational messianism" from a distance. Cultural displacement as practiced in the…

The management problems of the implementation process of an Individualized Audio-Tutorial (IAT) learning unit in ninth grade biology in Israel are discussed. The sequence of the learning activities in relation to four problems which were raised during the implementation process are presented: (1) administrative problems at the school level; (2)…