A national survey of English and Welsh local education authorities conducted from 1985-1988 found that programs for bilingual students were still seen largely in terms of English language provision. However, a significant increase in teaching in pupils' native language within the curriculum had also taken place. (SK)

The Kirklees (England) local educational authority trained parents in the Paired Reading technique in which the tutee chooses the reading material and tutor and tutee read aloud together. Subjective feedback from parents, peer tutors, and teachers (2,521 questionnaires) showed that parents and peer tutors rated progress more positively than…

Four measures of performance of three types of pairings (boy/boy, girl/girl, girl/boy) involved in completion of a language task on microcomputers gave consistent results. Single-gender pairs improved in comparison with individuals working alone but mixed-gender pairs did not. Single-gender pairs tended to share task and discuss solutions, whereas…

Interviews with 174 11-year olds in London schools determined that playtime was very popular, but concerns were expressed about bad weather, not knowing what to do, and disruptive behavior. Unacceptable playground behavior was taken too much for granted. Football seemed to dominate other activities. (SK)

The extent of truancy, dropout, and grade repetition in 36 Dutch secondary schools was correlated with contextual variables such as school size, class size, and percentage of non-Dutch pupils. Multiple regression showed that numbers of non-Dutch pupils and average class size were of importance regarding the extent of truancy. (SK)

Summarizes a British study on the education of children in residential homes, special education units, community homes, and observation and assessment centers. Concludes that changing attitudes may be the most effective way to improve education, particularly professionals' low expectations of the achievement of these children. (SK)

A review of literature on the effects of age of entry to infant schools showed that a majority of studies found differences in performance between the oldest and youngest children. One large-scale study determined that preschool education is an overriding factor in performance. (Author/SK)

Two independent pilot studies in Britain investigated the effect of the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) on the creative expression and verbal skills in written composition of young children. The Staffordshire study compared a normal week's free compositions written by 54 children using the traditional alphabet with the compositions of a similar…

Imprecise concepts and vagueness in the field of moral development of children should be counterbalanced by future research by educationalists and psychologists. From a review of the scanty research available in moral development it can be concluded that (1) moral development is more complex than heretofore conceived; (2) individual differences in…

Survey of 429 Scottish secondary students found girls were less experienced with computers at school, but played computer games as much as boys; boys were more likely to own and use computers outside school. In a subsample of 196, boys had more positive attitudes and were more likely to have sex-stereotyped views about computer use; older students…

Responses from 327 of 340 English secondary students identified the following 2 factors associated with preference for using/not using calculators: (1) degree of enjoyment of number work and confidence in calculation; and (2) degree of skepticism about the legitimacy of calculators or lack of confidence in using them. Primary schools had great…

Data from 102 of 108 local education authorities in England showed a trend toward earlier admission to school (age 4). Provision of appropriate conditions for four-year olds had been a low priority in many districts. Factors influencing the trend included government policy, funding changes, and lack of high-quality preschool facilities. (SK)

Observation of 20 English physical education teachers giving lessons showed that they frequently used behaviors associated with positive psychosocial development (positive reinforcement, encouragement, technical instruction) and infrequently used those associated with negative development (nonreinforcement, punishment, ignoring mistakes, keeping…

One primary class moved from seating in rows to groups to rows, the other from groups to rows to groups. In both, on-task behavior was higher in rows. In a second study using rows for individual work, time on task increased substantially and, for a target group of three disruptive pupils, it increased dramatically. (SK)

The Learning Objectives Questionnaire was completed by 287 of 600 distance education students. The majority perceived learning objectives to be useful and an integral part of learning strategy. A need to integrate student dispositions with the current shift toward constructivist learning was identified. (SK)