Comparative research on teachers' perspectives and classroom behavior must focus both on external systematic and institutional influences and on individual differences in teacher personality and background. One such systematic study of French and English elementary school teachers identified "meta-national" similarities and international, local,…

Argues that special needs education continues to be based on an individual change model, placing the burden on the individual to adapt to a fixed and unchanging education system. Advocates a system-level change model in which the education system changes to accommodate the individual differences of its pupils. (DB)

Ten learning-disabled adolescents (LDs) performed a reading comprehension task below the level of same-age nondisabled students (NLDs) but at the same level as younger NLDs (YNDs). On a measure of incipient awareness of theme, LDs scored below YNDs. Why LDs have difficulty getting the point is discussed. (SLD)

Used stress and coping model to study predictors of individual differences in caregiver depression and satisfaction among 72 wife caregivers of husbands with Alzheimer's disease. Specifically examined relationship-focused caregiver coping strategies. Findings support need for expansion of conceptualization of caregiver coping to include…

A profound clash of values is occurring in public schools. Although specific disputes revolve around religion, creationism, sex education, values education, and educational reform, broader battle concerns public school's role in ensuring balanced, open curriculum that provides for free exchange of ideas. Will toleration emerge as critical national…

Argues that experts in philosophical and psychological paradigms can and do contribute to revisions of theories of moral excellence and that the study of prototypes has limited value for resolving some important theoretical issues. Describes research topics that can be informed by the investigation of prototypes of moral excellence, such as social…

Learning to balance "outersense" and "innersense" is a complex task for adolescents and the focus of one secondary school's social and emotional learning program. Understanding innersense helps students gain outlets for priority interests, master conflict resolution, build personal direction for college and vocational interests, and empathize with…

Examined performance of first through sixth graders on conditional-inference task, using causal conditionals and a generation of alternatives task. Found a steady age-related increase in uncertainty responses to two uncertain logical forms and an increase in production of disabling conditions for "modus ponens." Individual differences in inference…

This paper translates research findings on systematic preference assessment with individuals with nonsymbolic or limited symbolic communication skills into guidelines for planning such assessments to reduce the risk of missing or misinterpreting the person's preferences. It offers four questions for guiding the planning of preference assessments,…

Discussion of ways to use the World Wide Web in college instruction considers first, logistical issues; second, ways the Web can meet the needs of the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learner; third, ways to accommodate the social learner; and fourth, using the Web with four cognitive learning styles, as measured by the Gregoric Style Delineator.…

Highlights three longitudinal studies examining the hypothesis that attachment security during infancy influences individual differences and adult representations of attachment. Notes that attachment security was significantly stable in two studies, with discontinuity in all three studies related to negative life events and circumstances.…

Assessed attachment security in 60 white middle-class infants at 12 months and conducted Adult Attachment Interview 20 years later. Found that 72 percent of infants received same attachment classification in early adulthood. Forty-four percent of infants whose mothers reported negative life events changed attachment classifications by adulthood,…

Discussion of psychological effects associated with the increasing capabilities of new technology focuses on issues involved with multimedia teaching systems and the development of the self. Includes a review of technology attitudes and individual differences in relation to the voluntary use of technology and contrasts that with the rejection of…

Developed an extension of the Rasch model from a Bayesian point of view and used the model to study whether learning occurred throughout a computer-administered intelligence test. Results from 137 college students indicate that learning did occur and that there might be individual differences in learning rate. (SLD)

Examined differences between academically talented female high school students who were not at risk (n=24) , and similar resilient at-risk students (n=17) on individual and environmental risk and protective factors. Hypotheses that the two groups would differ on risk factors, but not protective factors, were generally supported, suggesting a…