Summarizes a Canadian study that attempted to determine how a diverse group of high school students identified and understood events of historical significance. The students' responses ranged from generally objective and analytical to wildly subjective. Includes a recommended exercise for establishing students approaches to and definitions of…

Reviews recent research on sociocultural approaches to historical understanding and concludes that students' judgment of historical significance is substantially shaped by the social and cultural characteristics of the learner. Recounts several episodes revealing how minority and mainstream students differ in their trust of the authority of the…

Describes a means for determining student knowledge in science. Written in student-level language, WALLS contains statements about science knowledge within bricks on a worksheet. Students shade in bricks they know or activities they have done and part-shade any they are unsure about, giving a differentiated starting point that allows them to plan…

Reviews a survey of graduating high school seniors concerning their knowledge of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency. The results revealed that very few students had even the most rudimentary understanding of Roosevelt's accomplishments or positions. Argues that history instruction should emphasize a thorough understanding of the subject. (MJP)

Criticizes K-12 civics and government education for focusing on the various components of government and creating a sanitized vision of how democracy works. Argues that conflict and compromise are parts of the democratic process rather than aberrations. Recommends a shift in focus on both the secondary and postsecondary levels. (MJP)

A survey of 1991 and 1994 graduating medical school students at medical schools (N=175) in Colorado, New Mexico and South Dakota found that differences in prevalence of AIDS/HIV cases in those states did not affect schools' training programs but indirectly affected students' knowledge and attitudes, which were related to the numbers of…

Utilizes multiple regression analysis to examine the relative contributions of measures of musical aptitude, music experience, and gender in predicting grades in a music theory course for non-music majors. Results suggest that performance experience is the only statistically significant grade predictor for this group. (MJP)

Uses test questions from the Basic Economics Test (BET) to reveal that elementary students are capable of understanding economics concepts. Maintains that neither ethnic background nor parental income makes a difference in economic learning. The most statistically significant determinant of improved scores was the extent to which a concept was…

A four-year intervention targeted students' fruit and vegetable consumption in 12 Archdiocese of New Orleans (Louisiana) high schools. Focus groups shaped program development. Intervention included schoolwide media marketing, food identification, workshops and activities, and parental involvement. Process, outcome, and impact measurements…

Recommends the inclusion of a master's thesis in industrial and organizational psychology programs. Argues that the thesis serves several critical educational purposes and is relevant to applied psychology. Offers suggestions for increasing the relationship between the educational requirement and the professional tasks. (MJP)

Underscores the importance of history and geography as the content base for K-12 citizenship education. Points out that changing global economic relationships demand adequate geography knowledge levels. Argues that uninspired teaching, rather than time shortages, have produced insufficient content knowledge and performance. Urges social studies…

Examined elementary and junior high school students in grades 2, 5, and 7 to determine baseline data about student performance on mental computation. Reports performance levels, difficulties of different types of mental computation, and preferences for doing computations mentally, with calculators, or by hand for each grade level. (MDH)

The implementation of a parent training session with 15 culturally diverse parents in Hawaii preceding a parent-professional conference on transition planning for high school students with disabilities resulted in increased knowledge about transition by participating parents but no significant differences in transition meeting participation…

Five boys and five girls each in grades one through six (n=60 students) asked controversial questions in interviews, recognized the lack of social consensus on the controversial topics and made subtle distinctions between controversial and noncontroversial topics. Implications for discussion of controversial issues in the classroom are discussed.…

Argues that public schools often ignore the strategic and cultural resources, termed funds of knowledge, that Mexican-American households contain. These funds are a key to understanding the cultural systems of Mexican-American children and can be useful assets in the classroom. (SLD)