A growing body of research on character education offers the opportunity to derive lessons on effective practice. While there is little focused research on the effectiveness of specific practices, reviews of effective programs have been mined for well over a decade to reach conclusions about "what works in character education." More…

This review of research was prompted by the widespread belief that at least in a significant number of secondary schools, department heads are an underutilized, if not untapped, source of instructional leadership, the type of leadership critical to secondary-school improvement initiatives. Forty-two methodologically diverse empirical studies were…

This project was a 2-year investigation of elementary school children placed in programs for high-ability learners. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate academic and affective changes in students during their first 2 years in a gifted program. Students were assessed during the fall of one year and the spring of the next year.…

Forces responsible for the emergence of the community college are discussed indicating the uniqueness of its role and mission in higher education. A rationale for counseling in this setting is provided. The implication is made that counseling and student development programs should be complementary to the educational process. (Author)

A study investigated stress experiences perceived by 244 dental students across all 4 years of the curriculum. Significant differences were found across all four classes. For male-female comparisons, significant differences were found on 17 questionnaire items, all perceived as more stressful by females. (GLR)

This paper reviews traditional, male-orientated theories of college student development, along with more recent theories that address the experiences of college women, and presents an analysis and synthesis of both groups of theoretical constructs. Student development is defined in terms of academic, personal, and professional achievement and…

Retention, the practice of requiring a child to repeat a particular grade, is often presented as the answer for poor academic or behavioral performance in school. To explore the effectiveness of this approach, the long-term impact of retention is discussed here. The paper focuses on students who were retained in kindergarten and these students'…

This report presents research findings concerning house systems in four New York city high schools during the 1988-89 school year. Quantitative analyses compared small and large schools with both weak and strong house designs. Findings indicate that house systems with more complete designs had more positive effects on staff and students and…

Summarizes research on recent developments in the trend toward full-day kindergarten programs. Topics covered include (1) full-day and half-day differential gains, (2) the nature of gains produced by full-day kindergarten, (3) the lack of causal relations among program components, (4) enduring effects, (5) differential student effects, and (6)…

Presents perceptions of sixth-grade students, from ethnically diverse New York City schools, of teacher behaviors that they interpret as caring. An ethnographic technique of open-ended written responses indicates that demographic differences exist and show that students' perceptions of caring differ by ethnicity and sex. Implications for further…

This paper estimates the effects of freshman athletic participation on reading comprehension, mathematics, and critical thinking controlling for pre-college aptitude and other influences. A group of 3,331 students from 18 four-year and 5 two-year colleges and universities participated in initial testing during fall of their freshman year. Testing…

This study compared doctoral students at three stages of their graduate career in the areas of relations with faculty, relations with peers, emphases of classes and other program experiences, personal gains due to the program, and attitudes toward the program. A sample of 596 doctoral students at the University of Illinois (Chicago) were surveyed…

Different ways student-generated learning issues are used to deal with disciplinary content were assessed at seven North American medical schools with problem-based curricula. Structured interviews with key faculty representing the schools being studied suggested that the seven programs are encouraging the development of self-directed learning…

Discussion of the use of computer networks to create electronic communities highlights a research strategy that compared educational activities conducted across electronic networks to examine features of successful and unsuccessful electronic communities. Networks described include university researchers' networks; teacher networks; student…

This report discusses results of a survey that examined the experiences of 3,212 ERASMUS (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) grant students studying in other Economic Community countries. The study's purpose was to obtain feedback for universities and their departments participating in activities to support…