This introductory article analyzes the challenges facing researchers as they respond to the ideas that guide family-centered services and incorporate these themes into research focused on improving services for children with emotional, behavioral, or mental disorders. The fit between traditional mental health research and family centered services…

Focuses on teacher variables that account for the lack of initiation and continuation of research-based instructional strategies. Highlights teachers' overarching conceptions of teaching, subject-area knowledge, and sense of self-efficacy. Recommendations for promoting teacher self-efficacy are provided, including training teachers to deal with a…

Describes how 20 teachers enrolled in a three-week summer course on literacy assessment, through their own experiences and work in the course, internalized the theory that when students are given the opportunity to evaluate themselves, their learning is more meaningful and more permanent, their work demonstrates real commitment, and they value…

Argues that communicative competence in Spanish as a second language can not be taught without giving attention to the grammatical component of language. Compares aspects of the traditional and communicative approaches to language teaching, refers to theory on grammar instruction, and offers examples of classroom activities supporting the learning…

Reviews process and outcome measures related to groups. Encourages practitioners to evaluate their group work, to aid researchers in identifying valid measures, and to foster collaboration between research and practice. Makes suggestions for evaluating group work measures and analyzes group leader behavior, group climate, behavior ratings, and…

Reviews literature on the gap between research and policymaking in the community college. Describes a pilot study focusing on how administrators define research, what research informs their decisions, and what research they would find most relevant. Suggests that collaborative research involving members of the college and outside researchers would…

This commentary on the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs raises issues concerning balancing the roles of advocate, scientist, and person with strong beliefs; interpreting the intent of research on integration issues; and a seeming overreaction to a supposed "deficit-model" of the past. (DB)

It is argued that law students begin their second year unaware of fundamental elements and aspects of law and the broad principles underlying them, and that teaching case law in the second year without also teaching theoretical structure is misleading and gives a limited perspective on the nature of law. A revision of the curriculum is…

To address deficiencies in basic skills, a Florida middle school is piloting a program that immerses 75 students in a mastery-learning curriculum centered around reading, writing, basic language arts, and functional math. The program covers science and social studies thematically and has a social/personal skill development unit. The principal's…

Reviews several recent academic autobiographies in an effort to correct conservative criticism of academia as elitist, ideologically rigid, and didactic. Works by Richard Rodriguez, Mike Rose, Alice Kaplan, and Julius Getman reveal a broad range of experiences and viewpoints. Discusses the rewards and drawbacks of academic teaching. (MJP)

Describes one teacher's experiences in supervision as a school principal and a student teacher supervisor, examining why supervision has such a low priority despite its importance in teacher education. The paper questions how education will change if potentially symbiotic institutions do not intentionally construct mechanisms to improve good…

This article discusses theories on children's giftedness, including opposing movements in the gifted field--the Talent Development Movement and the Columbus Group Movement--which exemplify the "gifted achiever" and "gifted child" strands of research, theory, and practice. Vygotskian theory is suggested as a conceptual framework that can…

Some character education programs are based on assumptions about children and how they learn that may undermine camp programs' long-term objectives for children. Key elements to consider are the assumptions made about human nature and children; how program structures like competition or cooperation influence character; whether kids are involved in…

This paper examines a British consultation project, the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership, which is developing a charter for inclusion. The project obtained extensive input from stakeholders and concluded that a pilot project is the next natural stage of developing a charter for inclusion that is not merely rhetoric, but is driven…

Reports on Project 2 from the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Research Network. In this project, teachers and researchers worked collaboratively on the design of three short teaching sequences on electric circuits. (DDR)