An ethnographic study analyzed videotapes using simulated recall procedure and comparative analysis of a student opinionnaire to determine effective characteristics of teachers of gifted junior high schools students. Desirable traits noted were humor, enthusiasm, creativity, care and respect for students, and high expectations. (MSE)

Aided by a small state grant, a Los Angeles County elementary school serving limited-English-speaking students tackled its underachievement problem by involving teachers in setting higher academic standards and expectations. The goal-driven project has provided focus and coherence to classroom instruction and improved fifth-grade reading and…

Shows how a working class Chinese-American family prepares its only child for school success. This bilingual child of immigrants is successful academically and socially. The importance of high family expectations and the goal directedness of the parents is emphasized, as is the ambivalence the parents feel toward school. (SLD)

A study of beginning elementary teachers' mathematics instruction practices sought to identify the main factors influencing those practices. For all seven teachers studied, the perceived needs and expectations of students affected planning, interactive thinking, and lesson evaluation. (GLR)

Effects of mothers' need for approval on children's expectancies for success and persistence during failure were studied for 90 fifth graders attempting to solve 4 puzzles, 3 of which were unsolvable. Parental and situational variables affect children's achievement cognitions and behavior. Implications for parental socialization of achievement are…

Study investigated the effectiveness of four instructional strategies on secondary students' argumentative writing, noting how different essay qualities influenced holistic scoring. Researchers found no significant differences in instructional strategy effectiveness or use of holistic scoring. Students' prior knowledge affected their ability to…

The quality and quantity of science classroom interactions in relationship to gender were identified. The observational variables included level of question, type of response, method of attraction, target student gender, teacher gender, and class enrollments. The results suggest that female students have fewer interactions with science teachers…

Three Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) universities and the Pittsburgh school district collaborated in the preparation of urban secondary teachers. A study of exemplary teachers' characteristics regarding successful lessons indicated that these teachers planned thoroughly and were concerned about making lessons relevant but not influenced by social and…

A study applied the concept of market segmentation to student evaluation of college teaching, by assessing whether there exist several segments of students and how this relates to their evaluation of faculty. Subjects were 156 Australian undergraduate business administration students. Results suggest segments do exist, with different expectations…

Describes the history of education at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., the country's first African-American high school founded by ex-slaves in 1870. Argues that today the school emphasizes athletics over academics and that the source of decline has been holding students to lower standards. (JB)

Examines the low expectations of Native American students held by both Indian and non-Indian teachers and asserts that these attitudes of "internalized racism" must change. Reports on teacher education at tribal colleges and advocates preparing teachers to believe in students' dreams of achievement. (VWC)

Illustrates how applied semiotics can uncover common assumptions about particular teaching practices for students with disabilities, examining microtechniques that purport to fully integrate children with disabilities into regular education programs but that can empower or disempower them. Quality inclusion requires teachers to focus on social…

This article discusses the poor reading achievement of African-American children in urban schools and argues that prevention efforts must begin prior to kindergarten. Key variables influencing young children's performance, including poverty, general oral language skills, dialectal variations, home literacy practices, standardized testing bias, and…

The aim of this research article is to investigate how pupils from Black Caribbean backgrounds are helped to achieve high standards in British schools and to identify a number of significant common themes for success in raising the achievement. It draws evidence of good practice from 13 case study schools in the local education authority (LEA).…

Historical methodology and library techniques have been the basis for archival education, but arguments of placement of an archival program within the university and the desirable degree for professional archivists have led to inconsistencies in graduate school curricula. The author conducted a study to determine if graduate schools adequately…