Using data from 22 students in a year-long teacher certification program, the authors explore the analysis of personal teaching metaphors as a means of facilitating the professional development of beginning teachers. Strengths and weaknesses of the approach are identified, and implications for teacher education are discussed. (SLD)

This article shows how the methods of survival analysis (also known as event history analysis) lend themselves to the study of the timing of educational events. Using examples from teacher attrition and student dropout research, survival methods are introduced for building statistical models of the risk of event occurrence over time. (Author/SLD)

Leader-succession research is refocused on its interactive roots whereas the advances of recent succession inquiry are explored in this synthesis of the literature. The approach capitalizes on efforts to understand leader-succession research from a multidimensional and social viewpoint. Organizational socialization is used to frame the discussion.…

Research conducted in the 1980s on differences in race/ethnicity, gender, and social class in the kindergarten through grade 12 and in the educational uses of computers is summarized in terms of access, processes, and outcomes, focusing on equity. Conclusions include the implication that computer use has maintained and even exaggerated existing…

This article provides a critical review of the literature on mentoring. It emphasizes the links between mentoring and undergraduate academic success and focuses on higher education and the extension of mentoring into undergraduate education. Issues of definition and the different perspectives that could be used in future research are explored.…

Core federal legislation addressing gender inequalities in education (Title IX of Education Amendments Act of 1972, Women's Educational Equity Act, and several vocational education acts) is examined. Objectives of these laws are discussed, and influence of this legislation and the federal government's reluctant role in enforcing these acts are…

This review examines the role of schooling in the life course of individuals, focusing on the timing and sequencing of schooling in the transition to adulthood. Conceptual issues in this study are explored, drawing on the sociological literature. The importance of social structure and institutional arrangements is stressed. (Author/SLD)

This meta-analysis with literature review considers whether the self-concepts of gifted and nongifted children differ and explores the effects on self-concept of labeling a child as gifted and placing the child in special programs. Studies indicate a generally higher academic self-concept among gifted students. (SLD)

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is evaluated using a unified view of test validity that requires that validity be considered from an approach requiring many sources of corroboration. A review of available literature suggests insufficient evidence to support the tenets and claims about the utility of the MBTI. (SLD)

This article develops a framework for assessing how differential incentive policies affect teacher commitment and identifies key workplace conditions contributing to commitment. The framework is used to assess effects of such differential incentive policies as merit pay and career ladders. Increasing participation, collaboration, and feedback is…

Because it is sensitive to variability and permits partitioning of a distribution into the tails and center, the Hedges and Friedman Index can be used to investigate gender differences in each partition. It should yield greater insight into the nature of between-gender differences, as its application to Feingold's 1992 data illustrates. (SLD)

Argues that educational research and policymaking are hampered by increased intervention by governmental agencies and misrepresentation in the media. Asserts that current educational reform efforts are in conflict with research findings related to curriculum, learning, and assessment. (CFR)

Reports on a study of the mathematical knowledge, strategies, and representations of 16 socially and ethnically diverse preschool children. Finds that the children bring a wide range of competencies that generally are more advanced than the curriculum content presented at that level. (CFR)

Reports on an action research study on improving equality of opportunity for students in a socially and racially mixed classroom. Finds that students were empowered by their involvement setting up and drawing conclusions from the study. Questions the extent to which research should focus on race, social class, or gender. (CFR)

Reports on a study of Muslim children in physical education classes in a British secondary school. Finds areas of cultural conflict, such as physical education uniforms and regulations about showering after class. Calls for better preservice and inservice teacher education in a wider educational and societal context. (CFR)