The Early Childhood Observation Form was developed to compare and evaluate two distinct curriculums used in Title I and Title I Migrant Pre-Kindergarten classrooms in the Austin Independent School District during the 1979-1980 school year. Variables recorded on the form included language spoken, group size, activity, adult instructional…

A research program to investigate interactions of instruction styles and learner characteristics related to learning results in junior high schools is described. Data was gathered both by observation of the teacher in the classroom and by responses of pupils on their perceptions of the teacher. Different teaching styles are defined and referred to…

Two teacher educators at the College of Charleston (South Carolina) undertook a project to learn more about what happens in a public high school classroom, in order to make their college instruction more realistic. The instructors taught an advanced senior English class in an inner city high school, and a group of college students from Education…

Intended for non-experts in evaluative techniques, this monograph presents suggestions and examples for assessing: (1) the child; (2) the classroom; and (3) the program or the school. Illustrative techniques of recordkeeping are presented. Methods of collecting data include documentation and formal records. Techniques to be used during evaluation…

Two plans for implementing the clinical based dimension of a competency-based teacher education program are described, weighing some of the advantages and disadvantages, constraints and limitations of each plan. The first design involves a ten week instructional period in which students are required to spend two hours per week in a field site…

The Naturalistic Evaluation Methodology presented here rests on a transactionist theory of child development, an ecological view of human behavior and the quasi-clinical method of inquiry. It is intended that the procedures will lead not only to the improvement of the quality of preschool education but will generate knowledge about children's…

The material reported here was developed as part of a systematic effort to develop techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of a nationally implemented early childhood program. The Classroom Attitude Observation Schedule technique has been implemented in a number of school districts as a means of assessing program implementation of the Tucson…

This paper presents findings from an inquiry conducted in Australian secondary schools at the Form I level that examined the contributions of selected teaching behaviors to the achievement, attitudes, and attentiveness of students. The investigation was restricted to children in the schools of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). This…

The focus of this inquiry is on the commitment students have to academic achievement. The model on which this analysis is based assumes that student effort in school is the product of several factors relating to parental influences, classroom structure, teacher behavior and peer norms and characteristics. In assessing the possibility of a linkage…

This document contains a brief report on the development of a county-wide day care program which serves more than 400 children at 12 facilities in housing projects or churches in both black and white low income communities. The report describes the initial project development, the physical facilities, and progress made at staff development and…

The development of a systematic method for observing and describing significant aspects of teacher-pupil behavior in an experimental preschool educational program is described. The intent of the observation and description was: (1) to determine the extent to which theoretical principles and stated educational objectives were being implemented in…

This study investigates the cognitive nature of teacher-pupil questions in "process oriented" and "content oriented" secondary social studies programs. Subjects were five classes selected from a program viewed by both teachers and pupils as process-oriented; five from a program viewed by both teachers and pupils as content…

This study compares the performance of pupils in the individualized early childhood program at the University of California at Los Angeles Elementary School with that of kindergarten pupils in the more conventional program of the Los Angeles City Schools. Programs of both institutions are analyzed and relationships between school program and…

The introduction to this anthology reports a study designed to develop a systematic procedure for gathering information from actual school settings about the impact of school organization, staffing, and administration on students--information to provide baseline data for decisionmakers. Included are description of methods and procedures, data…

This study was initiated in order to assess the effectiveness of an innovative social studies curriculum, "Man: A Course of Study" (MACOS). The introduction presents an overview of MACOS, the major hypotheses tested, and the design and function of the observation instrument. Chapter 2 reviews the literature on MACOS, emphasizing the…