Describes the alternatives used by the Penn State University libraries to respond to the challenge of providing access to the many different kinds of databases. Approaches include development of a generic interface based on the Z39.50 protocol; staff support, including instruction, reliable documentation, and staff involvement; and better user…

Reports on a study of preference for 9 curriculum subjects by 93 British middle school students. Finds significant gender differences in the rankings of English and humanities courses, which were preferred by girls, and of physical education and science, which were preferred by boys. (CFR)

Asserts that political attitudes and beliefs affect curriculum development and selection of instructional materials. Describes a Women in Literature course in which students participate in the selection of books and other reading materials. Discusses the process the students used, nonparticipatory students, and issues of personal biases. (CFR)

New textbooks for teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP) are reviewed, including texts for science and technology, computing, engineering, and electronics as well as a guide to general classroom techniques and activities for ESP teachers. Criteria for evaluating and selecting instructional materials are also addressed briefly. (MSE)

Briefly reviews a set of reference books and curriculum guides that lead teachers to resources for teaching moral, social, and civic lessons. Includes reviews of "Literature-Based Moral Education" and "Teaching Conflict Resolution through Children's Literature." (MJP)

A recent expansion of the San Francisco Bay Area's heavy rail system represents an exogenous change in the accessibility of inner-city minority communities to a concentrated suburban employment center. We evaluate this natural experiment by conducting a two-wave longitudinal survey of firms, with the first wave of interviews conducted immediately…

Family literacy programs reflect a recent trend in educational reform that has proven to be a successful educational model for all members of the family unit. Based on the literature that links family involvement to student achievement, these initiatives focus on empowering parents of school children. These programs have been particularly…

The rise in popularity of the Internet has had an enormous impact on scholarly communication, especially with the development of the electronic journal. There are a number of advantages to reading and publishing scholarly articles in electronic form: (1) World Wide Web publications have a simple interface, easy-to-read typefaces, and hypertext…

Fund-raising by public colleges and universities has been important in their founding and operation throughout U.S. history. At first, fund-raising was the responsibility of the president, and later also of trustees and regents. The term "development" came into use in the 1920s, when private donations were solicited to supplement public funding.…

This report proposes a strategy of putting networked computing devices into the hands of all students at institutions of higher education. It outlines the rationale for such a strategy, the options for financing, the required institutional support structure needed, and various implementation approaches. The report concludes that the resultant…

These 4 issues of the English Leadership Quarterly comprise volume 17, published during 1995. Articles in number 1 deal with multicultural and multiethnic literature, and are, as follows: "Guidelines for Selecting European Ethnic Literature for Interdisciplinary Courses" (Sandra Stotsky); "Striving for Kinship within Diverse…

Instructors from two campuses of Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) in Wisconsin were asked to judge the effectiveness of two integrated learning systems (ILS): the Computer Systems Resource (CSR) and Foundations for Success (FFS) systems, both of which are designed to provide adult learners with remedial instruction in reading, writing, and…

This manual advises library administrators in the state of New York on the responsibilities of individual institutions regarding censorship, patron confidentiality, and other intellectual freedom issues. Besides listing organizations available for consultation, the manual recommends procedures and policies for dealing with law enforcement…

This report presents data on the plans and expectations, preparation and course-taking patterns, college enrollment rates, and college persistence and completion of minorities in comparison with the majority, white population. The data reported show the following: (1) that while almost all high school seniors expect to complete at least some…

Experiences in teaching a first-year reading course in the intensive English program at Kansai Gaidai Junior College (Japan) are discussed. In the period described, there were six classes of 16 students each. A proficiency-oriented approach incorporating a learner development component was adopted to facilitate the transition from traditional…