Describes an examination of the interaction of sustained attention, simultaneous processing, and successive processing with nine variables related to the reading, spelling, and mathematics achievement of 165 elementary students in New South Wales. Results suggest the importance of sustained attention to reading and spelling achievement but not to…

Third-year students in the University of Alberta's B.Ed. elementary generalist program think that the program's practicum is valuable but that the program's organization hampers learning and causes stress. Students feel ambivalent about their own preparedness for student teaching and perceive a discrepancy between the program's professed and…

Discusses the school-work relationship for women, noting that pertinent research traditions (occupational status attainment research, human capital research) have focused on men and male-female differences. Suggests reworking the models to focus on male-female differences in education (academic achievement, course choices, school socialization).…

Proposes a research model that emphasizes policy concerns throughout the problem formulation, data collection, and interpretation processes. Describes the model's germinal study, its characteristics (assumption of complexity, maximization of causal inquiry, usefulness for policy makers), and its relationship to public policy making and other forms…

A survey of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba superintendents' perceptions of control exercised by departments of education, school boards, superintendents' offices, principals and teachers shows a gradual and yet growing influence of teachers and principals on decisions affecting education. Also reflects projected trend in…

A study was conducted in Southeast Queensland concerning differentiation of English teachers' perspective in teaching writing. An analysis is presented of categories in styles of teaching and reflects that teacher education courses may have to follow the learner-centered strategies they advocate. (TLJ)

A study testing the theory of leadership effectiveness contains a description and discussion of an investigation of the relationship between principal-teacher-student interaction and school effectiveness. From the results, it is suggested that leadership in the school has an effect on organizational effectiveness. (Author/TLJ)

An analysis of several schools adopting a new curriculum for math is presented. A discussion on the effectiveness of the main characters (the principal, teachers, and consultants) involved in the implementation of a new curriculum and how they affect the student's attitude to the curriculum change. (TLJ)

The article reviews the application of Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) on the performance of the sexes based on scholarly achievements. It also compares the result of the RPM to Standard Progressive Matrices and to Colored Progressive Matrices. (TLJ)

A discussion on the history of computer aided instruction (CAI) in the classroom is presented. The presentation includes Pressey's teaching machines to microcomputers and their possible effects on the classroom. (TLJ)

This article defines educational evaluation; describes its role in education; and compares and contrasts it to measurement, research, and learner appraisal. Evaluation is shown to have an important role in play in education, notably in relation to program improvement. Limitations of educational evaluation are noted. (Author/JAZ)

Five major classes of information are identified as necessary in a comprehensive evaluation of an educational enterprise: (1) initial status of the learner; (2) learner performance after a period of treatment; (3) program implementation; (4) costs; and (5) supplemental information. Each class of information is presented and discussed in detail,…

Clearly stated educational objectives can help in educational evaluation. Because objectives sans assessment are little more than rhetoric, criterion-referenced tests are advocated for assessing objective-attainment. Performance standards are viewed as appropriately separable from objectives. Five guidelines regarding objectives are suggested for…

The purposes of evaluation design are stated. A description of experimental, quasi-experimental, survey, and naturalistic designs is presented. Emphasis is placed upon the identification of sources of invalidity in these designs that may compromise the accuracy of inferences regarding program effectiveness. (Author/JAZ)

This article considers various kinds of probability and non-probability samples in both experimental and survey studies. Throughout, how a sample is chosen is stressed. Size alone is not the determining consideration in sample selection. Good samples do not occur by accident; they are the result of a careful design. (Author/JAZ)