Parents of nine preschoolers with Down's Syndrome participated in a training program focusing on phonological skills. Results of analysis of videotapes of parent-child interactions showed that measures of the children's phonological abilities were correlated with their parents' interactional communication skills. (Author/JDD)

Two studies on monitoring and assisting high-risk college students are compared. Individualized intervention was provided in the first study, whereas the second attempted a reduced form of the same intervention in a large-group course. Both emphasized student awareness of appropriate study behavior. Only the first study had positive results.…

Describes three precollege programs at the University of Virginia (i.e., the Research Assistantship, Introduction to Engineering, and Summer Transition programs), which facilitate the academic and social integration and increase the retention of at-risk students. Suggests that hands-on experience has helped students acquire the requisite academic…

Evaluated the Morro do Diabo State Park environmental education program using the Planning-Process-Product evaluation model. Formative evaluation provided educators with continuous feedback to improve activities. A study of 144 students from grades 5-8 who visited the park to develop environmental awareness demonstrated that the program was…

Development of an inexpensive but powerful computer program to teach clinical periodontal diagnosis using epidemiological principles is described. Using probabilistic thinking, the student is guided from application of raw research data to derivation of likelihood ratios and how they affect clinical decision making. Student response was found to…

Argues, on the basis of research carried out in Canada and Belgium, that not only does the formal learning of the ancestral language in school enhance the overall cognitive abilities of immigrant children but also constitutes the optimal means by which such children can gain literacy in the dominant language. (37 references) (MDM)

The Infant Health and Development Program was an eight-site randomized controlled trial of comprehensive early intervention for low birthweight, premature infants from birth to age three. Higher mental development and IQ were associated with high levels of intervention participation at 24 and 36 (but not 12) months. A dose-response relation…

Examined first-year results of the Success for All (SFA) program, designed to bring every student to grade level in reading by third grade. Found that SFA benefits were most significant at the kindergarten level; teachers were highly accepting of the program; and the program's strengths included cooperative learning, regrouping, tutoring, early…

Assessed life-skills knowledge levels among older foster adolescents in foster family homes, group homes/institutions, and apartments. Results suggest a need to improve life-skills preparation in group home/institutional settings, to target minority males for life-skills enhancement in all placement settings, and to utilize apartment placements to…

Outlines the social and practical problems faced by foster care graduates and discusses these issues in the light of recent research in England and Wales. Offers ideas on how these problems may be ameliorated in general and outlines the way the new British child care law has provided a framework for action by practitioners. (AA)

Describes a plan that identifies the extent of academic and related service needs of students. Using data on students from 50 elementary schools in Minneapolis (Minnesota), the authors show how their analytical technique helped identify schools with poor performance and what actions needed to be taken to improve them or to sustain efforts where…

Describes a longitudinal research project to introduce holistic-constructivistic pedagogy into bilingual special education classrooms. The authors report the process of teacher change as teachers shifted from a medical model to a contextual-performance model for viewing abilities and disabilities, the changes in students' attitudes toward reading…

This study examined the effectiveness of school-based drug education in affecting knowledge, attitudes, decision making, motivation, and self-esteem. Pre- and postintervention surveys of fourth through eighth graders indicated that self-esteem did not improve significantly. Knowledge and attitude scores improved significantly, with a positive…

Evaluation of a leisure skill instruction program with five high school age students with severe disabilities found generalization of trained skills in activities with nondisabled peers. Additionally, attitude scores of high school peers showed a significant improvement following four months of interaction with a disabled student. (DB)

Using 41 students (ages 6-10) with moderate mental retardation as subjects, 3 different forms of academic integration are compared: special classes using a functional curriculum, special classes using a traditional curriculum, and regular classes. After the first year, no significant intergroup differences appeared for measurements of cognitive…