Presents eight points for designing the physical and programmatic environments to prevent discipline problems and support learning in early childhood classrooms. Points relate to designing clearly defined activity areas, providing adequate space, assessing the activity structure throughout the day, following an age-appropriate schedule, and…

Focuses on the resources that the Internet brings to teaching social or controversial issues in the social studies classroom by listing Web sites and describing how to search for the information. Lists Web sites that help students learn to evaluate Internet resources. Provides information on portal Web sites. (CMK)

This special issue presents articles contributed by academics from the Asia-Pacific region on perspectives and progress made in online learning and information technology (IT). The articles discuss online learning and IT efforts in South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Guam, and New Zealand. (AEF)

A teacher at a Knoxville college preparatory school challenges his students to analyze stereotypes about Appalachia and recognize that acceptance of their own Appalachian-ness is vital to their personal well-being and that of the region. Comparisons of Appalachians with Hispanics in northern New Mexico reveal common issues of land use, cultural…

Promising educational practices focus on achievement for all students and present evidence to demonstrate their effectiveness. Schools that have broken the mold are vision-focused and values-based. The most hopeful strategy for sustained, substantive educational improvement involves developing school staff into professional learning communities in…

This article discusses forces driving mathematics reform: shifting theoretical paradigms, disappointing levels of mathematics performance of students in the United States, and the impact of rapidly changing technologies. Concerns about this reform from the special education community are discussed, and synthesized special education research…

Key considerations for designing reading practice include determining the most effective methods to store word meanings for fluent retrieval during word recognition, making practice stimulating, determining whether practice ought to occur within or without the context of extended text, and addressing whether a target instructional objective is…

Used meta analysis to synthesize research on the effects of interventions to improve mathematics achievement of students considered at risk for academic failure. Found that effective interventions included providing teachers and students with student performance data; using peer tutors; providing clear, specific feedback to parents on children's…

Discusses a study in which specific practices from current literature on adult higher education are applied to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to "map" usage of and receptivity to those practices and to assess adult student satisfaction. Illustrates an effective, data-rich method of assessing responsiveness to adult…

Interviews Ira Shor, who discusses the meaning of liberation education, the political nature of education, teacher education, and problems and possibilities associated with liberation education. (MG)

Discusses the reasons why kindergarten teachers have an "identity crisis" and have come to be in professional limbo in terms of their historical roots, educational background and training, and certification procedures. (BB)

Discusses how empathy is promoted in the United Kingdom's National Curriculum. Notes that the concept is ambiguous, especially as it is used in the subject of history. Describes how this concept impedes planning, teaching, and assessment. Suggests that understanding how children reason is more productive that making assumptions about how they…

Discusses Chinese moral values, moral reasoning, and moral education in East Asia. Examines moral concepts cross-culturally. Argues that the Kohlbergian approach is useful to the study of Chinese moral reasoning. Offers suggestions for future research on Chinese morality within the framework of a culture-inclusive psychology. (RW)

This article summarizes a paper by Robert E. Johnson et al., "Unlocking the Curriculum: Principles for Achieving Access in Deaf Education." The paper examines the failure of total communication practices to educate deaf children and recommends that deaf children learn American Sign Language first and learn English as a second language. (JDD)

Describes children's art education at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Art from 1928-1975. Discusses how the educational philosophy was influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Dewey, and Franz Cizek, stating that the goal of art education was to build character, transmit culture, promote healthy competition, and develop moral values and…