Sequential analyses of dyadic interactions examined effects of input by 32 normally developing adolescents on responses of 7 male subjects with moderate-to-severe mental retardation. Prompts in the form of questions and comments were more likely to produce responses than directive prompts, and subjects were more likely to respond to male peers…

Expresses the belief that the worse social and cultural circumstances become, the more desperately and dangerously reactive formal education tends to become. The author argues that liberal arts teacher education can, in the case of true professionalism in education, be a stabilizing influence by offering sound judgment, judicious flexibility, and…

Focus groups, consisting of a total of 17 female student interns in social work, elicited student statements about their entrance into the social work profession, their own family and culture, and emotional exchanges between student and client. Students' diverse cultural backgrounds influenced their views of professionalism, engagement, and…

In 2 experiments with 6 boys (ages 12 and 13) having mild and moderate mental retardation, directed rehearsal was used to teach subjects to either recognize or produce 6 basic facial expressions of emotion. Training in both skills was effective, and the recognition training was maintained at 8-week and 12-week assessments following instruction.…

Investigated homesickness in boys ages 8 through 16. Results indicated that homesickness was prevalent and varied in intensity, was experienced as a combination of depression and anxiety, was presented most often as internalizing behavior, and was more typical for younger boys. The most-homesick became increasingly so during the separation,…

Events at Trenton State University (New Jersey) in 1993, marked by controversy and anger over a speech made at a public college, are chronicled and observations about the context of the events are made, focusing on the role of media coverage, administrative leadership, and institutional policies and procedures. (MSE)

Provides a framework that early childhood professionals can use to think and talk about faith and institutionalized religion in terms of the social contexts of young children. Suggests ways in which issues related to faith can be appropriately addressed in nonsectarian early childhood programs. (BB)

Describes a public library program designed to stimulate appreciation of adult fiction written in and about the contemporary western United States. Discussion covers project objectives, oral interpretation of literature, project phases, study guides and bibliographies, staff orientation, lectures, evaluators, personnel, publicity, problems, and…

Concepts behind plausible values in estimating population characteristics from sparse matrix samples of item responses are discussed. The use of marginal analyses is described in the context of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the approach is illustrated with Scholastic Aptitude Test data for 9,075 high school seniors. (SLD)

Compares the processing strategies of Indonesian and U.S. university students using an international news story attributed either to a high- or low-constraint source. Finds that audiences in censored news environments are more critical in distinguishing among news sources but less critical of the unconstrained news itself. (SR)

New developments in the use of automatically scorable constructed response item types for large-scale assessment are reviewed for five domains: (1) mathematical reasoning; (2) algebra problem solving; (3) computer science; (4) architecture; and (5) natural language. Ways in which these technologies are likely to shape testing are considered. (SLD)

The efficacy of 5 scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) in detecting fake good, fake bad, and honest profiles was investigated for 110 undergraduate students instructed to fake good, fake bad, or respond honestly. An analysis of variance suggests that these validity scales are useful. (SLD)

Discusses the field of television aesthetics and its contribution to education. Highlights include visual and auditory perception; cognition; composition of television images; and criteria for the analysis and evaluation of educational or instructional television programs, including content, medium, impact on the audience, perceptual factors,…

Describes visitor-oriented exhibits at the Natural History Museum that utilize precise principles of communication for educative purpose. These exhibits are designed on the basis of detailed knowledge of the audience, extending attention to the entire gallery as an experience rather than providing notice to individual exhibits, while taking…

One college mathematics teacher finds that asking students to write brief essays about their attitudes toward and experiences with mathematics offers insight into student motivation, perceptions and misperceptions, and emotional responses. The essay serves as a communication and motivational tool for both teacher and students. (MSE)