This study sought to demonstrate that Michigan middle-grades schools can become more effective learning environments for young adolescents. A total of 224 Michigan schools participated in a teacher and administrator survey, 101 of which also conducted student surveys, reaching over 45,600 students in the fifth to ninth grades. Part 1, "Early…

A qualitative study was conducted to determine the perceptions of preservice teachers on how computers will be used in schools in the future. Undergraduate students (n=40) were given a 60-minute multimedia presentation on how computer and multimedia technologies are used in schools, followed by group discussions on the ways in which computers will…

An ethnographic study of three public elementary school classrooms explored how teachers organized time and space and through this organization attempted to construct classroom power relationships. The study involved intensive observation of classroom interactions in two fifth-grade classes and one first-grade classroom and close analysis of…

This handbook focuses on five long-standing correlates for effective schools postulated by the late Ron Edmonds. Edmonds searched long and hard for those variables that were present in successful inner-city schools populated primarily by African American children. His work demonstrated that it is possible to educate so-called hard-to-reach…

In an effort to understand the schooling process, a longitudinal study was conducted of children enrolled in three elementary schools. Children entering first grade in a middle class white school, an integrated lower class school, and an all-black lower class school were followed to the end of third grade. This final report of the study presents…

Interviews conducted in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District sought answers for improving educational quality in the district, which has the highest dropout rate, the lowest holding power, and the lowest standardized test scores in Kentucky. Members of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development interviewed 155 people from 15 of…

One of a series of bibliographies on selected topics, this annotated bibliography includes 116 citations on the educational and occupational aspirations and expectations of rural youth. Citations are derived from the ERIC monthly publications "Resources in Education" (RIE) and "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE).…

This paper examines: (1) the use of questions by children at different levels of proficiency in Spanish and English, and (2) the congruency between the language constructs used to measure language proficiency and the natural language repertoire of children as seen in video-tapes of classroom interaction. A quantitative analysis of the data…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)-State Vocational Education Consortium's commitment to higher standards for and greater achievement of vocational students has brought substantial gains in student performance. SREB's High Schools That Work (HSTW), a school improvement initiative, documents achievement gains by vocational students. Data…

Evaluates two British ethnographic studies by Bruce Carrington and Edward Wood, and by Cecile Y. Wright claiming to find evidence of teachers' racist attitudes and behaviors toward Afro-Caribbean students that contributed to student underachievement. Delineates methodological flaws. Argues that Wright's findings that the source of racism is in…

The mass media teach whether or not mediamakers intend to or realize it, and users learn from the media whether or not they try or are even aware of it. This means all of the media, including newspapers, magazines, movies, television, radio, and the new cyberspace media serve as informal yet omnipresent nonschool textbooks. This raises an…

In this article, the author, the Principal of Saint Philip Neri School in Omaha, Nebraska, for 14 years, describes the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of being a principal. She notes that the "good" includes: (1) longevity--having been on the job for 14 years, she has been able to see many of the kids grow and mature; (2) a…

The passage from childhood to adulthood is a passage for families as well as individuals. As young people with disabilities move from their teen to adult years, they and their families experience many growing pains in common with all families at that stage of life. In addition, there are often milestones, questions, concerns, needs, and challenges…

For African Americans, school is often not a place to learn but a place of low expectations and failure. In urban schools with concentrations of poverty, often fewer than half the ninth graders leave with a high school diploma. In this book, Black and White teachers provide an insightful approach to inclusive and equitable teaching and illustrate…

The students who have the most difficulty reaching accountability standards in Wake County Public Schools are those with more than one of the following characteristics: recipients of free or reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and/or students with limited English proficiency. The Evaluation and Research Department identified…