Researchers administered surveys to college zoology students prior to, and immediately following a study of evolutionary theory, to assess their understanding and acceptance of evidence supporting the theory. Results showed students had many misconceptions about the theory. Their beliefs interfered with their ability to objectively view scientific…

Uses survey data from a 1994 United States Senate campaign in Missouri to show that using TV news for political and government information is positively associated with knowledge about candidates and not associated with cynicism toward politicians. Notes that results run counter to the popular notion that television news causes declines in…

Assessed the risk, protective, alcohol and other drug (AOD) knowledge and attitudes, and AOD behavior of 1,797 high-risk youth ages 12 to 19. Results from the survey suggest that the more protective the behavior, the greater the AOD knowledge and positive attitude, and the lower the risk of AOD behavior. (SLD)

Studied the informal knowledge of 36 seven-year-old children of a variety of physical angle situations represented by physical models. Children had an excellent knowledge of all the situations presented, but specific features of each situation strongly hindered recognition of the common features that define the angle concept. (SLD)

Reports a study that examined how knowledgeable certified athletic trainers were about HIV/AIDS and that investigated their attitudes toward treating the injuries of HIV-positive athletes. Surveys indicated that they were moderately knowledgeable and had constructive attitudes. Their major concern was fear of HIV transmission. (SM)

Two experiments examined how 5- and 10-year-olds revised their category representations when exposed to exemplars that were congruent or incongruent with existing knowledge. Findings indicated that judgments about feature co-occurrent within the learned category were influenced by both stereotypical beliefs and exemplar observation. Stereotypical…

In seven Indiana schools, fourth graders received hands-on instruction with incubators; seven schools were controls, with a total of 736 students and 39 teachers participating. The treatment group increased agriculture-related science knowledge. Students from communities smaller than 5,000 scored better than those in larger communities. (Contains…

Four learning modules on elderly sexuality were pilot tested with 109 long-term care staff. On pretests men and whites scored higher than women and African-Americans. Knowledge and attitude improvements resulted from use of modules on the need for sexuality/intimacy, sex and dementia, and sex and aging, but not the family/personal issues module.…

This study examined the ability of 70 deaf and 58 hearing students at the college and middle school levels to discern and apply knowledge of printed word morphology, especially morpheme segmentation and semantic analysis. Deaf college students scored similarly to middle school hearing students. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

A study of 113 Canadian pharmacists attending continuing education on asthma compared two methods of needs assessment: perceived needs and knowledge-based needs. Scores indicated no relationship between the two kinds of needs. Needs assessment in continuing professional education thus should recognize and address the limitations of self-perceived…

Twenty 5-year-olds and 20 8-year-olds were asked to tell 6 stories about health and illness. Analysis of stories did not support a stage theory of developmental changes in children's understanding of illness. Results suggest that young children share many ideas about illness with older children. (CB)

This study found that the level of health knowledge of 139 hearing Australian students, ages 12-18, was superior to that of 66 hearing-impaired students. However, health knowledge of hearing-impaired students increased markedly from grade 8 to grade 12, so that by grade 12 they were achieving only marginally below their hearing peers. (Author/JDD)

Examined relationship between knowledge about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), subjective perception of AIDS risk, and sexual behavior of undergraduates (N=459). Found students generally informed but that no relationship existed between accurate knowledge about AIDS and sexual behavior. Provides AIDS education and counseling…

The study found that, compared to normally achieving students, 24 students (age 10 and 12) with learning disabilities were less able in vocabulary production tasks and comparable in ability to use pictorial responses to demonstrate vocabulary knowledge. When equated in reading achievement, learning-disabled 10 year olds were poorer in composite…

Studied whether there were differences between using anatomically correct dolls, drawings, or verbal descriptions in the accuracy and completeness of sexual abuse information using girls (N=45) ages 9 to 10. Determined children in group using either dolls or drawings obtained more correct responses than those in the verbal group, but the…