Discusses the distinctive features of the University of Oregon's Direct Instruction Model program, designed for disadvantaged youngsters--its underlying assumptions and basic teaching components. Explores the implications of teaching reading and language skills to economically disadvantaged children and advocates vocabulary instruction be taught…

Gives a descriptive overview of salient features of Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theories and research as they apply to educational institutions; the distinctive contributions he has made to the sociology of education are identified and criticized. (Author/RK)

Attempts to draw out parallels and differences between Emile Durkheim's and Basil Bernstein's theories of educational systems and highlights Bernstein's reformulation of certain features of Durkheim's thought. Focuses on the role of the school, curriculum change, and social conflict. (Author/RK)

Analyzes how major educational questions are now being addressed by courts and legislature; examines the interplay between each branch of government and suggests how questions of equal opportunity are best fit for joint resolution. (Editor/RK)

Traces recent developments in the Supreme Court's view of the responsibilities of school districts to offer educational programs for linguistic-minority students. Also outlines various conceptions of appropriate instruction for these students ranging from English as a Second Language (ESL) to bilingual-bicultural programs. (Author/RK)

Examines the implementation of Chapter 766, the dramatically innovative state special-education law in Massachusetts. Shows how the necessary coping mechanisms that individual school personnel use to manage the demands of their jobs may, in the aggregate, constrain and distort the implementation of special-education reform. (Editor/RK)

Examines the importance of understanding the way relations between teachers and children affect the development of learning environments and how classroom interaction may promote or retard learning. Describes how teaching styles depend on cultural contexts and examines successful and unsuccessful classrooms with examples from a variety of school…

Attempts to reframe current controversies over several aspects of language, including meaning, comprehension, acquisition, reading, and reasoning. Argues that in all these cases the conflicts are rooted in differing assumptions about the relation of meaning to language: whether meaning is extrinsic to language--designated as "utterance"--or…

Author advocates the view that meaning is necessarily dependent upon the communicative function of language and examines the objections, particularly those of Noam Chomsky, to this view. Argues that while Chomsky disagrees with the idea that communication is the essential function of language, he implicitly agrees that it has a function.…

Authors present a critical, historical overview of research on second-language acquisition. Outlines four analytical approaches--contrastive, error, performance, and discourse analysis--traces the shifts among these approaches, and demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of each. Also shows how the different approaches reflect changing…

Argues that reading, like speaking and writing, is an active language process in which readers display their sophistication as functional psychlinguists. While it is difficult to understand these active, underlying processes, authors advocate the use of oral reading as a data base. Presents a typology of miscues and demonstrates how they provide…

Critically examines the foci of four prevalent explanations for reading failure in children: visual perception, intersensory integration, temporal-order perception, and verbal functioning. Applying findings from his own laboratory investigations and other selected research to each of the four hypotheses, author argues that the verbal-deficit…

Authors raise the question of how writing and composition skills, often neglected aspects of literacy programs, can best be developed. Using examples from a variety of countries, they demonstrate the close connection among educational, political, social, and cognitive factors and illustrate their instructional principles and strategies in a…

Authors bring an historical perspective to the present debate over reading achievement. From an historical examination of selected European and American models of literacy, they conclude that reading instruction has been aimed at attaining either a low level of literacy for a large number of people or a high level for an elite. (Editor/RK)

Author claims that the essential antecedents of reading consist of two cognitive insights: that written language is meaningful and that written language is different from spoken language. He argues that current instructional practices may hinder the learning of these insights and suggests ways in which parents and teachers may help children to…