Examines the reading attainment levels of a group of elementary students who had either experienced nursery, day care, or no preschool provision outside the home. Compares pupils' scores on reading tests over four years. Although the results were inconclusive they suggest positive reading attainment outcomes related to preschool experience. (MJP)

Probes the interaction between teacher-education experiences and existing student beliefs, through observation and analysis of two elementary teaching candidates' experience in social studies methods courses and student teaching. Suggests that beliefs can facilitate professional growth if articulated as tools for reflection, but can be obstacles…

Sixty middle school students, half average-achieving and half with learning disabilities (LD), were assigned to either a positive or neutral mood induction condition prior to receiving instruction in elementary Hindi language (to control for effects of prior knowledge). Across a two-week period, the LD students in the positive condition performed…

Examined the impact of a bi-generational mathematics intervention with Head Start families in two studies. Found that intervention children developed more extensive mathematical knowledge than a comparison group of low-income children. Low-income parents were willing and able to support the children's mathematical development once trained to do…

The community college is a major site preparing students for nursing careers, an important role at a time of a national shortage. However, many of the low socioeconomic status (SES), minority students who aspire to associates degrees in nursing display low levels of academic preparedness. An analysis of 3-year institutional data from a single…

This five part paper reviews problems faced by underprepared students and describes a model developed by faculty at the South Campus of Florida's Palm Beach Community College for dealing with such students. Section I reviews issues related to defining student underpreparedness and developing a model to serve all types of underprepared students,…

Healthy self-esteem is the yeast in the recipe of learning. Studies into the intellectual-emotional connections in the human brain show that the affective domain is the gateway to the cognitive domain and so effective ways to raise self-esteem, which are covered in this booklet, are an important component of education. The first part of the text…

This booklet emphasizes the importance of National Education Goal 1, which states that all children should be ready to learn when they start school. The booklet also explains the educational and social effects that early childhood programs can have on young children, and shows how the Nebraska State Board of Education, citizen groups, and school…

This policy plan presents Connecticut's revised Statewide Educational Goals for Students for 1991-95. The plan includes goals of what students are expected to learn as well as how the education system can be held accountable to the public. The plan contains eight goals. Goal one is that students will be motivated to learn and to meet the higher…

National Education Goal One, as framed by President Bush and the governors of the 50 states in 1989, declares that by the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn. This sourcebook identifies and provides information about 20 promising comprehensive state and local strategies designed to improve learning readiness among…

This practicum report describes the implementation of a pilot program that used packets of learning materials to incorporate individualized instruction into a traditional curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Objectives of the program were that 80 percent of students would demonstrate improvement in basic readiness skills, and that 90 percent of…

The current state of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in kindergarten through grade 12 is discussed. Four formats for CAI--drill, practice, tutorial, and simulation--are defined, and a set of criteria for distinguishing between effective and ineffective CAI are described. Comparisons are made between human and computer tutors. In response to…

The author describes a psychological assessment process for use with the disadvantaged preschooler which involves screening (identification), diagnostic evaluation, instruction related assessment (formative evaluation), evaluation of the results of instruction (summative evaluation), and prediction of readiness. Some generalizations which apply to…

This study was designed to identify teaching-learning process behaviors that affect pupil achievement on a psychomotor task. Forty preservice physical education teachers each taught a twenty-minute cartwheel lesson to three elementary school pupils. Students' cartwheels were filmed before and after the instructional sessions, and analyzed for body…

Kindergarten children differ in how close they are to becoming readers and writers. A study investigated the dictated and handwritten materials of 24 kindergarten children. In each of two sessions, three language productions were obtained: a told story, a dictated story, and a handwritten story. Additionally, samples of rereading and editing were…