Studies of the educational experiences of adults returning to high school in New Zealand and Canada report on adult students' perceived relationships with teachers and younger students, their motivation for returning to school, and the compromises they made in order to complete their education. Offers recommendations for educational policy and…

Attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and classroom practices of 476 teachers in 24 urban and suburban elementary schools were assessed with teacher questionnaires and observation. Teachers serving students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds put more emphasis on teacher authority and control and were more doubtful of student abilities. (SLD)

Used Q methodology and interviews to explore beliefs of 14 Hungarian teachers and 14 parents of children in preschool and Grade 1 (7 at each grade level) regarding developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), with follow-up interviews with 6 participants. Found that major viewpoints regarding DAP relate to focusing on children's individual…

Weaves theoretical concepts of Maria Montessori and Edith Cobb to suggest that a moral, meaningful life is influenced by early contact with nature in which adults draw children's attention to its value. Suggests that nature is the prepared environment fostering cosmic harmony and asserts that educators should provide opportunities for early…

Summarizes research on the contribution of young children's emotional competence to their school readiness. Describes ways early childhood teachers can support young children's emotional competence by creating a secure emotional environment, helping children understand emotions, modeling genuine appropriate emotions, supporting children's emotion…

Discusses empirical findings of a qualitative research project covering three generations of twentieth century families. Examines the importance of family topics for biographical learning. Argues that family topics leave their mark on biographical constructions and influence acting, thinking and perceiving, and the shaping of the biography…

This article discusses the importance of international perspectives in designing and promoting educational innovation and reform, cultural and financial limitations of imposing western special education inclusion principles and practices on developing countries, and special education practices in China, Vietnam, and Costa Rica. (Contains 2…

A review of 19 investigations of inclusive educational programs, practices, and outcomes for students with severe disabilities groups the research into five categories: (1) parents' attitudes toward educational placement; (2) issues and practices; (3) costs; (4) educational achievement outcomes; and (5) social outcomes. Six themes were identified…

Explores current policies and practices concerning the definition, identification, and educational needs of students who are both gifted and learning disabled. Recommendations stress the need for less rigid definitions and cutoff scores for program eligibility and the provision of a wide variety of settings (resource rooms, special classes) and…

Results of case studies of elementary and secondary school educators on Internet use indicate that while some teachers use telecommunications simply as a new tool to implement their habitual teaching practices, others are taking advantage of Internet capabilities to employ more innovative methods. (AEF)

Ten Oklahoma reading textbooks from five publishers contained 462 stories, of which 28% were multicultural. A survey of 148 teachers from 10 rural Oklahoma schools found that only 4% of books used in classrooms addressed cultural diversity. Tradebooks address cultural diversity better than textbooks, but are less available to rural teachers.…

The historical roots of current educational assessment practices are traced, exploring assessment in the generic sense rather than as educational measurement. Our culture of assessment developed long ago, predating the history of educational measurement. Current inefficiencies in education and faults in school life may have grown with this…

Investigates the effects of a pre-service training course for secondary education teachers in the Netherlands. The training course featured two direct instructional models: executive acting, directed at well-structured skills, and strategic acting, directed at higher-level thinking strategies. Observation revealed significantly more effective…

Data are presented from the first-year of a 4-year research project that aims to design a model for describing exemplary communicative practice using signed classroom discourse in the teaching of students who are deaf. Episodes are presented to illustrate how 10 teachers engage in dialogic knowledge building and exemplary communicative practice.…

Viewpoints of 119 preservice teachers were examined at beginning or end of programs in early childhood (ECED) or elementary education (ELED). Compared to ELED students, ECED students favored primary education practices more consistent with constructivist nature of NAEYC guidelines in several areas. Student teachers favored more frequent use of…