Presents six myths about black children that may contribute to their overrepresentation in special education. The myths include the following: (1) poor black students' parents don't care about education; (2) poor black students fail because they are unmotivated and uncooperative; (3) black students fail because they have had few literacy…

Describes a study of the background knowledge of students in respiratory physiology courses. Finds that instructors tended to both overestimate and underestimate students' knowledge by large margins on individual questions. (Author/WRM)

One of a series of articles on principles of good practice in legal education, this article focuses on the importance of communicating high expectations. Discusses transmitting expectations through relationships, motivating students to want to do more for themselves, countering racist and sexist expectations, and modeling high expectations. (DB)

A study examined literature on mathematics learning disabilities (LD) and identified specific behaviors of students with mathematics LD. Data are presented from observations of 391 special educators on 1,724 students with LD, 870 with math weaknesses. Difficulty with multi-step problems was the single most important behavior for predicting math…

To make group learning situations more equitable, teachers can create a mixed set of expectations for everyone. To carry out this intervention, teachers must choose an appropriately rich cooperative task and convince students that it involves many different intellectual abilities, no one has all of these abilities, and everyone will have some of…

Recommends that teachers using a personalized literature-based reading program send a letter to parents detailing the expectations and responsibilities the teachers have for their students and the role parents play in the reading lives of children. Suggests ideas to be included in such a letter. (SR)

Used ethnographic research on former Head Start children during their transition to school to examine how notions of their "risk" or "promise" as students were constructed through specific discourses and practices in kindergarten classrooms. Found many examples of positive interactions between students and teachers but also…

A study of 10 Cypriotturkish young people in British universities identified the factors they perceive as having had an impact on their achievement. Negative experiences in secondary and higher education included teachers' low expectations, racism, and lack of role models/mentors. Women were more aware of these issues than men were. (JOW)

A study used the "met-expectations" framework to examine effects of postgraduate work experience on tenure acquisition. Pretenure faculty with academic postdoctoral experience had better time management skills, were clearer about work priorities, experienced less work stress than inexperienced faculty. Early work stress was associated with lower…

This qualitative exploratory study investigated what teachers and second graders learned when student questions were the nucleus of literature discussions. Data showed that students were eager to pose questions that addressed what they needed and wanted to understand about literature and life and that teachers have a tendency to impose their own…

This article discusses risk factors that influence the development of educational problems in children and protective factors that foster resilience. It reviews three aspects of risk and protective factors: early in-child signs, families, and schools. The effect of instructional programs, curriculum, and teachers' perceptions and expectations are…

Assesses the temporal stability and convergent validity of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC). Teachers and parents rated kindergarten and first-grade students using BASC. Teachers were more stable in rating children's externalizing behaviors and attention problems. Discusses results in terms of the accuracy of information…

Analyzes survey data on young adults from 1967 (n=297) and 1994 (n=345) to examine relationship between attitudes about: (1) social relationships and marriage expectations; (2) stability and change over time in marital expectations; and (3) changes in institutionalized notions of marriage. Change and stability occurred in marriage expectations,…

Describes a first-year teacher's experience teaching unruly seventh graders and how she has learned, to a degree, to smile and to be patient, and find consolation in those students who have written to her to express how much she has helped them through her teaching and counseling. (TB)

Reviews research related to the psychodynamics of induced and natural expectations, how these expectations are communicated, and their relationship to students' self-concepts and subsequent achievement. Develops a set of questions that school personnel can use for reflection and self-evaluation. (JPS)