Recounts observations of a child's interactions with Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, noting that she exhibited "passionate attention" toward the characters by becoming involved with them and discussing them often. Shows that the child's comments grew from observations to criticism over time, and her passionate attention to Ramona expanded…

Presents brief stories of two students that illustrate how children's symbolic interactions and social relationships (how they interact with materials and people) influence their ways of gaining control over the interrelated parts of written language, and how these "casts of mind" may eventually emerge more fully within their stories.…

Reports on performance aspects of educators' person-environment congruence as defined by Holland's occupational classification system. Concludes that the majority were of the Social, Conventional, or Enterprising types and oriented toward non-classroom use of computer literacy developed in the course. (RT)

Contains seven papers divided into three sections addressing: (1) the application of marketing principles to child care organizations and ways of remedying the negative public image of child care; (2) training child care professionals to develop marketing skills; and (3) successful uses of five basic marketing skills illustrated through four case…

This report is intended as an introductory guide for those new to the environmental education field and the larger educational benefits it has to offer. The first part of the report includes ten accounts of programs and schools that have met with success by incorporating environmental education into their educational programming. For readers whose…

This study examines five case studies of proposed school consolidations. None of the five proposed consolidations were voted by their constituents into reality. This report also examines the curricular impact that these variables have upon the secondary course offerings available as well as the lessons learned from 11 Committee of Ten members.…

In the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling upholding school choice, policymakers across the country are grappling with the challenge of funding and regulating private schools. Towns, cities, and states are experimenting with a variety of policies, including vouchers, tax credits, and charter schools. Meanwhile, public officials and…

The volume is organized around three aspects of professional development for international teaching assistants: Part 1: Grounding Practice in Research and Researching Practice; Part 2: Beginnings, Challenges, and Growth; and Part 3: Collaborative Practices and Partnerships Across Disciplines. Change, progress, and commitment are themes that are…

This report examines the ways that credit-based transition programs (CBTPs) may help middle- and low-achieving students enter and succeed in college. It highlights promising practices used by CBTPs to help students who might have been considered noncollege-bound prepare for college credit course work. The report also discusses the challenges that…

The nation's 50 flagship universities serve disproportionately fewer low-income and minority students than in the past, according to this fifth report in the Education Trust's series on college results. Students in the entering and graduating classes at these schools look less and less like the state populations those universities were created to…

This book begins by tracing the history of curriculum development and the subjugation of rural school districts to curriculum decisions made from afar and tailored to urban needs. Local and teacher interpretation of the formal curriculum gave rise to the enacted curriculum, or that which was actually taught in classrooms. But for rural schools,…

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) took groups of national policymakers to visit effective and innovative high schools and to meet with reform-minded leaders as a way to become familiar with the challenges and possibilities of high school redesign. This report summarizes the best practices and policies that were successful in the transformed…

A study investigated industry and employment characteristics and outcomes of module enrollees and completers in vocational education and training (VET) in Australia. VET enrollment data showed module students were older than course enrollment students, more likely to be female, and to have completed Year 12. While VET module students and…

The role of nurses within multiagency rehabilitation teams was examined in a 2-year research project that included 3 case studies of a total of 49 clients of rehabilitation programs in the United Kingdom. Data were gathered through the following activities: observation of and interviews with clients, nurses, and other members of the…

The effectiveness of World Wide Web-based flexible learning practices in Australia was examined. Online vocational education and training (VET) offerings were reviewed, and two Web-based VET modules were examined in case studies that involved observations and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students. According to the survey,…