Used data for students in grades 5 through 8 to evaluate the effects of the Comer School Development Program in 10 inner city Chicago, Illinois, schools over 4 years. Data suggest that the Comer program caused positive changes in standardized test scores and in the beliefs, feelings, and behaviors relative to disruptive and illegal student…

Investigated sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of university and public school participants in a middle school Professional Development School (PDS). Participants from collaborative inquiry groups completed questionnaires at the end of their first PDS year. Satisfaction outweighed dissatisfaction, with members of co-led groups more…

Examined the relationship of two school mobility indexes (school changes and parental perceptions of mobility effects) to second grade academic achievement. The study involved data from Head Start students who transitioned to public school, from students' teachers, and from students' mothers. Results indicated that frequent school changes in the…

Explored relationships between second graders' multidimensional self-concepts (SC) and their teachers' beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). Survey data indicated that neither beliefs about traditional practices nor about developmental practices predicted any dimension of SC for girls. Beliefs about traditional practices…

Examined the effect of part-time work intensity on high school mathematics and science coursework completed and its indirect effect on 12th grade achievement. Longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample indicated that there was a significant negative effect of part-time work intensity on coursework. The indirect effect on 12th-grade…

Investigated middle school students' computer tool use in managing and manipulating Internet-based hypermedia resources, hypothesizing that tools would let students process hypermedia resources at higher levels to solve complex, open-ended questions. Tools alone did not help students manage hypermedia information for solving these problems.…

Used data from the National Household Education Survey to examine parents' conceptions of kindergarten readiness and home learning, noting relationships with race and ethnicity. Racial/ethnic differences existed in parents' attitudes about readiness. Parents considered several academic and behavioral skills important for kindergarten success.…

Examined the working conditions faced by parents who has at least one child in need of help for educational or behavioral problems using data for 1,878 families from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Mother and Child Survey. Data show that low-income parents often lack the paid leave and flexibility they need to help children with…

Uses pragmatist theories of inquiry and communication to interpret and critique resistance theories in education. Uses the notion of transactionalism of J. Dewey and A. Bentley (1946) to develop a theoretical framework for inquiry into school opposition. This approach, rather than simple avoidance or punishment, can lead to school-based inquiry…

Compared performance on language arts tests for students who were or were not permitted to discuss the story they were required to read and interpret. Results for approximately 5,000 10th graders show that a 10-minute discussion of the story in three-person groups had a substantial impact on students? understanding of the story. (SLD)

Studied the effects of adolescent employment on grades in academic courses and the extent to which grades might influence employment behaviors using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Findings contained no evidence of short-term or long-term effects on grades, or that grades affect employment activities. Pre-existing…

Studied how literacy and identity interacted in the development of approximately 85 Latino/a students in 4 intermediate-grade bilingual classrooms. Findings show that students' bilingual language and literacy knowledge and their understanding of identity have noticeable influences on each other. Identified some ways in which language and literacy…

Used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to examine the relationships among first language (not English), maintenance of that home language, English proficiency, and academic achievement. Results do not support speculation that home language proficiency would have persistent negative effects on English and other academic outcomes…

Studied the effects of subject and track level on the definitions of knowledge used by teachers in secondary education. Judgments of the characteristics of their own subjects as they taught them at one or more track levels were provided by 202 teachers. Teachers generally maintained a single definition for the subject for all track levels.…

Reviews literature on segregated schools in the south during the era of de jure segregation. Results indicate that exemplary teachers, the curriculum and extracurricular activities, parental involvement, and the leadership of school principals were critical characteristics influencing the communities' perceptions of the schools. (Author/SLD)