The purposes of this study were to see if the items from the Piers Harris Self Concept Scale and the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory had construct and predictive validity. Items used in this study were 50 items from the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and 80 items from the Piers Harris Self-Concept Scale. Construct measures were obtained using…

The amount and type of reading instruction going on in middle school science classrooms were studied in middle school classes of four science teachers. About 16% of teacher time was spent in active reading instruction and about 33% in oblique reading instruction. Implications for increasing reading instruction in these classes are discussed. (SLD)

The effects of gender bias and number of errors as unintentional determinants of essay grades were studied with 22 undergraduate education majors grading four essays by sixth graders in stereotypically male or female handwriting. Essays believed to be written by boys were graded higher than those believed to be written by girls regardless of…

Four family process factors (parental expectations, parental interest, parental involvement, and family communication) were assessed for their impact on grades and achievement test scores of 300 students in sixth and seventh grades in a longitudinal study. The most influential was parental expectation of students' capabilities in specific…

Results of an investigation of the permanency of gains in problem solving, listening, and abstract thinking among fifth graders are reported. Findings indicate that the experimental group with listening training shows greatest gains. (MH)

Three hundred fifty-nine pupils in grades four through six were given a supplemental guided discovery mathematics program designed for Special Elementary Education For the Disadvantaged (SEED). The guided discovery group improved approximately twice as much as the control group in arithmetic computation, concepts, application, total score, and in…

Measures of abstract reasoning ability, degree of bidialectism, and reading performance were administered to Black, inner-city third and fifth graders. Abstract reasoning ability significantly affected reading performance while expressive proficiency in Standard English and Black English did not significantly affect scores. The importance of…

The effectiveness of a minicourse designed to improve the questioning skills of student teachers in grades 4-6 was investigated. Microteaching experience and supervisory feedback on student teaching behavior were provided for the experimental group, who made more significant gains in effective teaching behavior than the control group. (GDC)

Sixty urban and 57 rural elementary school classrooms were observed to document the effects of rural versus urban locale, grade level, and subject matter taught on instructional quality. Teachers' verbal behaviors were grouped into 16 process-by-substance categories. Results showed that all three main effects were significant. (Author/MV)

The relationship between teacher-perceived brightness/dullness and classroom interactions was investigated with 96 intermediate-grade children. Positive interactions were distributed unevenly between "bright" and "dull" children; no differences were indicated in the distributions of negative and neutral interactions. (Author/GDC)

This case study describes two sixth-grade teachers and how they gained the knowledge through cross-cultural experience which now makes them instructors who are role involved in the subject matter of world studies. (BW)

Multivariate statistical analysis determined relationships between scores on the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test and the Stanford Achievement Test at grades 2, 4, and 6 for 272 students. The best predictor of achievement at a later grade was achievement at an earlier grade. Implications are discussed. (SLD)

This study examined the effects of different types of directions on the guessing behavior on multiple-choice tests of 43 male and 39 female fifth-graders. Areas investigated included reward and penalty clauses and test anxiety. Students' understanding of directions was the only significant factor discovered. (TJH)

Among the research results on the perceptions of 207 intermediate grade students was the indication that, while problem-solving performance related only to intelligence and math achievement scores, ideational fluency related significantly to student perceptions of emphasis on higher level thinking skills in the classroom and positive classroom…

Gifted and highly gifted girls in grades four to six were given Piagetian-type manipulative problem-solving tasks reflecting formal operations. Although Flavell suggested that a chronological age of 10 years was necessary for successful completion of these tasks, time allowed was a more valid predictor. (LMO)