Intended as a practical guide for parents, counselors, and teachers, this book contains basic principles and techniques to guide children in journal-keeping. The book is fully illustrated with examples from children's journals. The exercises are designed for use with very young children (preschool and kindergarten) as well as with elementary and…

This study used a Vygotskian perspective to compare child rearing values and beliefs of parents, especially in regard to self-directed activities of children, in the United States, Russia, and Estonia. Participating were 60 families, evenly divided by society and social class (middle or working class), each with a child between 28 and 45 months…

Motivational beliefs of children in grades 5 through 8 (ages 10 years, 9 months to 13 years, 7 months) were assessed in a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study. Children attended a nonsectarian, private school in which the method of evaluating academic performance changed over grades from an individualized, mastery-oriented approach to a…

This paper addresses the analysis of surveys administered to prekindergarten through eighth grade students and the analysis of parent and teacher interviews in an effort to determine why children read, what they prefer to read, and how adults can further motivate them to read. The premise of the paper is that attitudes (feelings toward an…

This paper discusses current perspectives on the education of young children in terms of five interrelated issues rooted in a developmental perspective: (1) the complexities of predicting the long-term developmental outcomes of early experience; (2) how to interpret gender differences in the long-term effects of different approaches to early years…

Intended for use by middle or high school teachers and library media specialists, this book describes a World Wide Web evaluation tool developed specifically for use by high school students and designed to provide hands-on experience in critically evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of Web sites. The book uses a workbook format and is…

This study reviews the research on community schools and reports on evaluations of community schools initiatives across the United States. It explains that community schools are important solutions in improving student learning. It uses research and evaluation data, as well as local school experiences, to illustrate why community schools are…

This report provides an overview of the findings of 3 studies conducted between 1995 and 1998 on school-based performance award (SBPA) programs. Such programs provide teachers, and often other school staff, with pay bonuses when their school as a whole achieves specific educational objectives. The studies focused on programs in the state of…

This paper explores three programs that are innovatively helping U.S. immigrant students become educated, productive, full-fledged citizens. New York's International High School at LaGuardia Community College, which serves immigrant students only, has extremely high attendance and graduation rates. A top priority is increasing personalization for…

Information feedback is widely believed to play an important role in cognitive processes such as monitoring and self-regulation. It has been linked to enhanced motivation and increased performance. Assisted by feedback, students confirm or change knowledge and modify cognitive processes for better performance. This study investigated self-selected…

Given the importance of adolescents' educational adjustment, a key question for those concerned with improving adolescent functioning is what can be done to increase adolescents' levels of educational functioning. This review addresses a number of broad facets of adolescents' educational functioning, including those in the psychological…

This report describes a plan for motivating students to read in order to allow them to enjoy and appreciate literature and to provide the practice necessary to become effective readers. The targeted population consisted of first and fourth grade students in a middle class community, located in the Middle West. The problems of minimal time engaged…

This paper describes some of the features of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its uses in the teaching-learning process in elementary schools. In most schools, it is difficult for ICT to be used effectively in the teaching-learning process. The author observed many classes using ICT in elementary schools. Qualitative data, such as…

A project was conducted to determine the thoughts and feelings of probationers (mostly white males ranging in age from early 20s to early 50s) mandated by a judge to complete their GED (General Educational Development) diploma or their high school diploma at a local adult education program mostly attended by middle-aged white female displaced…

Noting that both stress and social support play an important role in middle school students' adjustment and motivation for school, two studies compared the stress and social support experienced by students entering middle school in different settings. The two studies of middle school students included overlapping measures of stress, social…