Differences in use of problem-solving strategies for environmental issues were studied for 17 experts on the environment, in contrast with novice groups of 53 academics and 15 graduating college students. The significantly higher scores of environmental experts imply that the skills to solve multidisciplinary issues are domain specific. (SLD)

A job analysis was conducted for the basic skills considered important for all entry-level teachers regardless of subject area or level taught. A national sample of 6,120 practicing teachers reviewed judgments of experts and concurred in acknowledging 84% of the basic skills that experts identified as important. (SLD)

A survey of 204 secondary students with deafness or hearing impairment suggested that adolescents had a general idea about what human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are and the potential impact of the disease. However, they demonstrated gaps in knowledge of how the disease is transmitted and prevented…

Evidence from 5 experiments with over 150 newborns suggests that infants are born with some information about the structure of faces. This information, termed CONSPEC, is contrasted with CONLERN, a device for learning visual characteristics of conspecifics. Distinction between these mechanisms allows for reconciling conflicting data about face…

A theoretical model is proposed for confidence in knowledge based on the assumption that people are good judges of the reliability of their knowledge, provided that the knowledge is representatively sampled from a specified reference class as defined by E. Brunswik (1943). Experiments with 177 college students support the theory. (SLD)

Knowledge of, compliance with, and attitudes toward mandatory child abuse reporting were studied for 216 elementary and secondary school teachers in British Columbia (Canada). Teachers were aware of the law's existence but not its particulars. The tendency to report abuse varied as a function of the type of maltreatment. (SLD)

A constructionist theory is described that accounts for the knowledge-based inferences that are constructed when readers comprehend narrative text. Distinctive assumptions of the constructionist theory embrace a principle of search (or effort) after meaning. Literature in support of the theory is reviewed. (SLD)

Findings from 337 school counselors revealed 11 percent rated themselves as very competent in helping students with eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia nervosa), 49 percent considered themselves moderately competent, 40 percent believed they were not very competent; 75 percent did not believe it was their role to treat students with eating…

In a study of 6 to 14 year olds' knowledge of illness, younger children used concepts not related to illness when sorting illness-related stimuli. They also used concepts related to behavior, rather than symptoms, when performing tasks involving recognition of illness and causes of illness. Older children believed that symptoms signaled disease.…

Interviews with 21 high-functioning adults with autism and 20 mildly to moderately mentally retarded adults without autism indicated that the mentally retarded group had more sexual experiences, with no intergroup differences in sexual knowledge or interest. Intelligence quotient was positively correlated with knowledge scores and males had…

Beginning educational researchers are advised to do the following: (1) choose a research focus with reference to events in the real world of education; (2) augment research with products and services to bring about improvements in educational practice; and (3) find an honest critic to review research work. (SLD)

Article examines interpretive inquiry, which views research as a practical, moral activity similar to other inquiry. It discusses interpretive inquiry goals and procedures, how to do interpretive inquiry, and how to distinguish good from bad research. (SM)

Ninety-two high school students were administered a questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs concerning Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Gifted students had better AIDS-related knowledge than average students. Girls had slightly more positive AIDS-related attitudes and beliefs than boys. (Author/JDD)

This study examined the attitudes and knowledge level of 105 special educators about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Five factors (integration/segregation, knowledge, willingness to educate, testing, privacy) were identified. Results indicated that teachers were knowledgeable and were willing to…

Discusses children's use of metaphors to create meaning, using as an example the pragmatic and "scientific" ways in which preschool children explain thunder and lightning to themselves. Argues that children are being shortchanged by modern scientific notions of abstractness and that they should be encouraged to create their own explanations of…