This bulletin of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) sets forth the philosophic grounds for democratizing schools and the evidence from research as to why this task should be undertaken. In the first part of the booklet, a brief NCSS position statement indicates that schools should practice democracy and be able to instruct through…

An interdisciplinary, team approach involving a variety of support services and a joint effort on the part of faculty, admissions personnel, peers, and tutors can be an effective tool for use in reducing the anxiety of adults who are returning to education. Whether they are organized to publicize departmental offerings or to explain the function…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a shared, Intranet learning environment on problem-solving ability and reflective metacognition. Subjects were 78 9th and 10th grade biology students from three public high schools in Texas. Research focused on the following questions: (1) Will the use of a shared, Intranet environment improve learner…

Antisocial behavior has been the object of investigation in many studies seeking to establish its etiological factors as well as risk factors which help to perpetuate such behavior over the course of the individual's life. In this paper, we seek to classify and clarify risk factors underlying the origin and development of antisocial behaviors from…

This brief highlights some of the trends in the literature related to intercultural understanding and provides a list of resources that can be used by educators in promoting it. The consensus of the literature on promoting cultural understanding is that the term "culture" generally refers to a system of beliefs, customs, and behaviors…

Legal issues have become of increasing concern to school teachers and school officials. This article addresses the need for teachers, administrators, and students to have a basic awareness of their legal rights and responsibilities. Based upon a review of leading law digests, the following significant legal issues are identified and examined:…

Following a brief welcoming statement by Gwen Ericcsen, Executive Director of the Foundation for Oregon Research and Education (FORE), conference papers address a wide range of issues on the current challenges of educational reform. Among these issues are the hard choices brought about by the changing economics of education, and the value of…

Change is hard work, even when we are convinced it is worth the effort. Teachers are expected to change without clear explanations or evidence of how the changes will benefit them or their students. Meaningful change is most likely to occur when teachers' beliefs, feelings, and personality are taken into consideration. This book applies the latest…

The future of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia was explored in a project that was designed to identify emerging issues in VET, identify challenges and opportunities for strategic thinking about the future of VET, and establish a basis for ongoing consideration of strategic issues. The major project activities were as follows:…

This book provides an introduction to early intervention programs, focusing on programs that reflect a transactional model of family-centered services employing collaborative and interdisciplinary techniques. Chapter 1 presents the historical context of early intervention services. Chapter 2 defines the various disabilities and risk conditions.…

Intended for instructors teaching a college course for the first time, this anthology contains short readings organized into four sections on: (1) introductory concerns, (2) course planning, (3) instructional methods, and (4) evaluation. Each section is preceded by a brief introduction. Included are the following articles: "It's a Myth: Nobody…

This paper has three objectives: (1) to examine culture as it applies to school-university partnerships; (2) to provide an experimental literature-based tool for assessing the readiness of potential or existing school-university partners to engage in a collaborative venture; and (3) to model the application of this tool using data from a…

More than half of entering community college students lack the basic skills required to do college-level academic work. Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians disproportionately rely on community colleges as their point of initial access to higher education, making the issue of preparation inherently tied to factors of race and ethnicity. In some…

American schools might improve their performance by emulating certain successful businesses that, while distinctly American, have much in common with Japanese corporations. William Ouchi attributes Japanese business success to worker involvement; the typical Japanese corporation, he asserts, unifies its employees around a corporate philosophy…

The learning and development experiences of English-speaking Caribbean immigrant women in the United States were examined in a transcultural study. A heuristic phenomenological approach was used to explore how a sample of 15 Anglophone women from the British Caribbean islands who had immigrated to the midwestern, southwestern, and eastern United…