Retention research shows that the highest amount of attrition occurs around the freshman year. Freshman-year programs designed to support students in their academic and social development and to involve them more deeply with the education process are described. (MLW)

Examined race and sex differences in students' socialization in the college environment based on their peer group relations, satisfaction with their institution, and their academic integration. Student contact with faculty proved the most striking predictor of socialization. Marriage and cohabitation had a significant negative impact on the…

Eight challenges for the future of academic advising are discussed: the development of research to provide evidence that quality advising assists in producing positive outcomes; to arouse campus decision-makers to action, to defend the value of advising during decline and retrenchment, to elevate the status of advising, etc. (MLW)

Patient satisfaction with the attitudes and communication skills of first- and third-year medical students in a five-year program was found to be higher for the more advanced students and for women in general, and a weak positive correlation was found between patient and faculty assessments of the students. (MSE)

Today is an opportune time for school administrators to exercise leadership in curriculum development for school achievement. Effective schools research has found a school's culture and its strategies and tactics to be foundational to an excellent school. These are explored in this article. (DCS)

The recommendations set forth in "Developing Character: Transmitting Knowledge," a recent statement signed by prominent scholars and educators, are reviewed here for principals. The statement focuses on the importance of education for character development. (Author)

Reviews "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" and its companion document "The Nation Responds: Recent Efforts to Improve Education." Suggests these documents overemphasize educational reform for the purpose of helping American businesses cope with foreign competition, and that they lack enough solid…

This book is a guide to the standards for programs designed for gifted and talented students developed by the National Association for Gifted Students in 1998. The guide is intended to provide practical help to practitioners by including annotations that supply a rationale and further explanations for each standard. A standard statement,…

This paper provides a discussion of some of the dilemmas that face teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL). The author suggests that end-of-course assessments of ESL students should include a measure of growth, gain, or value-added, as well as measures of students' mastery of the English standards or English course criteria. Research has…

The students in California's classrooms live in a world of diversity. They eat unique foods, wear different types of clothes, live in different types of homes, and speak and hear many languages. This unit focuses on cultures, customs, ceremonies, traditions, foods, clothing, and shelter. These basic universal necessities of life--food, clothing,…

The purpose of this research was to describe how self-efficacy affects the development and science achievement of practicing teachers after their participation in a half day long hands-on science lesson provided by the Science on Wheels project. The 42 practicing K-8 teachers were from eight different counties located in a rural mid-eastern state.…

Achieving literacy, while often one of the greatest challenges a child can face, is one of the most important elements in building a base for success in education and in life. Three main strategies are found to be parts of the process of how children learn to read: (1) developing phonemic awareness through the use of phonics techniques; (2) being…

Based on the premise that the fairy tale genre can be effectively used as the content base for teaching reading, writing, and thinking skills and processes, this book offers educators ideas and techniques that promote multiple intelligences, critical thinking, creative problem solving, and problem- and product-based learning. Drawing on Bloom's…

The classroom should be organized for optimal pupil achievement. Learners should be free to view and read diverse forms and kinds of printed work in a relaxed atmosphere. An area in the classroom should be designated for large group instruction where pupils may work together as a unit. Another area in the classroom should be used to stress…

This report describes a program for improving student responsibility through increasing the effectiveness of students listening to and following directions. Targeted groups consisted of an eighth-grade applied computer technology class, a ninth-grade English class, a ninth-grade biology class, and an eleventh-grade applied physical science class.…