Reviews the following historical phases of the recent home school movement: (1) parents' contentions about public schools; (2) home school parents' confrontations with schools and the courts; (3) cooperation between public schools and home schools; and (4) consolidation of home schools. Introduces the other articles in this issue. (BJV)

Focuses on student involvement in determining course structure through journal writing. Successful student writers become highly skilled at directing the course of their own learning. The data in the journals inform teachers about what is occurring in learners' heads. Reflective journal writers are adopting a professional approach to their…

Reports on a three-year ethnographic study of the visual arts curriculum in three elementary schools. Finds three distinct orientations: (1) the rote, teacher-centered orientation; (2) the open-ended, student-centered orientation; and (3) the higher order, cognitive orientation. (CFR)

Examines possible reasons for a gender bias toward males and against females studying computing at the secondary school level in Scotland. Recommendations for improvement are provided for the following areas: (1) access to the curriculum, (2) course design, (3) teachers' attitudes and teaching styles, (4) language, (5) assessment issues, and (6)…

Discusses a study of undergraduates that was conducted to compare the perceived learning effects of mixing cases with either a simple or complex business game in a business policy course. The effective use of cases and of business games is discussed, and course design is explained. (42 references) (LRW)

The principal of one urban New Jersey middle school chose to deal with a long history of student behavior and discipline problems by making every class single sex. The change helped curb classroom distractions, reduced discipline problems, and restored a sense of order. (SM)

A study in which nonscience professors and graduate students took introductory physics and chemistry courses and found that what makes science unappealing or difficult for some is not subject matter or lack of student preparedness but the way science is packaged. Problems with curriculum design, testing, grading, classroom climate, presentation,…

An elementary school teacher describes her experiences with language minority students and presents her strategies for teaching the whole class effectively while meeting individual needs. The article offers five suggestions for adjusting teaching to reach all students at once. (SM)

The Ohio State University School of Optometry affiliation with four Veterans Administration (VA) health care facilities is characterized by a central governing committee, regular faculty appointments for all participating VA staff, substantial interaction with each site, strong orientation for rotating senior optometry students, and joint…

Advocates renewal of the settlement house tradition in the inner cities, tracing the history of the settlement movement, and illustrating contemporary settlement approaches in St. Louis (Missouri), Cleveland (Ohio), New York City, and Boston (Massachusetts). Settlements offer a way to provide organization in disorganized communities. (SLD)

The professional development school (PDS) movement may reflect a paradigm shift in clinical teacher education. By altering power and role relationships in preservice practicums, PDSs provide a way of overcoming conceptual and structural obstacles to student teacher learning in practicums. (IAH)

Studies curriculum challenges by religious conservatives to the "Impressions" reading series in California. Many parents thought the series promoted satanism, witchcraft, and disrespect toward parents. Data from 22 school districts, 4 of which dropped the series, illustrate the complex nature of such challenges and highlight school…

One of five articles on professional development schools in this theme issue. Describes the experiences of University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a collaborative, internship-based secondary teacher education program--Math English Science Technology Education Project (MESTEP)--and the university's collaboration with a high school science…

A sociology course on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and its societal context, taught at California State University, Long Beach, is described. The background, content, organization, administrative and emotional demands, teaching methods (including input from patients with AIDS), texts, and impact of the interdisciplinary course are…

Portland State University (Oregon) has substantially changed its administrative organization through multiple, interrelated strategies: consolidation of units; streamlining of middle management; staff training and professional development; a quality initiative; campus technological conversion; and joint ventures with a sister institution. A clear…