Highlights significance of analysis of organized action within educational research. Describes and demonstrates an analytical approach to action applicable to the classroom, developed from approaches to analysis of bodily communication and action in drama education, and from new approaches to rhetoric that draw on social semiotic theories of…

Studies relationship between results obtained in England's General Certificate of Education examinations and those obtained by the same students two years earlier in examinations for General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). States progress differs, but average GCSE performance of students in an establishment is a significant predictor of…

Presents study results that compared the content and structure of mathematics lessons in Sunderland, England, and St. Petersburg, Russia, to identify similarities between the lessons. Explains that classroom observation was used within the study. Explores such issues as lesson length, number, and length of sections. Includes references. (CMK)

Focuses on child protection in primary schools. Focuses on findings of the Social Work in Primary Schools project, based on a national questionnaire survey and qualitative research in primary schools. Addresses the views of child protection coordinators. Includes references. (CMK)

Explains that Year 5 students in ten British schools took a mathematics division test twice in the school year. The test involved context and bare problems to identify changes in approach as the standard algorithm was introduced. Reports that 52 percent of students gained a higher score on the second test. (CMK)

Uses survey data from 1,833 high school students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, North Carolina, to study the direct and indirect negative effects of segregation on academic achievement in the context of the "Swann" court decision. Demonstrates how whites retain privileged access to greater opportunities to learn and how segregated schooling…

Studied parent involvement through 12 group and 5 individual interviews and qualitative observations in 4 effective schools that contained substantial numbers of migrant students. Findings suggest that these schools are effective because they aimed to meet parental needs above all other involvement considerations. (SLD)

Described and analyzed the reconciliation of state and local educational policy as it occurred in the functioning of a mathematics curriculum writing committee. Discusses the implications of this reconciliation work for reform efforts that rely on language as a medium for communication. (SLD)

Used longitudinal data from large cohorts of East and West German students, 2,778 seventh graders in 161 classrooms, to evaluate how the reunification of Germany affects self-concept formation. Results show how system-wide educational policy differences, the initiation of a selective school system and the institutionalization of different…

Studied the victim-bully cycle in middle school and identified student and school characteristics that contributed to the cycle using data from the New Brunswick School Climate Study for 6,883 sixth graders and 6,868 eighth graders. Results of a multivariate, multilevel analysis show that the relationship of bully to victim was reciprocal, and…

Studied the efficacy of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies for First-Grade Readers (PALS-1) with children of varying reading ability and the impact of adding 8 to 10 hours of phonological awareness instruction by computer to the PALS-1 curriculum for low-achieving students. Results for 183 first graders show that PALS-1 enhanced reading ability,…

Studied the effectiveness of women's studies (WS) and nonwomen's studies (NWS) classes in bringing about the development of understanding and acceptance of diversity, commitment to social justice, and personal confidence. Findings for 548 WS and 241 NWS students on 32 campuses show greater changes in egalitarian attitudes for WS students, more…

Investigated how changes in perceptions of the social environment of the classroom related to changes in motivation and engagement as 233 students moved from seventh to eighth grade. Findings show that classroom social environment is an overarching construct that comprises different, but related, dimensions. Discusses implications of the findings…

Examined achievement differences between year-round and traditional calendar students using 2 years of data from North Carolina public school students in grades 3-8. Results indicated that achievement in year-round schools was no higher than in traditional calendar schools, and differential effects for certain student subgroups, although…

Compared the views of university faculty and school personnel regarding collaborative research while involved in a Professional Development School (PDS) partnership. Survey and interview data indicated that 61 percent of participants had had prior research experience. Participants tended to have traditional, rather than collaborative, conceptions…