Nineteen professional (nurses and attendants with bachelor degrees) and 17 paraprofessionals (aides with less than a college education) from a residential institution for the mentally retarded participated in an overview course on mental retardation. (Author/CL)

Discusses limitations of vertical cooperation among nations and some factors involved in horizontal cooperation, such as regional and subregional similarities, necessary conditions and obstacles, possible practical measures, and brain drain. (ND)

This article, the third in a series, provides an outline of knowledge areas in blindness rehabilitation developed at the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University. The outlines cover orientation and mobility, private agency administration, and public agency administration. (DB)

Investigated knowledge and preferences of 176 Greek children, aged 9 to 11, with regard to dietary oils and fats. Results indicate that these children lacked the knowledge they needed to make healthy food choices, and that teaching strategies should be developed to address their needs. (SLD)

Determined whether young children's inconsistent production of sentence subjects was due to limitations in their knowledge of English or in their ability to access and use that knowledge. Subjects were 19 young children from 1 to 2 years old. Found that processing limitations, rather than defective grammar, explain the missing subjects in very…

A study of 83 people working in the field of autism evaluated the psychometric properties of the Autism Survey, an instrument to assess respondents' knowledge about autism. The survey was found to measure one factor, to be stable across time, and to have an internally consistent total score. (Author/CR)

Studied the extent to which students' knowledge, beliefs, and reactions to articles were differentially influenced by traditional or online persuasive texts. Results for 131 undergraduates show that the computerized text was more difficult for students to understand and less interesting, and the authors were found to be less credible. (SLD)

Examines religious practices of Hindus in the United States and develops measures of their religious pathways. Four religious pathways were identified: devotion, ethical action, knowledge, and physical restraint/yoga. Results indicate that the measures of the religious pathways possessed adequate psychometric properties and were predictive of…

This study examined whether 4- to 8-year-olds considered knowledge prerequisites for pretending and drawing. Children were asked if an artist (actor) who did not know what something was, yet whose drawing (behavior) resembled it, was actually drawing it (pretending to be it). Children performed similarly on pretending and drawing questions.…

Examines the assessment implications of the revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, discussing such challenges as finding valid and reliable ways to assess more complex cognitive processes and to assess metacognitive knowledge. The paper illustrates how the revised Taxonomy can be used to evaluate current approaches to assessment and suggest…

Examines two UK research studies, one from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and one from Homerton College, Cambridge, on initial teacher education (ITE) trainees' confidence in their science knowledge. Reveals the importance of school experience in developing this knowledge. Discusses implications of these surveys for the design of ITE…

Examines the perceptual cues used by three- and four-month-old infants to categorically distinguish perceptually similar animal species. Indicates that cues form the facial and head region provide the critical source of information that allows young infants to categorically differentiate cats and dogs and presumably a number of other animal…

Three studies explored children's distinctions between mental and bodily reactions to contamination. Found that children distinguished reactions mediated by representations from those mediated by physical interactions. Data suggested that preschoolers distinguished between physical and mental reactions to contamination but had a poor understanding…

Used computerized simulation models of qualitative, conceptual problem solving and quantitative problem solving to examine qualitative physics knowledge acquisition during textbook-based physics training. Found that qualitative knowledge was acquired on the basis of explicit textbook information, but there were also cases of qualitative learning…