This study examined the reliability and stability of teacher behavior scores as measured by the Spaulding Teacher Activity Recording Schedule (STARS). Data were gathered on a student teacher at work in a campus laboratory setting and in a primary ungraded classroom. The student teacher demonstrated a stable teaching style in four of the five…

Pupils at an elementary school in Israel, their mothers, and their teachers were studied to determine how each group would attribute the causes of children's problem behavior. Pupils and teachers were apt to blame external factors. Parents tended to distribute responsibility for problems more evenly. (Author/PP)

The impact of a field trip on the attitudes, behavior, and learning of 196 third- and fifth-grade students was assessed. Third grade students seemed overwhelmed by the field trip and learned more from an outdoor science activity near their school. Fifth grade students were stimulated by the trip and bored by the outdoor lesson. (Authors/PP)

A point system was introduced at an elementary school in British Columbia whereby: (1) students lost points for their entire class when they misbehaved; and (2) point totals were openly posted daily and weekly. The method proved effective in improving the behavior of the whole school population. (Authors/PP)

Learning disabled fifth graders in Florida were given modified versions of the Florida State Student Assessment Test. Modifications such as additional examples, smaller subsections, unjustified formats, and grouping of items in order of difficulty facilitated the students' performance. Use of large-print tests made little difference. (Authors/PP)

Children in a home-based early childhood education program who received weekly visits did not learn more than children visited every two weeks. Both home instruction programs did improve children's achievement, however, and this study suggests that, if visits occur every two weeks, money can be saved at no cost to learning. (PP)

Four plays about the heritage and lifestyles of American Blacks, Chinese Americans, Jews, and Puerto Ricans were used to teach fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students in two New York City schools. A study showed that the plays and accompanying curriculum materials did increase children's knowledge about and acceptance of other groups. (Authors/PP)

Manuscript letter strokes made by second and third grade children on wide- and normal-spaced paper were studied. Second graders wrote better on wide-spaced paper, while third graders were unaffected by spacing. Results suggest that the transition to normal-spaced paper can be most advantageously made in second grade. (Authors/PP)

Two research areas, schema theory and linguistic theory, are described which have contributed to theories about language comprehension. Models of language comprehension conceptualized by Roger Schank, Carl Frederiksen, and Walter Kintsch are discussed in relation to the research and evaluated for practical use in reading instruction. (Author/PP)

The recommendation to use group means when there may be nonindependence among observational units is unduly restrictive. When random factors are properly identified and included in the analysis, the results are identical in balanced analysis of variance designs, irrespective of whether group means or individual observations are employed.…

To integrate empirical findings concerning the impact of leisure time television viewing on student achievement in grades K-12, 274 correlations were assembled from 23 studies. The effects were slightly positive for up to 10 hours of viewing a week, but beyond 10 hours the effects are negative and increasingly more deleterious. (Author/BW)

Focusing on preadolescence to late-adolescence, this research examines how "early" exit from the student role and "early" entry into the adult role reflect factors operating prior to adolescence. Only leaving school early appears to be related to preadolescent career decisions and academic performance in high school. (Author/BW)

Low-income fifth and sixth graders who had completed the full three years of a first- through third-grade Direct Instruction Follow Through program were tested. Students appeared to retain the knowledge and problem-solving skills they had mastered in the primary grades. (Author/BW)

Building from Holland's theory of career choice, this study investigated differences between individuals who started in and remain in teaching, and those who subsequently changed careers. The two groups differed in their self-rated skills and abilities and in the importance they assigned to selected criteria of success. (Author/BW)

The purpose of this study was to investigate first-grade children's use of requests and responses in their homogeneous reading groups. The results showed that ability groups differed in their use of requests and responses, and that particular aspects of requests predicted obtaining appropriate responses, which were almost always "on-task."…