Contrary to popular belief, and in accordance with research over a long period of time, changed answers to objective test items tend to be correct. (MJB)

Testing of a group of kindergarten children generally supported the hypotheses that (1) children from schools in higher socioeconomic areas would have significantly more advanced concepts of language than children in lower socioeconomic areas and (2) that this conceptual development would be correlated with more conventional measures of reading…

Perceptions of the role of vocational counselors vary among secondary school counselors, principals, vocational directors, and vocational counselors themselves, a factor that can lead to conflict and morale problems in local schools. (MJB)

Some major consequences of doing fieldwork in schools over an extended period of time are described. Using Powdermaker's distinction of "stranger and friend," the balance between these two roles and perspectives in terms of role, reciprocity, and receptivity is traced through a description of the author's two year study of student life in a junior…

Student ratings of instruction were correlated with examination performance in 72 sections of seven courses. In two of the courses, students had been randomly assigned to sections. The pattern of correlations across the courses indicated that the global ratings of teacher effectiveness and of the value of the course to students were most highly…

The results of this investigation are generally supportive of the hypothesis that the learning of prior presented high-order concepts and rules can result in both a facilitation and acceleration of the learning of meaningfully related subject-matter concepts and logical operations. (Author)

Results indicate that measures of the social environment mediate and index much of the sociopsychological stimulation that bears, indirectly through perception, upon cognitive and attitudinal learning. (Author/MV)

The data do not support either the expectations that males are invariably superior in mathematics achievement and spatial visualization or the idea that differences between the sexes increase with age and/or mathematics difficulty. The pattern of differences in mathematics achievement, spatial visualization and affective variables strongly…

Futures research is defined as the development and use of forecasting techniques: (1) for estimating the likelihood of an event's occurence over time; (2) for examining the probability of one event's occurence affecting the likelihood of another event's occurence; and, (3) for analyzing the relationships among forecasted alternatives. (Author)

Since its emergence 15 years ago, futures research has been met with greater acceptance at the university and governmental levels than at the elementary and secondary school levels. Curricula which have incorporated the concept of futurism are described. (Author/MV)

Futures research offers new tools for forecasting and for designing alternative intervention strategies. Interactive cross-impact modeling is presented as a useful method for identifying future events. (Author/MV)

Three steps to aid in educational planning and decision-making are listed: (1) Identify the major future developments--societal, technological and environmental; (2) Obtain forecasts on the probability of occurence of these developments over time; (3) Suggest candidates for specific educational reform measures which seem promising enough for…

Due to the difficulty of predicting the specific job-related impact of technological change and resource shortages, educational organizations should be less concerned with the development of specific work skills which may not be transferable. Interpersonal competencies should be stressed, and knowledge should be acquired in both the physical and…

Currently, federal emphasis on education is affected by other programs receiving greater attention. As a result, the survival of educational recommendations may be more a result of financial support for, or opposition to non-educational programs. A framework for examining issues related to future federal involvement in education is established.…

In coming years school managers will be confronted by the expansion of access to benefits of schooling, greater involvement in school governance by all segments of society, and increased examination of alternative methods for measuring the teaching-learning environment. Suggested options available through futures thinking, research and planning…