This article is a review of the impact upon science learning of classroom and laboratory uses of computers in grades K-16 as revealed by published, peer-reviewed research from 1988-95. Highlights include problems with media-comparison studies, computer-assisted instruction, computer simulations, microcomputer-based laboratories, interactive video,…

Asks theoretical questions about child development and how to define quality contexts for it in light of New Zealand's requirement that early childhood education meet quality criteria. Discusses principles that should underlie good programs, including a sociocultural theory of development and children's interactions with both teachers and peers.…

An annual national survey by the American Association of University Professors found an average faculty raise of only 3% in 1996-97, falling behind the inflation rate for the first time in four years. Data are displayed by academic rank, institution type (private, public, church-related), annual increases since 1986-87, in relation to cost of…

Challenges the current belief that post-secondary curricula is defined by faculty and institutions in response to demographic shifts. Maintains that a complex interweaving of social movements, class structures, political, and economic forces influences the adaptation and implementation of curricula. Criticizes the establishment and the recognition…

Investigates the influence of ethnic differences on women's body satisfaction. Summarizes a study where white and black female undergraduates received bogus positive and negative social feedback. The feedback resulted in corresponding changes in the white females' body satisfaction. Black women were unaffected by the feedback. (MJP)

Utilizes multiple regression analysis to examine the relative contributions of measures of musical aptitude, music experience, and gender in predicting grades in a music theory course for non-music majors. Results suggest that performance experience is the only statistically significant grade predictor for this group. (MJP)

Presents a longitudinal study of teacher talk that examines the use of affective particles in the language of the university-level elementary Japanese as a foreign language classroom. Results reveal that affective particles are used far less frequently in the classroom language analyzed than in ordinary conversation and that significant…

Attempts to analyze, through questionnaires and interviews with students, parents, and teachers, some of the factors contributing to differences between male and female student scoring on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The GCSE is a British comprehensive, national core curriculum examination. Discusses the reasons why…

Examined contemporaneous and predictive relations between parenting styles, adolescents' attributions, and educational outcomes. Found that adolescents who perceived their parents as nonauthoritative were more likely than peers to attribute achievement outcomes to external causes or low ability. The higher the proportion of dysfunctional…

Examined the universality and uniqueness of educational value orientations of American and Chinese physical education teachers. Surveys indicated that though there were some differences between cultures, both Chinese and American teachers valued discipline mastery and self-actualization value orientations. (SM)

Introduces a framework for high school retention efforts based on the findings from a study of 84 young Mexican American women who were first in their families to attend college. The framework provides the means for bridging educational gaps by supporting the strengths of these young people and by reducing barriers to educational achievement.…

Examines the friendship choices of Northern Ireland adolescents within a planned integrated school, a Protestant desegregated school, and a Catholic desegregated school. Reporting on over 300 middle- and high-school students revealed that in-group bias was the exception rather than the rule. All three schools exhibited similar characteristics.…

This study examined relationships between high school students' early sexual intercourse and selected risky and preventive behaviors as a function of race and gender. North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey data indicated that several health-risk behaviors significantly associated with early onset of sexual intercourse, with both racial and…

The impact of standards-based school reform practices on African American learners, especially those in special and remedial classes, is examined. A rationale is presented for standards-based reform that is culturally responsive and not premised on high-stakes, along with recommendations for school reform that focus on accountability while…

There is a "gaping separation" in academic achievement between minority group children and White children. Research shows that minority group children can achieve when the following issues are addressed: high expectations geared to clear standards, timely intervention for struggling students, excellent teachers with good ethnic…