Discusses James Conant's ideas about the democratic role of the comprehensive high school and addresses just how those ideas have been treated by history. Major historical events have converged in the post-World War II period to make Conant's view of the democratic high school problematic, at least in large metropolitan areas. (SLD)

Using ethnographic techniques and formal interviews with 12 students, examined the racial messages and lessons students got from parents and teachers in one suburban elementary school community. Explicit color-blind "race talk" masked a reality of racialized practices and color-conscious understandings. Discusses this apparent paradox in the…

Uses National Educational Longitudinal Study data for approximately 25,000 students to show that information about higher education, guidance, and essential preparatory actions taken by secondary school students influences whether they will attend postsecondary education institutions within 2 years of high school graduation, and the types of…

Used qualitative data from two schools using the Success for All (SFA) program to examine how teachers responded to SFA and how their beliefs, experiences, and programmatic adaptations influenced implementation. Forty-seven interviews with teachers, principals, and SFA facilitators and 49 classroom observations showed that teachers fell into four…

Identifies ways in which multicultural education can transform cultural capital, examining thee dynamics that constrain the potential for cultural capital transformation through multicultural education. These constraints mean that multiculturalism may be unlikely to transform cultural capital, and may actually undermine the conditions for its…

Interviews with 78 high school students and 22 teachers in five high schools suggest that violence occurs at predictable locations and times in and around the school building. The locations were generally undefined public space not supervised by any teacher. Discusses implications for the prevention of school violence. Contains 98 references. (SLD)

Examined the teaching of two Latina/o elementary school teachers and identified issues with the potential for improving the literacy instruction of Latina/o students. Findings indicate that infusion results in a balanced approach to literacy learning, that more extensive reform increases teacher rapport with students, and that teachers' identities…

Examines the implementation of educational assessment policy in the United States, England, and Wales from the perspectives of power, what educators need to learn, and legitimacy. Findings suggest that assessment policy is useful for promoting easily observable changes, but not for deep modifications of teaching practice. (SLD)

Used the National Education Longitudinal Study database to examine student and school factors associated with dropping out in different grades. Results show that the mix of student risk factors changes between early and late dropouts. School factors can account for approximately two-thirds of the difference in mean school dropout rates, but do not…

The narratives of more than 300 qualitative researchers about problems and solutions attempted during research were collected and analyzed to develop three successive descriptive-interpretive frameworks for understanding researchers' lived experiences during the shift from single to multiple research paradigms. The need for more reflective…

Investigated the effects of group ability composition on group processes and outcomes in science performance assessments. Findings from 21 eighth-grade science classes (445 students) show that group ability composition has a great impact on performance and that heterogeneous groups provide more of a benefit for below-average students than a…

Examined the class formation procedures used in 22 elementary schools from two districts and the influence these procedures had on the composition of 200 classes, 56 of which were combination classes of students from two grade levels. Principals tended to assign higher ability and more independent students to combination classes to ease teacher…

Studied five tutors' personal constructs about their students, as identified by repertory grid interviews and interpreted by cluster analysis. All tutors judged and classified students in similarly defined terms of motivation and intellectual ability. Implications for programming computer-based tutors are discussed. (Author/MAK)

Alternative educational goals that have been at the root of educational conflict in the United States are explored: (1) democratic equality; (2) social efficiency; and (3) social mobility. Conflict over these goals, especially the domination of the social mobility goal, has resulted in a contradictory structure that impairs educational efficiency.…

Using data from the Census and the Department of Education, this study compares 1970, 1980, and 1990 to analyze shortages of Asian American teachers by U.S. geographic location, Asian nationality, gender, grade level, and immigration status. Causes of shortages are linked to traditional patterns of teacher recruitment. (SLD)