This project examines past and present activities in curriculum planning affecting the Australian educational system, and the relationship of curriculum change to prospects for improving the selection of curriculum materials used in Australian schools by investigating current developments in curriculum reform and methods for selecting materials.…

This report describes a plan to improve student ability through cooperative learning. Inappropriate student interaction in social settings is attributed to lack of respect and responsibility. The study chose a language arts vehicle for the instruction of listening, communication, cooperation, organization, and problem-solving. This document…

A means was developed to reduce the necessity for discipline among the 25 students who were the most chronic discipline problems at Thomas Jefferson High School, a 1,500-student school in suburban Pittsburgh. The students were identified by assigning point values to various disciplinary measures administered to students. The 25 students met with a…

A program for improving student social skills was implemented in three classrooms of lower-class kindergarten and second grade students at two schools in order to reduce the number of behavior problems. Student behavior is a nationwide educational concern, and the problem of inappropriate behavior at the schools was documented by teacher…

This document describes an art mentorship program that was developed and implemented by an experienced art teacher as behavioral intervention for deviant fifth grade students. A target group of nine fifth grade public elementary school students was established for this practicum. Each targeted student mentor was paired with a primary special…

An action research project developed a program for implementing character education to improve behavior, particularly as related to respect and responsibility and to reduce inappropriate behavioral choices. Targeted population consisted of junior high and high school students at three sites in a community located in a Midwestern suburban…

A study examined the use of sensory integration techniques to reduce the maladaptive behaviors that interfered with the learning of nine high school students with mental impairments attending a special school. Maladaptive behaviors identified included rocking, toe walking, echolalia, resistance to change, compulsive behaviors, aggression,…

This paper describes a program for minimizing students' inability to relate present day school mathematics to real-world experiences, including the high-tech communities around them. The targeted population consisted of second grade elementary students in a growing middle class community located in a suburb of a large metropolitan area in the…

This five-session research-based program trains parents in various skills through a series of experiential learning activities. An introductory chapter reviews the problem initiating the study, the purpose, importance, assumption, limitations, and plan of the study, along with a definition of terms. Next, a literature review examines materials…

Elements of the Japanese educational system were examined to determine if they could be incorporated into U.S. practices. Research was reviewed in five areas, and annotations for each section were organized chronologically beginning with the most recent. The five areas covered were: (1) differences in test scores of achievement and cognitive…

An action research project was designed to enhance the creativity and thinking skills of students in a studio art class at the secondary level. The project was conducted between September and December 2002 at a Catholic high school near an urban center. Data were collected using observations, surveys, and document analysis. The targeted population…

One of the challenges facing school systems is creating an effective student handbook of current school policies. This report reviews the literature concerning federal and state statutes, district policies, and the professional literature concerning the implementation of a school wide discipline policy and plan that can be codified in a handbook.…

A program was designed and implemented to improve student vocabulary and comprehension. The target population consisted of 59 students in grades 1, 2, and 3 in a low-income area of a large city in central Illinois. The problems of lack of prior knowledge, poor vocabulary, and insufficient comprehension were documented through data collected from…

The wars of the twentieth century have clarified American librarians' evolving attitudes toward censorship, while at the same time providing impetus for changes in those attitudes. This study uses content analysis to examine librarians' attitudes toward censorship during three periods: the First World War, the Second World War, and the Vietnam…

Techniques for applying Brazilian adult educator and political organizer Paulo Freire's theory of "conscientizacao" are discussed. Freire's pedagogy is designed to liberate both oppressor and oppressed from the victimization of the oppressive system through "conscientizacao" or consciousness raising. The term refers to the developmental processes…