Describes the work of a team of university and public school mathematics educators to design mathematics assessment tasks that are effective for at-risk students. Perspectives are offered on the need for alternative mathematics assessment and the dangers inherent in the undertaking. Practical design considerations are discussed. (SLD)

Describes backgrounds, educational philosophies, and the relationship between the 2 for 18 exemplary African-American teachers in 2 ethnographic studies emphasizing effects of differences in background. Teachers' knowledge of community norms and the position of the community within the larger society explains much of their success with students.…

Eighty-five African-American male adolescents receiving an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) intervention had greater AIDS knowledge, less favorable attitudes toward risky sexual behavior, and lower intentions to engage in such behavior than 72 African-American male controls. Follow-up data at three months support lasting effects of the…

For students progressing from sixth to eighth grade, an enhanced Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study curriculum emphasizing social pressure resistance training, peer support, and norm setting was developed. Schools participated as either curriculum or control groups. Pretesting and posttesting indicated the curriculum effectively increased students'…

The extent to which findings from research on teacher effectiveness are represented on the National Teacher Examination Test of Professional Knowledge was studied through Delphi investigations. Phase I identified and rated seven research reviews. Phase II--with 12 panelists--examined the relationship of test items to research findings from 1…

Discusses the relationship between educational theory and teacher professional knowledge. The paper presents eight criteria specifying types of educational inquiry processes which teacher educators and educational researchers must foster as a context for their activities. (SM)

Reanalysis of data from a study by G. G. Duffy and others (1987) identifies changes in the knowledge of cognition (KOC) of 177 poor readers in the third grade over an academic year and the association of changes with strategy use and comprehension. KOC's role in reading is discussed. (SLD)

Studies the prevalence of self-reported drug use behavior related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the effects of school-based HIV instruction and HIV knowledge on these behaviors in a probability sample of 8,098 high school students. HIV knowledge and instruction may help sustain low drug use. (SLD)

Research on dropouts at an urban, comprehensive New York City high school found a complex politics of "discharge" and low awareness on the part of students and parents of legal entitlement to education, which allowed 66 percent of a ninth grade cohort to dropout without comment or concern. (JB)

Teacher knowledge is examined as a joint construction of teachers and researchers by analyzing contrasting narrative practices in the research interview in terms of how two teachers formulate versions of self. Seeing the narratives as representational technologies locates these teachers differently in the knowledge-constitutive networks of…

Illustrates the nature of postlesson discussions between experienced and novice secondary teachers during an early field experience. Differences in the discussions suggest that the novices experienced significant variations in the substance and quality of field-based activities intended to help them develop teaching competence. (Author/SM)

A study investigated differences in epistemological beliefs among junior college (n=116) and university (n=76) students and among technology and social science majors. Other student demographic and background variables were considered. Results suggest colleges should consider epistemological beliefs as factors in academic achievement, attrition,…

Parental knowledge of child sexual abuse and interest in educating themselves and their children for primary prevention was studied, via interviews with 51 mothers and 50 fathers of preschool and day-care center children. There were significant differences by sex of parent for sources of preferred information, preferred educators, and types of…

Citing examples from a study of more than 600 elementary school students, this paper focuses on the importance of assessing children's understanding of disease processes rather than accepting their use of key phrases in appropriate contexts as reflecting knowledge. Includes guidelines for assessing how well children understand disease processes.…

Unification of objective and subjective models is suggested as a means for contributing to a professional knowledge base for special education. The knowledge production, access, and use activities of the Office of Special Education programs are user oriented, while incorporating the empirical rigor of the initial research and evaluation. (SLD)