Two issues were studied: students' perceptions of various situational influences of the school environment with regard to locus of control, and the relationship of situational influences to academic achievement. Situational influences involving parents, parental interaction, or home environment were most related to achievement. (MH)

The relationship between 15 emotional indicators on the Bender Gestalt Test and the acting out behavior of 93 children, ages 5 to 12, as rated by their teachers, was investigated. Use of the Bender as a projective measure was seriously questioned. The ten-item behavioral rating scale is appended. (MH)

College courses which use writing across the curriculum (WAC) principles encourage students to write about assigned readings and to respond to each other's writings, resulting in better learning of course concepts and the experience of participating in a discipline's ongoing conversation. Guidelines for setting up peer response groups in both…

Tape-recorded commentaries on student writing can tell students in detail how a reader responds to their writing. Computers that can record and/or play back voice recordings can also help improve the way teachers annotate students' drafts. Strategies for using the method are presented, with excerpts from students' discipline-based writing and…

Describes a collaborative effort in Beaufort County (South Carolina) to provide middle school students with laptop computers. Student and teacher reactions are discussed; examples of language arts projects are described; and a sidebar offers suggestions for funding that include parental contributions, corporate and community sponsorships, and…

Describes a study of the effects of violence on elementary students which used the television program Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and found increased aggression which parents should be concerned about. Offers suggestions for parents and teachers, including taking action against violent programming, utilizing technology which bans unwanted…

Explores the current popular concept of emotional intelligence and discusses its relevance to teaching. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to understand, interpret, and control ones emotions. This is important for teachers, not only in terms of role modeling and classroom management, but also for understanding their students. (MJP)

Reports responses of Hong Kong students to a process-oriented approach to the teaching of composition in English-as-a-Second-Language classes. Reports students' and teachers' levels of adaptation to process writing and suggests several conditions that appear to support successful implementation of curricular innovation. (Eight references) (Adjunct…

Outlines the efforts of the National Endowment for the Arts' Chamber Music Rural Residencies (CMRR) program. The program seeks to educate and develop audiences for classical music in urban and rural areas. Discusses many of the classical orchestras and ensembles that the CMRR supports throughout the country. (MJP)

A three-stage model of academic probation that addresses cognitive, affective, behavioral, and environmental factors is presented. Stages examine precursors to probation (factors inhibiting student performance), reactions to being placed on probation, and coping strategies that predict long-term consequences. A key assumption is that student…

Examined longitudinal relations of observed parental warmth and positive expressivity and children's effortful control and ego control with children's high versus low emotional expressivity. Found that moderate child expressivity related to high effortful control. Children's ego overcontrol mediated relations between parental warmth/positive…

This article explores conceptual and technical issues associated with options for specifying three assessment components for implementing an intervention responsiveness approach to the identification of learning disabilities: the timing of the measurement of student response to intervention; the criterion for demarcating learning as inadequate;…

Examines the possible roles and contributions of postmodernist thought to educational research. Models some of these approaches in its consideration of interviews collected during a project reviewing the careers of educational researchers. Provides a number of verbatim transcripts from the interviews and discusses their various narrative and…

Describes a qualitative case study of a Los Angeles school that is succeeding in creating a supportive, effective learning environment for its highly transient study body. Identifies several types of transiency and the structural, cultural, and pedagogical strategies used to address students' and families' unique needs. Discusses urban mobility…

Investigates the sensorimotor exploration of novel stimuli of 18 Aboriginal and 18 Caucasian Australian children of 4-6 years. Findings indicate that Aboriginal and Caucasian children displayed similar levels and patterns of visual and tactile exploration of a novel object, with Aboriginal children manipulating at a higher rate. (RJC)