This paper explores influences of economic factors on sociocultural aspects of traditional, industrial, and "transitional" societies, with India an example of a transitional society. Links between socioeconomic contexts, child-rearing goals and practices, and early intervention programs are considered. Child-rearing goals and practices…

Examines the past and projects the future path of instructional design (ID). Discusses teacher cognition; common elements in instructional activities and teachers and designers; ID models and teacher planning; instructional design perspectives; and the need to bridge the gap between instructional design theory and the practice of teaching.…

Overview of research training systems leading to doctoral degrees in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden emphasizes the structure of postgraduate education, administration and funding, number of students, time to degree, completion rates, labor market, and study abroad. Comparisons to U.S., British, German, and French systems suggests a trend…

A survey of 292 rural Oklahoma teachers and administrators examined the implementation and impact of reforms mandated by the Oklahoma Education Reform Act (1990): actual changes in their school district and in rural districts statewide; personal and professional impact of the reforms; which reforms were having the most impact; impact on daily…

Addresses the mismatch between educational research methodologies and its application to generic features of practice and proposes a problem-based methodology that better links research with problem solving. Implications of this methodology are discussed from recent research on school tracking. (GR)

Discusses problems that educators face in attempting to emphasize high-level cognitive skills in their curriculum. Identifies four elements of informal learning that guide the creation of these skills, through a comparison of the characteristics of formal and informal learning environments. Notes benefits for development of students' conceptual…

Teachers at Fort Wayne (Indiana) Community School are groundbreakers in "looping," a practice involving multiyear teaching assignments and no historical antecedent. Experienced loopers participating in an evaluation study reported that looping was great for students (especially at-risk kids) and hard on teachers; fostered a family…

Staying in the distance learning business requires keeping the faculty who teach the courses satisfied. There are three keys for recruiting and retaining expert faculty in distance learning programs: reassurance, respect, and reward. Each of these is discussed in detail. (AEF)

A study involving seven early childhood and special education teachers found they tended to use the naturalistic intervention strategy, embedding, in a limited capacity. They embedded objectives by asking questions and providing verbal models and used embedding most when they were one-on-one and engaged in language programming and pre-academic…

Discusses findings of the U.S. Congress' Web-Based Education Commission that examined how the Internet is being used to enhance learning opportunities for students. Addresses each of the seven areas in which the Commission suggested there is a strong need for action: broadband access; professional development; research and development; quality of…

Provides comments and ways to address some issues that affect new faculty in undergraduate psychology departments who have doctorates in license-eligible applied specialties. Suggests that issues of licensure requirements, and how they may be met, must be included in the hiring negotiations of new faculty members. (CMK)

Describes different types of assessment and addresses both short- and long-term learning targets in music education. Provides suggestions for measurement and evaluating students' musical performances. Considers the purpose of assessment in music education. Includes a glossary of assessment terms, guidelines, and resources. (CMK)

A review of the literature on multiple intelligences is presented, the different types of intelligences are described, and the impact of the theory on identification, instruction, and evaluation is examined. The benefits as well as cautions in the use of the multiple intelligences approach with gifted students are also discussed. (Contains…

A survey of 565 teachers in 96 Saskatchewan school districts examined teacher attitudes and beliefs about teacher collaboration, the nature of interprofessional relationships in schools, teacher and student diversity, and teachers' time usage. Teachers also reported the extent to which their beliefs matched actual school conditions and the…

Provides an examination of the Swiss-German music books in the Luther Whiting Mason-Osbourne McConathy Collection. Based on research undertaken to learn about music education in nineteenth century Switzerland and its influence on U.S. music education. (CMK)