A discussion of language in preschool education reviews research findings on children's language acquisition and its relationship to their general development and examines issues to be considered in making decisions for each community and program. The first section summarizes basic knowledge about preschool language development, facilitating…

Annotations of ERIC literature on the learning environment are presented in this document. Materials were selected for inclusion from the ERIC catalogs Resources in Education (RIE) and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). The 10 publications are as follows: "School Is for Teachers: Enhancing the School Environment," by Buck Adams and…

To broaden the scope of effective schools research by including change processes and a wider unit of study, this project investigated three Georgia school districts demonstrating improvements in student achievement for three consecutive years. Research identified these elements: (1) the sequence and influence of events, factors, and people…

This curriculum analysis of black South African education considers conflict and change in historical, contemporary, and postapartheid contexts. Part 1, "The Historical Context," interprets curriculum evolution, beginning with the evangelical curriculum for slaves in 1658 and concluding with formalization of racism in the apartheid…

A review of over 500 research studies identified 3 factors influencing the ability of Mexican American students to profit from the instruction currently available in United States colleges and universities: (1) a different language; (2) a different economic situation; and (3) a different response to social and personal interactions. Based on these…

Included in this summary analysis of three journal articles and two documents on teacher evaluation are reports that touch on difficulties facing school officials in developing a teacher evaluation system and suggestions for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of an evaluation system. The first article, by Susan S. Stodolsky, challenges…

This document presents the reports of the Colorado State Board of Education appointed task forces on the Education Profession, the Family and School, and School Time. The task force on the Education Profession made recommendations in the following areas: personnel preparation and certification, recruitment and retention of education personnel, and…

The Significant Bilingual Instructional Features (SBIF) study identified, described, and verified features of bilingual instruction of a wide variety of limited English proficient (LEP) students. This report describes a two-year substudy tracing the experience of 85 LEP students from five nationally distributed sites representing varied…

An annual report of the conditions of higher education in the United States for 1986-1987 is presented. The 16 sub-sections are as follows: (1) introduction; (2) principal sectors of higher education (four papers, on research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and state colleges); (3) issues (15 papers, e.g. academic…

American schools might improve their performance by emulating certain successful businesses that, while distinctly American, have much in common with Japanese corporations. William Ouchi attributes Japanese business success to worker involvement; the typical Japanese corporation, he asserts, unifies its employees around a corporate philosophy…

The Department of Education has assembled 20 "indicators," drawn from the mass of available statistics on institutions, enrollments, finances, and staff, that describe the condition and progress of elementary and secondary education. Data are assembled under three categories of measures: outcomes, resources, and context of education. The…

This paper examines fiscal implications of five 1983 reports that recommend reform of America's schools. Greater rigor in curriculum and textbook content is a common report theme, while three call for specific graduation requirements. Generally, reports recommend increasing time for key courses and requiring regular homework, achievement tests,…

This research report is comprised of a series of 14 papers, each accompanied by a bibliography. Murnane's nine self-contained articles are grouped into four projects. The first consists of three papers that interpret the results of quantitative research on school effectiveness in a manner that highlights the active behaviors of participants and…

This report defines what is meant by quality basic education in Georgia and makes numerous recommendations for achieving it for all Georgians. The recommendations are that: (1) basic skills and general job skills be emphasized in vocational education; (2) the salary base for teachers be increased; (3) a five plateau teacher career ladder be…

The history of the school choice idea is briefly traced, and then some contemporary family choice models are examined in detail. "Tracking" was the major choice mechanism in public schools prior to recent efforts to expand the options. The alternative movement within individual schools began in the late 1960's, with many forms…