Presents the results of two studies where children were taught to identify textual cues, syntactic and semantic, in order to locate main ideas. The children also built graphic representations of these structures and were taught relevant questions to ask regarding comprehension. Results showed significant improvement, especially with older…

Describes a long-term project where middle school students were taught to visually represent key text ideas through idea-mapping techniques. Instruction was inserted in the content area curriculum along with regular textbooks and supplementary material. Positive effects were found in recall, comprehension, and learning. (MJP)

Presents activities, recommendations, and guidelines for creating a nonsexist social studies curriculum. Recommends using nonsexist language, considering the influence of gender bias, examining the contribution of women, and modeling nonsexist behavior. Includes several lists of instructional materials and resources. (MJP)

Advocates encouraging and incorporating student/teacher questioning interactions into social studies classrooms. Maintains that guided discussions and questioning techniques facilitate classroom management and appeal to a variety of learning styles. Includes extended examples of classroom discussions and questioning activities. (MJP)

Reveals that literacy training in small, rural, and primitive communities can affect demonstrable changes in the feelings, attitudes, and well-being of its participants. Utilized interviews, discussions, and observations at two sites in Zambia to highlight the outcomes of literacy training. Discusses the program's weaknesses as well as strengths.…

Investigates the relationship between the social organization and educational practices of schools and how they relate to students' ability to recognize differences between curriculum-specific talk. The study recorded students' observations regarding Mathematics and Art to determine their ability to speak in subject-specific ways teachers deem…

Defines evangelization as a cooperative religious educational experience regarding the efficacy of the gospel. Considers its role in the lives of young people. Concludes that evangelization must incorporate and address current social concerns as well as questions of belief and unbelief. (MJP)

Maintains that neither postmodernism nor cultural pluralism are antithetical to biblical texts. Locates postmodernist open-ended thinking in many of the enigmatic proverbs and other wisdom texts. Reveals similarities, and at times historical connections, between much of the Bible and various Mediterranean cultures. (MJP)

Examines the philosophical dichotomy between liberal conceptions of social integration and secular culture and the rights and demands of religious cultural groups. Finds an acceptable middle ground in the ideas of tolerance and respect. Recommends educational objectives promoting democratic citizenship, cross-cultural understanding, and specific…

Provides a concise historical overview of theological thinking concerning fundamentalism, absolutism, and relativism. Considers corresponding responses to issues regarding multiculturalism. Concludes that a diversity of viewpoints is necessary for society to learn from its mistakes and progress in a positive fashion. (MJP)

Identifies authenticity as the idea that there exists an innate and knowable self. Discusses this concept and how it relates to social, philosophical, and religious thought. Compares the Western concept of self, autonomous and individualistic, with the more interdependent and enigmatic Eastern ideal. (MJP)

Formulates a pedagogical position that articulates religious experience as complementary to formal-rational thought. Recent postmodernist criticism has located secular thinking as a coequal position to subjective religious experience on the now-leveled philosophical playing field. Explores what this newfound (academic) respectability means for…

Describes the efforts to incorporate and represent Hindu and Muslim theology in Australia's secondary schools' Religious Studies curriculum. These efforts included literature reviews as well as historical and ethnographic research. Argues that the current incorporation represents merely a first step and advocates further expansion and research.…

Criticizes the notion that secular humanists and religious educators can equitably agree on a common or middle ground. Maintains that the so-called middle ground is often primarily secular ideology with a token acknowledgment of the validity of religious thought. Argues for a more open discussion with both positions receiving equal consideration.…

Observes the philosophical and methodological aspects of Religious Studies. Considers the limitations of approaching religious thought and experience from a rationalist-scientific perspective. Includes a historical overview of the phenomenology of religious education with brief summations of leading theorists. (MJP)