Students' alternative conceptions arise out of an interconnected system of beliefs: about the nature of science, of learning, of the natural and social world. Cross-cultural perspectives on these world views are therefore essential. This study probed middle school students' conceptions about plants. Tribal students were found to have a richer and…

This report examines the teacher-reported early literacy behaviors of 2,759 preschool children who participated in a state-supported, early intervention preschool program. Preschool teachers (N = 240) completed the Literacy Competence Checklist for all children in their classes. Teachers reported growth in childrens literacy behaviors from Fall to…

Three research studies examined the impact of environmental interpretation programs on the environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of student participants. Conducted by Indiana University's Department of Recreation and Park Administration, the studies evaluated variables related to entry level (awareness), ownership, and empowerment…

In testing, educators have two competing intentions. They want to be fair in allowing students to demonstrate what they know without creating testing conventions and formats that let students pretend to know. Teaching-the-test literature shows that test scores can be inflated, meaning that they can go up without a generalized increase in…

This report discusses findings from a study that investigated the effectiveness of a student's improved self-knowledge of his or her specific learning disabilities in achieving academic success and improved self-advocacy skills. Forty-four general and special education faculty members and para-educators, and 13 ninth-grade students and their…

Environmental educators often maintain that elementary education should work to improve and protect the environment by producing environmentally informed, committed, and active citizens. However, research shows that implementation of environmental education in elementary schools is problematic and not very successful. This paper identifies a…

This essay traces the history of two standards--estimation and mental calculation--devised by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). It is hoped that the history of these standards will illustrate the difficulties encountered by other proposed standards and by the standards movement as a whole. The essay provides an overview of…

This study examined individual differences in young children's understanding of emotion and potential correlates in the domain of family experiences. Participating in the study were 49 children, ages 40 to 75 months from a predominately white, middle to upper class sample. Self-report questionnaires concerning the expression of emotion, management…

This study assessed preservice teachers' and teacher educators' knowledge regarding issues related to multicultural education. Participants were 78 preservice teachers who completed the Multicultural Knowledge Test during the first class period of a Social Foundations of Education course. There were also 45 teacher educators at the same university…

A knowledge monitoring assessment (KMA) was developed and evaluated. The KMA, which evaluates how well students distinguish between what they know and do not know by comparing their knowledge estimates to test performance, is partially performance based and may be group or computer administered and objectively scored. Participants were 462…

Both the Financial Services Authority and the Basic Skills Agency are committed to supporting those individuals and organisations working to improve the financial capability of themselves and others. The development of the National Strategy for Financial Capability, coordinated by the Financial Services Authority, and the commissioning of a…

Proposes five generalizations on existing knowledge, learning, and their interaction, and discusses evidence for these from recent research on children's learning, memory, conceptual understanding, and problem solving. (Author/AOS)

A study was conducted to determine if seventh and eighth grade students were aware of various kinds of careers and if there was a need for career education at those grade levels. Students were poorly informed about jobs outside their communities and showed little knowledge of job status. (PP)

Addresses the importance of developing a relationship between ethics and education, i.e., an epistemology that can combine education with ethics and direct us toward quality. Emphasis is on the human structures of reasoning and their relationship to linguistics and ethics. (Author/SA)

Results of a study designed to discover the proficiency level in grade six mathematics of prospective elementary teachers in a mathematics curriculum and instruction course indicated no relationship between instructional mode and proficiency, a significant correlation between attitude and proficiency, and a strong relationship between ranking of…