This study examined the usefulness of applying the Rasch rating scale model (D. Andrich, 1978) to high school grades. ACT Assessment test scores (English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning) were used as "common items" to adjust for different grading standards in individual high school courses both within and across schools.…

This study explored how some African American students dramatically improved their control of Edited American English (EAE) in their introductory composition course at Howard University. The participants included 40 students who were enrolled in ENGL 002 in 1998, 1999, or 2000, as well as the 10 teachers who had recommended the students as…

Although people may be making progress toward global understanding and multicultural acceptance, there are still "miles to go." Only when an individual can view the members of other cultures as people of equal value will s/he be able to truly understand the perspectives of another. Unfortunately, classroom teachers are rarely equipped to…

Many people come to analysis appearing quite ordinary on the surface. However, once below that surface, there often appear extraordinary protections created to keep at bay any awareness of deeply traumatic happenings occurring at some point in life. This book investigates the development and function of these protections, allowing the reader to…

Children who are teased on a school bus, in class, or during recess often do not want to return to school. Unfortunately, teasing can occur anywhere, and it is difficult to prevent--despite the best efforts of parents, teachers, and school administrators to create a more cooperative atmosphere. This Korean-language digest discusses different types…

Noting recent interest in girls' social or "relational" aggression, this volume offers a balanced, scholarly analysis of scientific knowledge in this area. The book integrates current research on emotion regulation, gender, and peer relations, to examine how girls are socialized to experience and express anger and aggression from infancy…

The advent of the World Wide Web as a platform for the dissemination of survey instruments to diverse populations and the electronic recording of response data has changed the timeliness and cost effectiveness of survey administration. The implications of the new ability to track response behavior patterns will have a major impact on the field of…

"The Merchant of Venice," even in its own time, was considered William Shakespeare's most controversial play. Now, one of the most popular read and performed works, the play raises even more important issues for today, particularly anti-Semitism and the treatment of Jews. The analysis of the play in this casebook helps students interpret…

The Sixth Annual Children and the Media Conference, hosted by Children Now, focused on the media's role and potential influence on boys. This report highlights the thinking of participating advocates, academics, entertainment industry leaders, and children. Following excerpts from a keynote address by William Pollack of Harvard Medical School, the…

A survey of academic reference librarians in North Carolina provided data for an examination of differences in survey administration on paper and the World Wide Web. Research via the Internet is becoming more attractive for many researchers, but the effects of this medium upon research outcomes have been little explored. This study examined in…

Intended for teachers, this workbook uses 20 well-known children's books as models to teach expository and narrative writing skills. The workbook teaches students about brainstorming, focus, organization, elaboration, and writing conventions with readily-available quality children's literature, such as "When I Was Young in the…

This report discusses research commissioned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in order to evaluate prototypes of digital public television programming. There were two phases of research, the first using exclusively linear demonstrations of interactive public television, and the second demonstrating computer simulations of three digital…

Children who are teased on a school bus, in class, or during recess often do not want to return to school. Unfortunately, teasing can occur anywhere, and it is difficult to prevent--despite the best efforts of parents, teachers, and school administrators to create a more cooperative atmosphere. This Digest discusses different types of teasing…

Writing teachers notice how students who succeed with their written projects often do so after they have moved to a kind of anger either with themselves or the project, with external stimuli, or with a general sense of injustice. They are stimulated by the emotion to creative problem solving, and as an effect, they may succeed at eliminating the…

Defining emotional competence as the demonstration of self-efficacy in emotion-eliciting social transactions, this paper presents a model of emotional competence that explores the factors and skills contributing to the development of a mature emotional response that supports an individual's social goals. The paper first describes the primary…