This report summarizes a project in which a number of new approaches were taken to improve learning in undergraduate basic music instruction for music majors. The basic viewpoint proposed was that music activities can be seen as skilled problem solving in the areas of aural analysis, visual analysis, and understanding of compositional processes.…

An outline is provided for a national educational assessment and improvement plan as suggested by the National Education Goals of 1990. The following implicit assumptions underlie National Education Objective 5.5: (1) abilities to think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems can be defined and the definitions can be agreed upon as…

This paper makes a case for the development of several indirect indicators of national progress in reaching the collegiate attainment objective of the National Education Goals of 1990. These indicators would be developed concurrently with a proposed performance-based assessment to be administered to a national sample of graduating college seniors.…

College-level assessment efforts in New Jersey are described. For more than a dozen years, students in public colleges and universities in New Jersey have been assessed using a common statewide instrument, the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. This test assesses reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering college students as…

The role and influence of mandated testing in educational reform are reviewed. Mandated testing refers to large-scale (districtwide or statewide) multiple-choice testing programs used for policy purposes of evaluation and accountability, which includes nationally normed standardized achievement tests and tests custom-developed to reflect state and…

For the Webster Avenue Family Resource Center (WAFRC) in Rochester (New York), growth and diversity marked 1989, with a total of 615 persons (up from 512 in 1988) from 273 families participating in over 12,000 hours of service. There was a related growth in space and staff. Diversity was enhanced through the following means: (1) development and…

This study was conducted to determine the degree to which a randomly selected sample of teachers in Mississippi and Louisiana (N=291) experience various types of work-related problems. It provides an opportunity to either confirm or deny the findings of previous studies, many of them limited by various methodological problems. Data were collected…

This book offers practical assistance and guidance in exploring how to discipline children in the classroom and in a whole-school setting in a way that is effective and that respects their dignity. Chapter 1 explores misbehavior, covering the basic needs that motivate behavior (capable/successful, caring/belonging, power/control,…

This learning activity package is designed to help apprentices understand some of the different ways in which words can be used to mean different things, depending on where and when one uses the words. It provides examples of words and phrases that are used in the workplace in ways different from the way they are used in regular conversation. Five…

Conditions that foster and hinder participatory research are examined, using examples from one such research project aimed at dropout reduction undertaken with students in a "last chance" high school. The 13 student researchers sometimes used racial, gender, and social class differences to gain power and display undemocratic behavior within the…

This booklet describes the issues and findings of a series of symposia on Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and in the United States. From 1988 to 1992, six symposia were held, three in the United States and three in Puerto Rico, on topics such as migration, culture and language, community characteristics, strengthening relations between the two…

Materials intended for use by adult members of low income families are provided for various topics related to low income family resource management. Types of materials included are check lists, questionnaires, planning charts, budgeting forms, informational handouts, and sample forms. These topics are covered: (1) goals, money values, budget…

This document presents a set of child safety curriculum guidelines intended to help prevent child victimization and to promote safer living and learning environments for children and adolescents across America. These guidelines were developed to help educators, law enforcement personnel, and members of other youth-serving agencies teach children…

In fall 1992, a study was conducted at Sinclair Community College (SCC) in Dayton, Ohio, to determine factors contributing to former students' decisions not to return to the college. Two groups of former students were included the study: those who had last attended in fall 1990 and had thus been absent for 6 quarters, and those who had last…

A set of concerns related to home education that is infrequently studied, namely, the content and direction of research in education, is examined. Issues surrounding home education have not been given adequate attention. A sample of home education researchers was gathered by compiling a list of authors who had published in the "Home School…