This paper focuses on a comparative analysis of the normative and empirical elements of four approaches to political education. The analysis is conducted by identifying the central assumptions, value commitments and the empirical theoretical structure of each approach and by making comparisons across alternatives. The findings of the analysis…

Communication between persons of differing cultural backgrounds can be hindered by culturally-conditioned assumptions that they make about each other's cognitions. An exercise was designed to reduce this effect through increased cultural self-awareness. It involves participants in analyzing video recordings of staged "excerpts" from…

Several indices of factorial consistency were applied to a biographical inventory administered to a longitudinal sample of 2070 students in the 7th, 9th, and 11th grades. Results were compared with those of a prior cross-sectional study at the same grade levels. Comparisons of dimensional change over the three grades, for the cross-sectional and…

The results of a critical survey of research on educational effectiveness, performed to assess the current state of knowledge regarding the determinants of educational outcomes, are reported. An input-output approach was used to analyze the relationship between the amounts of various resources provided to students and the educational outcomes.…

The experiment described in this report investigates second language development and the possibility of determining various levels of language acquisition. The subjects involved are Japanese students learning English. The students are given the task of recalling English kernel sentences after hearing them once. The resulting sentences--the…

An investigation was conducted to determine whether the Parental Attitude and Behavior Inventory (PABI) Form III, a lengthy self-report instrument (577 items each for both parents) for assessing parents' attitudes and behavior toward their children and each other, could be shortened to a more feasible length. This terminal report summarizes the…

A study to compare the effects of reading achievement of informal and formal British infant schools is discussed. The informal school, for children from 5-8 years old, utilizes one or more of the following: integrated day, family or vertical grouping, open planning, and team teaching. The formal schools follow a prescribed curriculum and group…

The Atlanta Public School System conducted four major programs during the summer of 1971. These were Youth-Tutoring-Youth, Community Schools, Handicapped Children, and Prekindergarten Instruction. Evaluation of the Prekindergarten (Pre-K) project was contracted to the Laboratory for Applied Behavior Research at Georgia State University. The…

In a comparative evaluation of a standard true-false format for personality assessment and a forced-choice format, subjects from college residential units were assigned randomly to respond either to the forced-choice or standard true-false form of the Personality Research Form (PRF). All subjects also rated themselves and the members of their…

A major portion of this report explains an evaluation system for producing objective data regarding teacher classroom performance after inservice training changed their role or behavior in the classroom. Three major objectives for the workshop inservice courses are: 1) to make teachers facilitators of knowledge; 2) to change the type of teaching…

The study identified variables contributing to success in college for low prior educational attainment students from differing cultural backgrounds; described the nature and operation of COPE (College Opportunity Program for Enrichment); described the background characteristics of the COPE students; compared the COPE students' attitudes toward…

Hypothesizing that a person's views, perceptions, and reactions will vary according to the kind of community in which he lives and that the differences will be influenced by his status position in the community, data were obtained via personal interviews with 803 men and women aged 20 and over living in a rural county in Southern Appalachia and a…

Presented via narrative and tabular data, this report includes: Population of the U.S., Total and Farm: 1960-1975; Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Residence of the Farm and Nonfarm Population, by Race: 1975; Fertility Characteristics of Farm and Nonfarm Women, by Race: 1975; Persons 14 Years Old and Over Employed in Agriculture, by Farm-Nonfarm…

The principal purpose of this 1976 project was to establish a two-class preschool for American Indian children two to six years old at Fort McDowell, Arizona. Discussion groups including parents and younger children were utilized to provide parental participation, develop child rearing skills, heighten problem solving abilities, and improve…

In this unit, high-school students identify and evaluate their own images of the Arabs and begin to develop more accurate perceptions of the Arabs through data analysis. Activities emphasize social studies skills, such as mapmaking and reading, use of time lines and the concept of chronology, and data collection and analysis. Students compare…