Evaluation as a discipline requires knowledge based on: empirical evidence; public verification; and usefulness in various settings and contexts. Activities which aid in accumulating this knowledge include: compliance with federal requirements; critiques and secondary data analyses; impact and use studies; comparative field studies; and…

Reviews definitions of the social studies presented by Robert D. Barr, James L. Barth, and S. Samuels Shermis in "Defining the Social Studies" (1977). Suggests that the social studies should derive its content and teaching methodologies from the social science disciplines. Journal availability: see SO 507 149. (Author/DB)

Providing more information about experimental studies than required under the ethical principles formulated by the American Psychological Association can result in data bias on a specific task; overall, however, the implementation of ethical principles has little effect on data collected in classroom settings. (RL)

Suggests that declines in newspaper penetration, lessened competition, or shifts toward getting news from television weakens people's understanding about partisan candidates. (RL)

Examines common assumptions concerning the interrelationship between power and knowledge, and considers four ways that the power/knowledge argument can go awry: power as the cause of social inequity, categorization as discrimination, reason as repression, and the system as responsible. The paper encourages greater thoughtfulness in talking about…

Surveyed 400 faculty members at a southeastern university to measure their knowledge of disability laws and of recent court decisions that affect higher education. Results indicate that most faculty members were only marginally aware of their rights and of the legal rights of students with disabilities to reasonable modifications of institutional…

Psychological and biological reasoning are intertwined yet differentiated in preschoolers' understandings of bodily processes and events. Three studies suggest that preschoolers distinguish biological phenomena from psychological ones in their causal reasoning, although their reasoning about biological phenomena is sometimes influenced by…

Examined fourth graders' tobacco attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge and investigated the validity and reliability of the survey instrument. Results indicated a positive relationship between attitude and behavior, and gender differences were significant. High numbers of students had already tried tobacco. The survey instrument was comprehensive…

Collected data on the drinking behavior of 415 pregnant adolescents over a five-year period to examine relationships between knowledge and attitudes about drinking and drinking behavior. Results indicate that knowledge about drinking was related to a decrease in drinking among drinkers during pregnancy. Other results are reported. (RJM)

It is argued that students who appear to ignore common sense and real-world knowledge in their approach to mathematics word problems in school are often behaving sensibly given the situation. The improvement of mathematics word problems for teaching will require changes in teacher beliefs and the use of modelling as an activity of organizing. (SLD)

Explored the relationships among acculturation, distrust of Whites, and AIDS knowledge for 171 African American adults. Results suggest that African American knowledge of AIDS transmission may be affected by distrust of Whites, with those who know the least about AIDS being the most distrustful. Implications for AIDS education are discussed. (SLD)

This paper reviews the literature on grammatical knowledge in language comprehension in the preschool years from the perspective of sensitivity to structural contrasts. Studies of both direct and indirect evidence of sensitivity to structural contrasts were evaluated and showed that there may be a developmental sequence of increasing sensitivity…

A study of 419 applicants to the University of Virginia's medical school compared preinterview and postinterview applicant ratings on six objective scales. Analysis found only ratings of commitment to serve others not significantly changed by the interview. Rating of familiarity with medical issues changed the most, and overall impression improved…

Agriculture/natural resources majors (n=36) and communication arts and sciences majors (n=20) were all reasonably knowledgeable about Michigan geography, but less so about the United States and the world. Although ag students were more knowledgeable, both groups displayed gaps in knowledge of international agriculture issues. (SK)

This article details the qualitative results of focus groups with adults who are visually impaired and received assistive technology (AT) training (n=55) and with AT trainers (n=48). Participants described the state of AT training at the beginning of the 21st century from their perspectives as students and teachers. (Contains 4 references.)…