Today's competitive climate is pressuring public school educators to improve schools in an environment dominated by parent and consumer choice. This article draws on two studies involving Australian principals that illustrate difficult ethical situations. Most participants found the values of marketing and economic rationalism to be inconsistent…

Followed an elementary teacher during her transition from preservice to inservice teaching, examining influences on her science teaching efficacy beliefs. Data from teacher interviews, observations, and journal writings indicated that mastery experience and verbal and other forms of social persuasion were the major sources of influence for…

Peers of a socially rejected seventh-grade girl were rewarded for publicly reporting positive aspects of the girl's behavior. Results indicated that positive peer reports reduced negative social interactions to near zero and increased positive interactions to above 70%. In addition, social acceptance ratings of the girl increased from…

This ethnographic case study examined the attitudes of two student teachers toward the practice teaching experience, their relationship with classroom teachers and advisors, and their teaching philosophy. Suggests that a strong and collaborative teacher-student teacher relationship is essential for a successful practice teaching experience. (MDM)

Discusses Project YES, a model of urban programming that provides youth with a support structure wherein their voices about pressing social issues can be heard by a wider audience. Youths participate in project-based workshops in which they develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, leadership, and consensus-building skills. (GR)

Argues for a reconsideration of how culture affects minority school adjustment and academic performance, suggesting that minorities who recognize cultural differences as barriers are more successful at crossing cultural boundaries. The author demonstrates this point through two case studies, one of a minority group that does not recognize cultural…

This study applied probability models in a four-year case study at a selective liberal arts college. The study found that, while admissions decisions matched institutional goals for student characteristics, discrepancies between acceptance and enrollment decisions frustrated the institution's efforts to achieve diversity and highlighted the…

Describes the Hawthorne Elementary School (Houston, Texas) reform efforts that targeted inner-city, low-income student academic improvement. The forceful use of national and local resources to implement teacher-initiated changes and to further a successful site-based school restructuring is presented. (GR)

Describes the underlying philosophical and cultural changes associated with classroom organizational changes in one eighth-grade teacher's attempts to implement National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards. Observations and interviews indicated that there were two distinct cultures ("book world" and organic or…

Surveyed randomly selected adults (n=319) in the Chicago metropolitan area and questioned them on whether cultural schedules exist for the timing of life transitions. Respondents perceived deadlines for most of the family transitions discussed. (SNR)

Summarizes a study on block scheduling for second-language programs among Canadian middle school students. Results show that students studying French on a block schedule (e.g., one-half day instruction over a 10-week period) performed better on standardized tests than did control students who received standard 40-minute per day French instruction.…

A survey of workers participating in a manufacturing plant workplace English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program resulted in these suggestions: schedule classes during the work day, with class time paid for, replace a cash incentive program; hold lessons in a meeting room, not cafeteria; and involve greater number of employees and employer in…

A study examined how three Oklahoma institutions (Langston University, Tulsa Community College, University of Central Oklahoma) implemented a specific remedial education policy enacted by the state coordinating board for certain students. The analysis demonstrates how institutional actors ascribed sense to the goals, assumptions, and expectations…

This article presents the Triune Assessment-Intervention Model (TAIM), which uses the constructs of sensemaking and dynamic literacy as its conceptual framework. The model assesses use of semantics/syntax, phonology/orthography, organization, and scripts/schemas rule systems though analysis of oral and literate discourse events, communication, and…

Discusses technology's role in improving teaching and learning for English-language learners (ELLs). Highlights include: problems associated with ELLs' academic underachievement; evidence of how technology can improve learning; a case study that illustrates difficulties teachers of ELL might have in implementing new technology; and how technology…