This study of the knowledge bases of education began with a "meta-review" of the research literature in special and regular education and identification of specific learning variables. The effort focused on determining the extent that special and regular educators work from common bases of knowledge and the degree of appropriate merging during…

This checklist is intended to be used as a rating instrument to assist in the design and description of classroom learning environments that provide for student diversity, including the mainstreaming of students with disabilities. Specific purposes of the checklist are to provide a framework for describing the organizational characteristics of…

The purpose of this book is to help designers and teachers think about the quality of outside school environments as learning places. The first chapter defines the players' roles as: (1) the designer, a maker of school form; (2) the teacher, the maintainer of the environment; and (3) the child, who is a major force in the use of the space. These…

Researchers have found it difficult to measure various forms of indirect aggression, such as exclusion from groups, because such behaviors are difficult to observe in field settings such as school playgrounds. This study examined gender and developmental differences in aggression, investigated across-gender aggression, and looked at teachers'…

This paper reviews the literature on violence and crime in schools and on prevention strategies and programs. A section on demographics examines incidence of crime and victimization in school, age of students involved, and types of violent behaviors. Underlying causes and conditions include family breakdown, substance abuse, poverty, and fear.…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is an ongoing project of the National Center for Education Statistics. The NHES uses random digit dial sampling and computer-assisted telephone interviewing to conduct studies on important education issues. This disc contains six NHES components. These are: (1) the 1991 Adult Education Survey, which…

This study examined the influence of background characteristics, disciplinary differences, institutional context, academic library experiences, and the perceptions of the college environment on the estimated gains of critical thinking skills in undergraduate students (N=9,361). The study used data from a national, cross-sectional survey completed…

Educators and parents have begun to focus on the environment in which education takes place as well as on the nature of the education that children receive. Children learn most effectively when they feel safe and secure, and when they are free from fear. Behaviors such as bullying and sexual harassment that in the past were assumed to be part of…

The appreciative inquiry process was used to identify conditions enhancing self-directed learning. Participants in the project did the following: (1) used the five-step process to identify factors/conditions/forces that seemed to cause self-directed learning to occur; (2) created a matrix by combining the factors/conditions/forces with six…

This study explored factors contributing to the educational aspirations of African American students. An underlying assumption of the study was that the paradigm for looking at aspirations as a key predictor of later attainment in college students may work differently for black students than for the general population. The study involved data…

"This paper addresses the need to open opportunities in educational research so that more minority researchers can contribute their personal experiences and acquired expertise to the development of excellent, equitable, and effective school programs and practices for all children. It captures the perspectives of a young minority (African…

This ERIC digest discusses meeting the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered school youth, i.e., supporting their ability to learn while maintaining an environment for them that is free from physical and psychological abuse. It describes the various policy initiatives protecting the rights of lesbian and gay students and indicates…

This paper presents a sensitizing conceptual scheme for examining interpersonal adaptation in urban classrooms. The construct "interpersonal adaptation" is conceptualized as the interaction of individual/personality factors, interpersonal factors, and social/cultural factors. The model is applied to the urban school. The conceptual…

The Urban Education staff at Research for Better Schools (RBS), Inc., has developed a conceptual framework to address the complex issues that must be dealt with in urban school-restructuring efforts. This overview of the Urban Learner Framework (ULF) describes its two major features: four research-based themes that are the foundation for a new…

The Urban Education Project developed by Research for Better Schools, Inc., has focused on meeting the needs of urban students in a changing and demanding society. In the second contract year of a 5-year contract, the project developed the Urban Education Restructuring Framework by categorizing relevant literature and school-oriented experiences…