Examines the impact of a speaker with HIV on students' (N=83) attitudes, knowledge, and affect. Results indicate that after training, those in the experimental group viewed people with HIV/AIDS in a more positive manner and experienced more positive and negative affect. Attitudes toward homosexuality and knowledge of HIV/AIDS did not change…

Studied the impact of school variables on student political knowledge and political activity using questionnaire responses from 1,311 secondary school students in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Findings show that many students have had experience with normative forms of political activity, but fewer have engaged in…

Discussion of the nature of professional development in distance education conceptualizes the different forms that professional development can take and then focuses on developer-led learning. Highlights include social interaction; knowledge advantages and knowledge deficits; conflicting values; organizational struggles; and experiences at the…

Two studies addressed whether preschoolers consider speakers' knowledge states when establishing initial word-referent links. Children showed better learning from a speaker knowledgeable of novel words' referents than from an ignorant speaker. Four-year-olds, but not 3-year-olds, learned words better when speaker said the object was made by…

Three experiments examined how 4- to 10-year-olds' domain knowledge and observation of exemplars interact during concept acquisition and how exposure to novel exemplars causes knowledge revision. In all experiments, prior knowledge and exemplar observation independently influenced children's categorization judgments. Use of prior knowledge was…

Contains guidelines that provide an international view of areas of consensus about what constitutes "good practice" in test use. Guidelines address key competencies, such as knowledge and skills, and issues of professional and ethical standards in testing, the rights of test takers, test administration and scoring, and other issues. (SLD)

Suggests the study of academic development as a viable research agenda. Begins by examining the theme of schooling and knowledge, discussing an epistemological orientation and describing academic development (what it is, why it is important to pursue models of academic development, and how to overcome perceived barriers). Concludes that it is…

Tested role of event plausibility and script-relevant knowledge in events suggestively planted in memory of 5- to 7-year olds and 9- to 12-year olds. Found that the majority did not remember either false event. Significantly more children recalled the plausible but not the implausible false event; only one recalled the implausible but not…

Demonstrated through telephone interviews of 507 adults that estimates of agency services awareness in typical needs-assessment studies are probably inflated by a response bias labeled "agency awareness overclaiming," a respondent reporting an awareness of service agencies that do not exist or with which the respondent is not really familiar. (SLD)

Describes cultural therapy as a process of bringing one's own culture to a level of awareness that permits one to perceive it as a potential bias in social interaction and in the acquisition or transmission of skills and knowledge. Discusses knowledge categories necessary for cultural therapy and the role of cultural therapy in teacher training.…

Investigated the epistemological standards underlying Finnish teachers' practical knowing, using data from interviews with elementary and secondary school teachers to determine common features underlying their thinking. Results indicated that teachers shared common features in their pedagogical thinking and teaching practice. Their professional…

Five studies investigated preschoolers' understanding of the biological germ theory of illness compared to that of 6- or 10- to 11-year-olds. Found that the younger the child, the less likely he or she was to judge germs as causes of illness. Studies undermined claim that preschoolers understand germs to be uniquely biological causal agents. (JPB)

Examined Korean early-childhood teachers' knowledge and understanding of Froebel's educational ideas. Found that teachers' current knowledge and understanding of Froebel's educational ideas is weak, although teachers show enthusiasm for learning about them. An overview of Korean early-childhood education and teacher-training programs showed…

Surveyed pre-university high school students in Trinidad regarding their awareness and knowledge of tuberculosis. Results indicated that while most students had heard of tuberculosis, knowledge levels were generally poor regarding the major presenting features of tuberculosis, vaccination and treatment, and the impact of overcrowded living…

Studied the relationship between knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition and how they interact to mediate the effects of social cues on confidence judgments using a sample of 77 Japanese undergraduates. Discusses the ways in which social cues affected confidence judgments as a function of regulatory ability. (SLD)