Interviews Wisconsin high school economics teachers, cited for their teaching excellence, to discover methods used to correct students' misconceptions about economics. Covers opportunity cost, supply and demand, money creation, and gross national product. Finds teachers were adept at using germane examples, showed more confidence teaching…

Questions the effectiveness of the career guidance that Soviet secondary students receive. Discusses a survey of 2,605 students that investigated students' life goals assessments of their labor training and work experiences. Argues that Soviet schools need to correlate career guidance more effectively both with development of individual student…

Compares relationship between family size and academic achievement of children from broken and intact families among Black African Xhosa-speaking children between the ages of 13 and 17. Results indicate a negative relationship between family size and academic achievement, regardless of broken or intact families. (Author/NL)

Reviews the information-processing approach to problem solving to apply research findings to cooperative problem solving in social studies classes. Provides examples of how experts and novices solved problems in a study on domestic Soviet affairs. Delineates a problem-solving instructional strategy by explaining nine guidelines that employ…

Proposes combining productive labor of students and classroom instruction in a unified labor school system in the Soviet Union. Sees this educational reform as necessary for Soviet economic development. Identifies research needs and advocates establishing research centers specifically to initiate and organize this proposed integration. (CH)

Because problems are studied more often than possibilities, educators tend to report bad news. Some studies that bring good news for education are reviewed in a call for more balanced reporting and the assertion that trust and confidence are the basics in effective education. (SLD)

This commentary reflects on findings from previous articles that reviewed trends in special education research in the United States, Norway, Botswana, Ecuador, Australia, and Turkey. It discusses the function, funding, and subject matter of special education research, on research on the education of special education teachers, and on research…

Three retired teachers reflect on their teaching careers, which began in one-room schools in Wisconsin, and discuss their reactions to changes involving the educational level and credentials of teachers, curriculum and technology, teacher expectations of students, and community expectations of teachers. Their positive attitudes challenge…

Because of increased demands for curriculum expertise and constricted funding, many small rural elementary schools in the United Kingdom have created consortia, allowing groups of schools to share resources and facilities and cooperatively plan for meeting educational standards. Describes cluster development and concludes that loss of school…

Provides brief descriptions of major types of early childhood programs, and reviews what is known about the effects of early childhood programs on children and their families. The authors also consider how those effects come about and why effectiveness varies across programs. Five policy questions and recommendations are discussed regarding how…

Reviews 20 years of research on gender issues and political attitudes during the high school years. Current research reveals no gender difference in levels of student political interest, efficacy, confidence, or trust. Interviews, however, suggests that females are more likely to express views on public policy. (MJP)

Discusses American Indian education in four critical areas: tribal control, focus and priority, language and culture, and research. These areas are complex and political due to treaty rights; sovereignty; and relationships between Indian tribes and federal, state, and local governments. Unity among Indians and making Indian education a priority at…

A study of 545 academically underprepared undergraduates found that attitudes were predictors of later grade performance, that academic background was more important than attitudes, and that initial learner characteristics did not predict grade performance similarly for each ethnic group (Hispanic, Asian-American, African-American, White). The…

Provides examples of schools and districts nationwide that use data-based decision making effectively to enhance beginning teacher induction, multi-age reading classes, literacy education, tracking of student achievement, ongoing staff development, and school discipline efforts. The programs share a commitment to putting data at the center of…

Why is classroom management especially problematic for urban teachers, and why has research yielded so few helpful answers to this question? In this article I take up both questions, suggesting that the answer to both emanates from the same source: the reliance on deficit paradigms to explain underachievement of students who have historically not…