Describes how action research as a model for professional development helped teachers enrolled in a graduate course at the University of Nevada Las Vegas gain insight into the process of school change and provided them with opportunities to facilitate change involving the implementation of technology in specific school contexts. (Contains 26…

A review of novels and teacher textbooks from the early 1900s shows an image of teachers far more diverse than the nostalgic one held by many Americans today. Teachers were often young and poorly prepared in academics and pedagogy, and they struggled with disobedient students for control of the school. (KS)

Higher-order thinking skills in science and mathematics were compared for high school students in large and small schools, controlling for SES, number of advanced courses offered, and enrollment rate in those courses. School size, number of advanced courses offered, and rurality had no effect on high-order thinking skills. (KS)

Details the legal historical influences at work on behalf of the state's authority to establish, revise, and disestablish schools and districts. Speculates on the future of the territorial basis of mass education, in light of legal battles of the past and present and the postmodern development of educational technology. (Author/KS)

The survival of many rural communities is threatened by complex interacting economic and social conditions. Schools can play a significant role in revitalizing rural communities. Three approaches to community development involve community as curriculum; school as community center; and school-based economic development. Successful programs…

Results of a survey of 499 rural Illinois residents show that retirees are as supportive of local public education as are nonretirees. In addition, analysis of 788 local education bond referenda in Illinois indicates that a higher than average percentage of aged in a community does not adversely affect passage of a referendum. (KS)

Staff at a residential camp for high-risk youth dealt with campers eating potentially lethal hallucinogenic mushrooms by eliminating the mushrooms instead of confronting the group and thereby jeopardizing the relationship between staff and campers. Analyzes the situation and provides suggestions for handling similar incidents in the future. (LP)

An 11-day English back-packing expedition in the Sierra Nevada mountains (Spain) included 4 staff members and 7 youth offenders. The program discouraged criminal behavior and increased the self-esteem of the youth offenders through development of teamwork and a sense of responsibility and commitment to the expedition. (LP)

Two methods of teaching beginning kayaking were compared using matched groups of Australian college students. One approach teaches rolling in the event of a capsize as the first skill acquired, whereas the other approach begins with basic skills and strokes. Teaching rolling first was found to enhance subsequent skill acquisition and learner…

A three-year study examined the role of outdoor education centers in Wales; strategies for establishing closer links between outdoor education centers and the schools they serve; and the adequacy of inservice teacher education in meeting the needs of school teachers and center staff. (LP)

Discusses the importance of increasing effective communication in outdoor education programs. Examines sensory preferences and how they affect vocabulary, voice tone, and body language. Describes ways that outdoor educators can use this information to improve their communication skills. (LP)

A strategy for transferring learning from adventure experiences to daily life situations incorporates the use of isomorphs and metaphors. Explains how to develop isomorphic frames and select metaphoric experiences that can be used in adventure programming, especially with clients in therapy. (LP)

A survey of the outdoor activity programming available to high-risk youth in the United Kingdom reveals limited availability of programs, little evidence of intensive personal development or therapeutic work in programs, and a significant interest among providers and users in sharing information and ideas. (LP)

Argues that science education must reflect that science is a way of thinking--in fact, more comprehensively, a way of being; and second and that the fundamentally antiauthoritarian spirit of science must be reconciled with education, with its built-in tendency to be authoritarian. (PR)

Describes the impact of nationalism on American science education during the period 1750 to 1830. (PR)