Examined educational attitudes of 168 students and their parents in the first year of a primary level multiage program. Found that although the majority of parents and students considered the experience positive, their principal concern was that older students did not appear to be sufficiently challenged academically, suggesting the need for…

Explored the environment for literacy in day-care centers, its relationship with traditional measures of day-care quality, and its influence on children's cognitive and language development. Observations in 30 community-based day-care classrooms revealed relatively impoverished literacy environments. Found that both day-care quality and…

Examined differences in children's perceptions of school tasks. Found that even kindergarten children are able to understand the learning purpose of tasks if teachers include that information in their lesson presentations. Results suggest that in order to motivate children's learning, teachers should emphasize the learning aspects of tasks, and…

An ethnographic study examined the organization of work and play in a kindergarten fostering spontaneous play in the generation of work, as inspired by Froebel and Dewey. Found that the dominance of structures favoring work in the use of time, product tracking, and instructive language severely reduced the time, social relationships, and…

Observed drawing by toddlers and preschoolers using primary and standard markers, pencils, and crayons to determine the influence of implement diameter on children's drawing products, performances, and preferences. The relationship between drawing and early home manipulative experience was also investigated. Confirmed findings of previous studies…

Comments on the articles presented in this issue with respect to their implications for classroom practices. Stresses that in this issue, the researchers describe how social context factors (such as adult viewpoints and adult-child interaction patterns) and physical context factors (such as variations in classroom space-time organization and…

Reviewing is an important component of adventure education that involves reflecting, describing, analyzing, and communicating what has been experienced. Reviewing adds value to the adventure experience for participants and provides information the leader can use to evaluate and revise the program. (KS)

On a canoeing trip with a group of 8 14-year olds, the leader was faced with a paddler who floated away from the group, a capsizer, and a reluctant participant. Subsequent analysis of the situation suggests that a briefing on signals prior to the experience and an experienced assistant in two locations were needed. (KS)

Explains the biomechanical principles that underpin the effective performance of the high/low recovery and sculling support strokes used in kayaking. Provides paddlers with some explanation of the actions that they intuitively make. Gives justification for the teaching points used in teaching these techniques. (KS)

Navigation exercises in the outdoors involve interactive team skills; individual assessment of self-confidence, competence, and esteem; and leadership skills. Learning goals include planning, managing a team, handling information, allocating individual objectives, making decisions, and attending to accuracy. Provides facilitators with instructions…

Considers the wilderness environment as "sacred space," a place pervaded by a sense of power, mystery, and awesomeness that when visited with "full respect and a clean spirit" can lead to positive empowerment. Suggests that a key objective for outdoor programs should be teaching about nature and conservation. Describes positive impacts of…

The Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a measure of self-actualizing tendencies, was administered to 10 instructors at Plas y Brenin, to 23 tutors at Outward Bound Wales, and to 35 students before and after a course at Outward Bound Aberdovey. Instructors scored higher on the POI than students. Student scores significantly increased after the…

Relates the experience of an award-winning teacher who, with his wife, chose to leave their materialistic life in Manhattan 27 years ago to live in a barn on a 134-acre farm in southeastern New York state. Describes the pleasures in living with and learning from nature, as opposed to doing meaningless and unrewarding tasks. (LP)

Developed for poor students in England during the 19th century, the Lancaster system was cost effective and was based on the "monitorial" concept giving students responsibility for their learning and emphasizing entrepreneurship. In 1805, the Lancaster system came to the United States, but it quickly ended when it came under state control. (LP)

Questionnaire responses of 918 midwestern 8th, 10th, and 12th graders reveal that rural adolescents, especially males, were more likely to experience conflict between career aspirations and future residential preferences than their urban peers. Additionally, rural 10th graders expressing conflicting aspirations were more likely to have lower…