This article reviews the existing anthropological and sociological evidence on school choice and educational stratification in Japan. Traditional linear models developed in the West have given little insight into how stratification processes actually occur. There must be analysis of the institutional linkages and organizational cultures of schools…

Selected papers presented in this book are: "Changing Concepts of Self-Direction in Learning" (Long); "The Transition from Learner-Control to Autodidaxy: More than Meets the Eye" (Candy); "Self-Directed Learning and the Theory of Adult Education" (Jarvis); "On the Theme and Variations of Self-Directed…

Psychological factors that may underlie the consistent gender and ethnic group differences found in science achievement were studied in a sample of 557 college students (297 male and 260 female) taking the first semester of a 2-semester sequence in organic chemistry. About 70 percent were Caucasian, with 23 percent Asian and 37 percent African…

This Vocational Instructional Management System (VIMS) module offers instructional and cognitive strategies used by special needs students to gain academic and vocational competency in business and office technology. Nine definitions, 14 frequently asked questions, 3 resources, and 18 references are included. The following questions are answered:…

A program is being conducted by New Hampshire Vocational-Technical College in partnership with Sanders Associates, Inc., a rapidly growing electronics company, to retrain Sanders employees as electronic technicians. The program, requiring 720 hours and taking 13 months to complete, allows students to acquire more than half the credits needed for…

The paper summarizes some educational research findings regarding effective schooling practices. Only those findings which have particular impact on educational program planners in the field of migrant education are discussed. These findings pertain to the following issues: class size, group size, ability grouping, parent participation in…

This article describes a means of evaluating early years classrooms from the perspective of the child's experience. Nine key themes, such as motivation and independence, are identified as representing significant aspects of a high-quality environment for learning. The manner in which these manifest themselves in relation to the three elements of…

A foreign language segment was integrated into the exploratory curriculum of the sixth grade in Marion, Indiana's middle schools. The overall course offers nine-week segments in home economics, industrial arts, computer literacy, and foreign language, introducing the children to curricular areas they may select later in middle school. In the…

Many work-bound youths have poor work habits and poor basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. Many work-bound youths, especially minorities and females, spend their first years after school unemployed or job hopping, with consequent loss of training and productivity. These problems are becoming more serious because minorities and…

The National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) Teaching Supplement Data File (TSDF) is presented. Data for the machine-readable data file (MDRF) were collected via a mail questionnaire that was sent to all respondents (N=1,517) to the fifth follow-up survey who indicated that they had a teaching background or training…

The rising population of foreign residents, often with limited knowledge of the English language, has created an interest in developing programs in English as a Second Language (ESL). One community college has addressed the need by undertaking a program that focuses on the selection, training, and evaluation of part-time ESL and adult basic…

This guide was developed to help Private Industry Council members and Job Training Partnership Act Service Delivery Area directors, planners, and program managers to develop new services by providing an introduction to the elements of effective basic skills programs. The guide is organized in three major parts. Part 1 reviews the research on the…

This document reports the results of work in identifying promising approaches to the provision of technological update to vocational/technical teachers, and discusses barriers and facilitators to the use of these approaches. Technological update refers to the technical knowledge and skills needed by vocational/technical teachers to provide…

The film, "Telling an Old Story" (part of the series "Writers Writing" that was coproduced by WNET and Learning Designs and televised by WNET in 1985), was integrated into college developmental writing classes and proved to be an effective strategy for the improvement of students' writing skills. The film was presented with the…

Eighty papers from a 1985 international conference on improving university teaching are presented. Topics include the following: personality problems of students; using computers in teaching; burnout, stress, and renewal of academic staff; improving teaching by evaluating teachers; teaching writing; curriculum development in management and applied…