Competitive intercollegiate debate programs have long been premised on the unique educational opportunity the activity affords its participants. The central problem with National Debate Tournament (NDT) rounds is that policy advocacy too frequently occurs, reducing questions asked to one of whether advantages outweigh disadvantages. While issues…

No matter where gifted and talented students obtain their education, they need an appropriately differentiated curriculum designed to address their individual characteristics, needs, abilities, and interests. A program that builds on these characteristics may be viewed as qualitatively (rather than quantitatively) different from the basic…

This document provides a framework and reference for counselors, and identifies skills and experiences needed by students as a part of attending school and becoming successful. The first chapter discusses the emergence of developmental guidance and counseling. School guidance and counseling are defined, and the formative years are discussed. Four…

A study was done of adult students at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in 1991 to gather information on the characteristics of this population. A survey instrument defined the non-traditional student or adult learner as any student over the age of 24 attending MTSU. A total of 1,200 surveys were sent to full-time students, and 300…

Problem solving, decision making, and constructing knowledge are skills students need to become active and responsible citizens. However, many students are not receiving these essential skills from their education. Minority students in particular, despite improved academic performance, still perform well below national averages. Restructuring…

This paper notes that gifted education has been dominated by psychology and proposes, in contrast, to de-psychologize the concept of "giftedness-at-risk" with an alternative model which sees ontological giftedness, becoming the best one can be, as not the property of an elite few but a permanent positive human possibility for all.…

School restructuring continues to be a common approach to improving education. Despite restructuring's continued and growing support, there is little research to support its effectiveness. The theoretical contrast exposed in school restructuring is between bureaucratic and organic organizational forms. A study assessed the effect of restructuring…

Although portfolio evaluation is the key issue with which the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, currently struggles, the department has yet to develop a reliable quantitative method of assessing the portfolios. The department found itself ill-prepared to have the state immediately thrust it into new…

Issues and challenges in giving students a voice in the educational process, or motivating them through empowerment, are examined in this monograph. Students whose input is solicited feel a greater sense of ownership with the educational process, which increases their engagement and in turn facilitates school effectiveness. Following an…

A parent of a kindergarten child in Texas began observing her child's classroom when she noticed that the whole language instructional approach described to parents before the beginning of school was apparently not being implemented as stated. The parent was surprised when her child's teacher suggested, after only six weeks of instruction, that…

This study examined the intellectual development of black college students and investigated the relationship among students' intellectual development, their academic and social integration, and the noncognitive factors specified by Tracey and Sedlacek (1984). Subjects were 344 black undergraduate students at a large midwestern state university who…

Using the Cluster Analytic Model (CAM), two samples of graduating seniors from Georgia State University were studied to determine the effect of different patterns of college course work on their general learned abilities. The CAM uses Student Achievement Test scores, Graduate Record Examination scores, and transcripts for course work patterns.…

A longitudinal study evaluated the Cambridge Lesley literacy Project as implemented in the Longfellow School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Five years of data on the progress of all children from kindergarten through third grade in both the Spanish bilingual program and the standard program were gathered during twice-weekly visits to the…

Creative production of women as measured by their performance on six criterion task activities was studied with university women. The Something About Myself (SAM) inventory (Khatena & Torrance) was utilized as a pre- and post-test instrument to assess the perceived level of creativity. The self-report inventory resulted in a total creative…

The current age has been characterized as an Age of Materialism in which personal goals are material aims and pleasures. The need for getting back to a spiritual culture is considered foundational. It is the duty of educators to provide for the spiritual or affective domain of a learner's development. To neglect this aspect of a person's being is…