Ongoing work toward developing a learning environment that will perform real-time diagnoses of students' difficulties in solving mathematical word problems is described. The learning environment designed consists of a microworld and expert modules. The microworld (or toolbox) is a collection of mouse-driven interfaces that facilitate a transition…

A continuing concern in a number of teaching fields is the shortage of fully qualified teachers. The decisions of fully qualified teachers to continue in their teaching assignments (retention), to transfer to another assignment (transfer), or to leave the profession for some other activity (exit attrition) are the major determinants of the degree…

This report deals with essential life skills for young adolescents. At present, there is a need to formally and systematically teach middle and junior high school students life skills for surviving, living with others, and succeeding in a complex society. An introductory section is followed by a discussion of early adolescent development and life…

Research on teaching does not play a significant role in the practice of teaching in schools despite the fact that the first scientific studies of teaching were reported nearly 90 years ago. Although there is clear evidence that practical classroom experience unaided by research is not a sufficient basis for effective teaching, it is also true…

Five of the project teams of the Educational Quality Indicators (EQI) initiative of Alberta (Canada) came together to provide their perspectives on the initiative and to report their progress in developing local indicator systems that have the involvement and support of their respective communities. The conceptual framework of the EQI initiative,…

The public relations studies section of the proceedings includes the following seven papers: "Ethical Inclinations of Public Relations Practitioners" (Cornelius B. Pratt); "Losing Control: An Examination of the Management Function in Public Relations" (Martha M. Lauzen); "Shifting the Public Relations Paradigm: A Theory of…

This technical report is part of a series on AIDS/HIV (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome/Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and is intended to help link various legal advocacy organizations providing services to persons with mental illness or developmental disabilities. This report discusses strategies to utilize existing disability models for…

The exploratory and secondary phases of the "Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) project to develop a set of international indicators based on comparable educational data is described in this report. Voluntary networks in 24 OECD member countries are developing a cohesive conceptual framework based on a review of…

A review of recent literature and commission reports identifies persistent problems in two areas of educational administration: research and preparation programs. The two problems are linked in that they are often supervised by faculty who direct but do not themselves perform research. Two areas of research needs are the poor research skills of…

To increase understanding of workplace literacy, a study investigated whether data from structured interviews conducted in two previous studies of job literacy and job performance relationships support the process model of literacy proposed by Linda Flower and John Hayes, "A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing." In both studies, this…

The sharp decline in the number of male undergraduates registering for public relations (PR) courses has created concern that public relations is becoming a "woman's field" and will experience a concomitant drop in salaries and prestige. Studies indicate that male undergraduates perceive PR as being not well respected, as offering little…

Useful models and ideas for multicultural and cross-cultural educators at all levels who want to use anthropological concepts and processes in the classroom are provided in eight papers. Papers describe six different projects which (1) involved high school students in the collection and analysis of data about local youth cultures; (2) engaged…

Dependency theory, often used to explain continued domination of Third World economics by Western powers, argues that the continued Western control of Third World news flow and even mass media content can be explained by looking at the structures that control mass media institutions. One of these structures, the journalism education system in…

The planning phase of the Hartford Effective Schools Initiative (HESI) is described and evaluated in this report. Data were gathered from interviews held with 21 teachers (7 from each of 3 elementary schools), paraprofessionals, building administrators, the project coordinator and building leader participating in the project, and 6…

The peer evaluation model of university teaching is composed of three domains of behavioral and cognitive skills which, in combination, represent the elements expected of professionally competent teachers. These domains are: (1) the conception of the professional role for which students are being prepared; (2) instructional design; and (3) the…