Discusses ways in which selected factors limit human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention efforts in African-American communities, focusing on the stigma associated with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), reliance on traditional models of health, and the lack of funding for needed services and research. (SLD)

A survey of 278 high school guidance counselors investigated their awareness of the dental profession as a career choice and the methods and materials they use in recruitment. Most were unfamiliar with a professional dental recruitment program, and most would not use it even if paid for by dental professional associations. (MSE)

Results from 40 high school students on the mathematics subtest of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) support the prediction that successful students would have more prior knowledge and would be better at defining problems, assembling strategies, and avoiding computational errors. Results are discussed in terms of a cognitive processing model.…

A teacher incentive/reward program is presented based on the view that teachers should be assessed in part with regard to their success in fostering learning in the students taught. The major issue in teacher evaluation must be the outcomes achieved. The case study of an Oregon high school illustrates such a system. (SLD)

Two studies compared children's knowledge about the letters in their name with knowledge of other letters. Findings indicated that Australian first graders and U.S. kindergartners and preschoolers had superior knowledge of letter-name, but not letter-sound, for first letter of their first name. Also, U.S. preschoolers were better at printing the…

Common complaints about physicians are that they don't care enough about patients, don't know enough to practice the best medicine, and don't do enough to maintain the public's trust. The best way for graduate medical education (GME) to address these complaints is to improve the educational content of residency programs. (MSE)

Assessed the health-related physical-fitness knowledge of preservice and inservice physical education teachers and graduate students in physical education and exercise physiology. Survey results indicated that exercise-physiology graduate students surpassed all others in knowledge. Though preservice teachers had relatively poor knowledge levels,…

Examined the relationship between prior knowledge, learning-strategy use, interest, learning goals, and conceptual understanding among fifth-grade science students. Results of student knowledge tests and a self-report measure of learning goals, interest, and strategy use indicated that the study variables were positively related to each other and…

Considers issues in customizing descriptions of English grammar in the context of creating an electronic database for secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. In developing the database, the aim was to incorporate insights from functional grammar and corpus linguistics while keeping information accessible and relevant to teachers only familiar with…

Students (N=379) in the 8th grade of German college preparatory schools, prior to formal chemistry instruction, were evaluated for prior knowledge of chemistry, their self-concept regarding chemistry, their gender-bound attitudes toward chemistry, and their fear of chemistry. Findings indicated that girls already expressed significantly lower…

Examined the effects of a three-year tobacco education curriculum, which included five lessons per year, on urban elementary students' knowledge, attitudes, and intentions. Pretesting and posttesting of experimental and control students indicated that experimental students' posttest knowledge and attitude scores were significantly higher than…

Compares the academic achievement of students from two Dutch medical schools, one employing problem-based learning (PBL) and one using non-PBL methods. No systematic differences were found on total test scores. Differences were demonstrated only at the level of individual questions. Results indicate that PBL and non-PBL instructional methods have…

Describes a simple exercise that demonstrates how content knowledge facilitates the rate of retrieval of domain-specific information. Music experts and novice students quickly name any seven words that relate to music. Reliably, the experts complete the task more quickly. Students rated this demonstration as both educational and interesting. (MJP)

Three approaches to setting the evaluation standards for testing pharmacy practice knowledge of pharmaceutical students are discussed and compared: relative standards; absolute standards; and a compromise approach using various sources of evaluation information. The application of the different approaches to a 120-item assessment previously…

Document addresses political and ethical questions generated by OECD's International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the New Zealand Foresight Project. Calls for further critical work on changing patterns of literate activity in the information age, stressing the importance of contemplating futures other than those driven by imperatives of global…