Explores the pedagogical role of perceived teacher confirmation in the college classroom. Finds: (1) support for confirmation as a crucial communication variable; (2) a need for further research to clarify the issue of defining "disconfirmation"; (3) support for earlier research establishing confirmation as a receiver-based variable; and…

Despite persistent media headlines about extreme cases of child abuse and neglect, the public remains largely uninformed about the developmental status of children affected by this tragic problem. The research brief draws on available data and recent research to summarize what is known about these outcomes in several critical areasphysical and…

Measures of quality are now in widespread use across states as part of quality improvement initiatives. For example, many states are currently using global measures of quality that were first developed for research and practice purposes (such as the Environmental Rating Scales) in their Quality Rating Systems (QRSs). Although global quality…

Issues critical for research on conceptual change in students are reviewed, drawing on a body of research with children and adolescents aged 5 to 16 years. Issues are examined in light of science education. It is proposed that science education should aim at fostering in students the development of ways of looking at phenomena that are as close as…

The National Research Council formed a Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism and charged the committee with integrating the scientific, theoretical, and policy literature and creating a framework for evaluating the scientific evidence concerning the effects and features of educational interventions for young children with…