This report provides brief reflections on the major themes of this conference at which approximately 100 academicians, practitioners, students, and administrators were present. In the opening session, Wilbert J. LeMelle stressed the importance of thinking about a developing world when planning for international educational exchange at the adult…

The monograph summarizes findings from two research areas: teacher effectiveness and teacher decision making practices. Paradigms for research on teaching, characteristics of an effective teacher, generalizations about teachers' decision making, decision making models, and the relationship of teacher self-efficacy and teacher behaviors are…

Included in Israel's population is a culturally disadvantaged group comprised primarily of immigrants and their children from non-European backgrounds such as North African and Middle Eastern countries. This group has shown a lower level of educational achievement than their European counterparts, and a number of education and social policies have…

A study of the preferences of 49 college honors students enrolled in a basic speech-communication course demonstrated that current teaching practices in honors courses do not match the students' optimal learning styles. The students answered questions about their expectations and experiences in an honors speech-communication course and 25 of them…

This study examined one urbanized Southeastern county school district's experience in attempting to implement an educational reform program that called, among other things, for higher standards. By focusing on standardized norm-based and criterion-referenced educational tests administered to students according to grade level, this school system…

The Arab world has not been able to use many of its assets for its own economic development because of unwholesome sociopolitical factors, e.g., autocratic governmental systems, long subjection to imperialism, and foreign exploitation. Thus, educational change, so necessary if the Arab world is to progress, has been slow. The old, indigenous Arab…

To identify critical postimplementation events and school-related factors that affect the continuation of new classroom practices, qualitative data were collected in 14 elementary and secondary schools representing a mix of settings. Efforts to improve the schools' instructional programs in either basic skills, career education, or citizen…

The first step toward realizing the goal of equal opportunity is that of establishing equal status relationships. North Carolina's progress in desegregation of public schools is evidenced in examining the historical problem areas of equal access to resources, the normative structure of schools, and staffing and board membership. The present trend…

Twenty-two authors contributed chapters to this collection of best practices in the education of students with mental disabilities. Section One, "Critical Issues for Consideration," contains six papers: "'New' EMRs" (Donald MacMillan); "Curricular Orientations" (James Patton and Edward Polloway); "Applying Curriculum for the Instruction of Life…

This paper traces an administrator's view of the changes necessary to make the community college a viable force in postsecondary education. First, problems and challenges facing the United States in general are reviewed, including rising illiteracy and dropout rates among the nation's high school students, increasing violence and crime in the…

Characteristics of a good institutional child care environment are briefly described. Discussion contrasts institutional and home environments. Topics addressed include safety, cleanliness, order, size and age appropriateness of equipment, and softness of surfaces. Also included are suggestions for using color schemes that create a sense of unity,…

Two complementary strategies intended to achieve a strengthening of the American educational system within the next 5 years and a transformation of that system within 10 years are presented in this report. The shorter, 5-year strategy targets conventional schools and is intended to help raise student achievement and professional competence. The…

The study examined the Philadelphia school district's program for mildly handicapped students. It provided descriptive data related to mixed categorical classes, described students enrolled in the mildly handicapped program, provided descriptive data on the content of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and attempted to determine the…

These proceedings are the outcome of a 2-day conference involving education, health, and human service providers who work with children and youth with handicapping conditions across Washington State. The conference's purpose was to bring representatives from interagency teams together to exchange information about how the interagency teams…

Across the nation, more than 2.2 million children attend 2,750 rural school districts that suffer from chronic, severe poverty. The National Rural Small Schools Task Force oversees nine regional educational laboratories as they identify and develop promising educational practices for rural, small schools. One laboratory developed a data base…