A research study of the implementation of "good ideas" in 14 schools came to the conclusion that differences in school organization and climate cause differences in the success of school improvement. Specific aspects of organization and climate in these schools, called factors of school context, are the following: resources, incentives,…

Students from different ethnic backgrounds respond differently to a mutually experienced school environment. In this study, 804 students in five multiethnic urban middle schools in New York State were surveyed using the Elementary and Secondary Environment Index, a companion to the Organizational Climate Index. Each school's population was broken…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) prekindergarten screening and first grade reading achievement; (2) the influence of the instructional environment on children's acquisition of reading; (3)…

This study's objectives are to describe South Africa's apartheid education policy in Namibia, to identify imbalances in educational opportunities and the impact of apartheid education on the African population, and to provide information for future educational policy formulation. Based on historical and present data--both official and…

The issue of equal access to and use of computers by boys and girls is reviewed and evaluated from the perspective of social studies content, skills, and goals. Material is arranged in four sections, each introduced by a topic question. The first section discusses the problem of sex equity in computer education. Results of four research studies…

Experiences in using positive reinforcement while teaching on an Indian reservation are presented for teachers and administrators. Several "positive reinforcers," intended to prevent potential discipline problems from occurring, are described, including student involvement in deciding on classroom rules, election of classroom officers, class…

Following a brief preface, chapter 1 of this study discusses the federal government's expanding role over the last half century, including changing federal and state responsibilities in education. While chapter 2 describes the study's conceptual framework, its methodology, the criteria used for selecting eight states for analysis, and the major…

Child abuse and neglect among American Indians is a political as well as a clinical problem, as the victims belong to one cultural group and health professionls who detect maltreatment generally belong to another. Reluctance to diagnose and report child abuse, although universal, is probably more significant in Indian communities for several…

In addition to providing initial exposure to Native American culture, this junior high school curriculum unit is intended to help students improve their composition and thinking skills. The students' cognitive task is to recognize that groups are composed of individuals and that individual group members are different from their groups in the same…

Suggestions are made in this book for making significant improvements in the schools. Based on "A Study of Schooling," an extensive on-the-scene investigation of classrooms across the country, the suggestions for significant improvement begin with the premise that the schools must be redesigned piece by piece. All aspects of schooling…

The nine articles are divided into three general topics: language, cognition, and social development. Eduardo Hernandez-Chavez discusses strategies in early second language acquisition and their implications for bilingual instruction. Eugene E. Garcia, Lento Maez, and Gustavo Gonzales examine the incidence of language switching in Spanish/English…

Research from sociology, science education, mathematics education, and psychology, as well as data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicate some of the causes of and potential solutions for sex inequities in science education. NAEP has indicated that 13- and 17-year-old girls have strong negative attitudes toward…

This document reviews the following books on urban and minority education: (1) "Communicating Racism: Ethnic Prejudice in Thought and Talk" (Teun A. van Dijk), which discusses the ways that prejudice and negative stereotypes are conveyed in discourse and then socially reproduced in everyday thought, talk, and action; (2) "American Business and the…

This paper outlines the types of schooling programs that will build on the strengths of educationally disadvantaged students to bring them into the educational mainstream as well as to prepare them for economic, political, and social participation. Without intervention on behalf of the disadvantaged, the following results may occur: (1) a dual…

This teacher's guide was developed to help teachers (especially in Oklahoma) promote safe practices on the job. As a supplement to existing programs in the requirements for job safety, this book can also promote same basic safety attitudes and help support basic safety concepts, with an emphasis on accident prevention. The guide contains eight…