This essay promotes parental free-choice in educational matters. The argument is grounded in the assumption that the individual is a social entity whose nature derives from his or her bio-social rootedness in integrative cultural community. The only feasible means of eradicating the widespread phenomenon of "educational messianism" and restoring a…

The monograph describes Project INTERFACE, a 2-year collaborative effort among the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) of Nassau County (New York), Long Island University, and three local school districts. The project identified the "most effective" implementation strategies for integrating microcomputer instruction into…

Using tests that are neither reliable nor valid, school districts are currently categorizing large numbers of children as unready for entrance into kindergarten and first grade. Parents are being asked to wait a year before sending their children to public school classes or to place them in a pre-kindergarten class. Other children complete…

Prepared especially for decision makers involved in designing appropriate programs for kindergarten children, this research monograph concentrates on four specific issues that have proven difficult in most communities. Chapter 1 explains how kindergarten entry age affects children's school success. Chapter 2 discusses the ability of tests to…

After recounting a brief history of special education trends and reviewing two early models of learning disabilities, this paper calls for and describes a holistic approach to teaching students based on their abilities rather than their disabilities. It describes how psychologists of the 1960s viewed learning disabilities as a product of deficient…

This document reports on the initial phases of an ongoing research project designed to develop a classification of literature citations that would indicate the subject-matter expertise needed by those who study, teach, conduct research, and make decisions in the field of study known as vocational education. A three-dimensional matrix was proposed,…

Teachers' perceptions about the nature of their discipline are important factors in their curricular decisions, behavior in the classroom, and interpretations and reactions to classroom events. It is not an easy task to access one's beliefs nor stimulate genuine dialogue about them. Errors can provide both the motivations and the means for…

The central premise underlying gifted education is that gifted students can and should be distinguished or differentiated from the larger, non-gifted population, and once identified, should receive specialized services. This paradigm is strongly rooted in the psychometric tradition and draws upon the "medical model" by defining characteristics or…

This paper examines the extent to which the potential exists for state education committees to become an integral part of the subgovernment process. Four general criteria were evaluated: (1) committee jurisdictional responsibility for education policy; (2) continuity of membership on committees; (3) the extent of representation of those…

This paper was prepared as an introduction to the proceedings of a 1988 Conference on Academic Talent. The paper summarizes current National Science Foundation (NSF) policy in regard to the development of new science and mathematics curricula and describes the work of the Duke University Talent Identification Program in its efforts to reach and…

A study examined patterns of the use of two computer-assisted career guidance (CACG) systems--the DISCOVER System and the System of Interactive Guidance and Information (SIGI)--at educational institutions throughout the country. A 30-item questionnaire was mailed to each of the 677 institutions across the United States that were identified as…

This paper investigates aspects of literacy and numeracy skills in seventeenth and early eighteenth century New England in order to provide a qualitative context for recent quantitative studies of colonial literacy. Sources include colonial legislation on education and apprenticeship, town records, schoolchildren's textbooks and copybooks, as well…

A study was made of: (1) computer use by administrators, teachers, and students in south Georgia public schools; (2) administrators' perceptions of the ability of new teachers to use computers; and (3) the future of computers in public schools. A questionnaire was sent to 193 schools in the 44 school districts in the Valdosta State College service…

A model is proposed for facilitating the application of knowledge to practice in education, constructed around a theory of the use of concepts in the various contexts of professional practice. A definition of the term "educational practice" as it is generally understood is followed by a discussion of concepts as instruments for developing…

Designed to determine to what extent the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) products and services are utilized by certified school personnel, this study found that, on the average, 25.1% of the teachers, librarians, counselors, and administrators in three educational service regions in west central Illinois have used Resources in…