Using composition, reader response, critical, and feminist theories, a teacher demonstrates how adult students respond critically to literary texts and how teachers must critically analyze the texts of their teaching practice. Both students and teachers can use writing to bring their experiences to interpretation. (SK)

Investigates the validity of imagery ratings and reports as measures of reader response to a story and the similarity of final regression models for recall and imagery reports. Finds imagery ratings of story paragraphs predict both imagery reports and recall of a second, independent group of readers, lending convergent construct validity to these…

Responds to previous articles on counseling psychology and health service by raising issues for consideration concerning involvement of health psychology in health care. Considers the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions, the impact of new services on health care costs, and the role of counseling psychologists in relation to other…

Responds to model presented in previous article on counseling the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected client. Sees model as capable of dictating many entry points for the counseling psychologist in the lives of HIV-1-infected individuals. As an alternative, presents a less-inclusive model targeted to a specific population (HIV-1-infected…

Responds to model presented in previous article on counseling the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected client. Discusses ethical issues related to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Concludes that careful analysis of interests at stake and appreciation of changing sociomedical context in which they arise are requisite to ethical…

Explores aesthetic responses to literature by examining the responses of fifth graders to a variety of books and films. Finds three main characteristics of students' responses: picturing a story in their minds; extending a story or hypothesize about it while reading; and relating associations and feelings evoked while reading and responding.…

Discusses how "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss can be used to introduce the moral issue of war to young children. Studies the written responses of 1,187 children in grades kindergarten to 6 to the story. Notes that only the fourth- through sixth-grade students (who felt themselves beyond Dr. Seuss) understood the allegorical nature…

Reconsiders the nature of literature as a school subject. Discusses the notion that school literature is different from reading literature outside school. Discusses three anomalies: the text and the textbook; educators' idolatry of "naive readers" whose heads are to be stuffed; and the roles of the reader and writer in school programs.…

Provides a case study of a young child's responses to "Hansel and Gretel" over a four-year period, providing insight as to how literary response develops in the early years. (MG)

Argues that the field of education has produced and absorbed a steady barrage of information about the threats and causes of illiteracy. Contends that the field has managed to demystify the wondrous and profound acts of reading and writing. Concludes that research on reader response has much to offer in the rehumanization of literacy. (RS)

Provides an update on the progress being made at the National Research Center on Literature Teaching and Learning. Discusses research-in-progress with teachers struggling to adapt their instruction to a response-based approach to reading literature. Presents a framework of optional strategies for teachers. (RS)

Describes the affinities between reader response theory and the proper objectives of English instruction. Describes students not as potential literary scholars but as curious people needing personal experiences with reading and writing. Outlines a model for teaching literature focused on this conception. (HB)

Studies empirically the effects of individualizing form letters by computer on the recipient readers. Suggests that the individualizing of such letters improves compliance over conventional form letters. Offers advice to writers embarking on the development of such an individualized form letter system. (HB)

Responds to major contribution on counseling with children (Wagner, this issue), calling it a compendium of activities that are traditionally ascribed to elementary school counselors, and criticizing it for avoiding the critical issues of the present decade. Sees disproportionately large amount of space devoted to divorce and calls for more…

Refutes commonly held assumptions forced on the art-education public that characterize Viktor Lowenfeld, a historically well-known art educator, as having a laissez-faire approach to art education and a visual-haptic fixation. Asserts Lowenfeld's beliefs were distorted in later publications of his book, "Creative and Mental Growth." (CMK)