This article reports studies of adolescent passive and active vocabulary development. It describes measuring instruments applied to the oral and written language of 12- and 15-year-old students drawn from 10 social backgrounds in England and Australia. Implications for education are drawn from the results of these studies. (IAH)

Results of a study based on a survey of 119 early childhood educators revealed information regarding social competence and academic survival skills needed for a successful adjustment to kindergarten. Implications for curriculum development are discussed. (IAH)

Results from a study of 61 learning-disabled (LD) elementary students provide evidence that the Handwriting Scale included in the Test of Written Language is a valid measure of LD students' handwriting and that LD students have handwriting difficulties. (IAH)

Results of a study in which 42 college seniors were given photographs of teachers, accompanied by written statements of the teachers' instructional approach, did not reveal any main effects of attractiveness or gender upon perceptions of competence; although a significant interaction occurred between attractiveness, gender, and authoritarianism.…

Results from an experimental study involving 120 third, seventh, and eleventh grade parochial school girls showed that for third-grade females, short-term failure experiences are relatively transitory; however for females around the age of adolescence, helplessness and egotism appear to undertake a significant role in influencing behavior. (IAH)

A study involving 15 pairs of experienced physical education teachers and their student teachers found that experience does not help teachers identify learning style preferences of students and that teachers at both levels retain similar misconceptions about their students' learning styles. (IAH)

Through a questionnaire survey of 267 school districts, the actual practices of United States school districts identified as having outstanding staff development programs were compared with those of randomly-selected school districts. Discrepancies and similarities are discussed, along with support needs for instructional improvement. (SLD)

As a follow-up to a survey of state superintendents of instruction, multicultural education personnel were surveyed to acquire information on multicultural programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data indicate that multicultural education is thriving at the state level, with improved funding and increased interest. (SLD)

Computer anxiety was studied in undergraduates without previous computer experience enrolled in an introductory course (N=111). About 33 percent had seriously high levels of computer anxiety. It may be advantageous to segregate initially anxious students into separate classes. (SLD)

Perceptions of regular preschool through senior high school personnel (n=160) and persons employed outside education (n=168) about the handicapped were compared in pilot and follow-up surveys. Society's attitudes and commitment toward education and subsequent employment of the handicapped present a barrier to the goals of PL 94-142. (SLD)

Whether significant differences exist between student characteristics (sex, grade point average, and class level) and student perceptions of teacher traits in terms of their importance to learning was studied in 401 undergraduates at a midwestern university. Significant differences for sex and class level are discussed. (SLD)

Traditional and contemporary models of decision making are reviewed, and the implications of contemporary decision-making theory for educational administrators and strategies appropriate for different conditions are discussed. Decision classification systems and decision techniques are described. (SLD)

Responses of 145 preservice teachers to the Teacher Concerns Checklist were factor analyzed. Subjects' responses on 11 interpretable factors were compared to those of 52 inservice teachers (with 83.3 percent at the elementary school level) to determine whether some dimensions of teacher concerns differentiate between preservice and inservice…

A study of fourth- and fifth-graders' critical thinking skills revealed that those subjects who participated in small-group discussions encouraging self-directed critical thinking skills were better able to apply the skills than were students who were asked to solve a problem individually. (Author/CB)

Structured observation of the work behavior of five elementary school teachers revealed that, in comparison with secondary school and sixth-grade teachers, these subjects exhibited higher levels of "busyness," possibly resulting from the wider array of needs and demands of younger children with higher activity levels. (Author/CB)