This paper provides an overview of the effects of otitis media on the learning and behavior of children and youth. It begins by describing the conductive hearing loss that is caused by otitis media and the classroom behavior that can result, including poor concentration and attention, disobedience, irritability, and poor social skills. Discussed…

Research show that one in five U.S. schools has indoor air quality (IAQ) problems; 36 percent have inadequate heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; and there appears to be a correlation between IAQs and the proportion of a school's students coming from low-income households. This report examines the IAQ issue in U.S. public…

Leadership may come from many different sources in a school. This paper examines the relative effects of leadership provided by principals, teachers, and those in other roles. A study based on surveys of 2,727 teachers and 9,025 students in 110 elementary and secondary schools (Ontario, Canada) analyzed the effects of "total leadership," including…

This statement discusses the impact of Head Start on children and their families and the adequacy of Health and Human Services' (HHS) current research plans to provide additional information on Head Start's impact. The statement describes the background of the Head Start program, summarizes the results of a 1997 review of research on Head Start's…

This paper considers the question "What are good child outcomes?" from the perspectives of developmental psychology, economics, and sociology. Section 1 of the paper examines good child outcomes as characteristics of stage-salient tasks of development. Section 2 emphasizes the acquisition of "human capital," the development of productive traits…

This paper argues that teaching writing effectively to diverse students of non-English backgrounds will require an examination of existing views about the nature of writing and a critical evaluation of the profession's ability to work with bilingual individuals of different types. Part 1 of the paper suggests that existing compartmentalization…

Focusing on procedures and strategies suitable for teaching writing to students in grades 4, 6, and 8, this paper examines the factors that have been shown through research to influence effective writing. The paper divides the research examined into the categories of metacognition; socially-based writing strategies; theory-tested approaches to…

A speech by Chancellor Donna E. Shalala of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is presented; it calls for a broadening university commitment to societal issues and for the university to engage in basic research on social policy issues in a fashion similar to the fundamental science and technology research currently undertaken. The lecture…

This paper reviews results of a questionnaire distributed to literacy workers in rural Alberta (Canada) to ascertain their views on rural literacy. The questionnaire was designed to identify: (1) distinctive features of the issue of adult illiteracy in rural areas; (2) the strengths of literacy efforts in rural Alberta; (3) the weaknesses of…

This report describes effective approaches for enhancing maternal, infant, and family outcomes based on the scientific and systematic assessment of the content of prenatal care conducted by the Public Health Service's Expert Panel on the Content of Prenatal Care. The range of risks, both medical and psychosocial, that the prenatal care provider…

This paper reviews research literature and research projects of the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Education and Human Development, on the topics of the utility of dynamic assessment for predicting learning ability, its utility for generating educationally relevant prescriptions, and factors associated with the implementation of dynamic…

Urban community colleges can be distinguished from other community colleges in terms of their settings, clientele, richness and diversity of staff resources, and importance to the segments of the population who cluster in major national centers of commerce and government. In light of their unique characteristics, these institutions require study…

A review of the literature indicates that while organizational climate has received much attention in the field of organizational communication, it has been studied largely as a worker's perception of his or her work environment as assessed by self-report measures. Reliance upon those perceptual measures has created controversy as to whether (1)…

This yearbook contains papers, written by prominent educators, on the use of research in teaching. Also examined are the questions of how the education profession obtains its knowledge, how that knowledge is translated into practice, and how that practice becomes artistic. Chapters are written on: (1) use of research by various professions; (2)…

Magnetic Information Technology (MINT), which involves use of magnetic techniques and materials to store information, is a critical growth industry in the United States. However, experts from both industry and academe forecast the inability of the United States to meet demand in this area. According to these experts, growth of magnetic information…