Examined similarities and differences in high school language teachers' practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension. Teacher surveys indicated that part of teachers' practical knowledge was shared knowledge. Four scales of unshared practical knowledge were distinguished. On the basis of those scales, four clusters of teachers were…

Examined achievement differences between year-round and traditional calendar students using 2 years of data from North Carolina public school students in grades 3-8. Results indicated that achievement in year-round schools was no higher than in traditional calendar schools, and differential effects for certain student subgroups, although…

Compared the views of university faculty and school personnel regarding collaborative research while involved in a Professional Development School (PDS) partnership. Survey and interview data indicated that 61 percent of participants had had prior research experience. Participants tended to have traditional, rather than collaborative, conceptions…

Investigated the interaction patterns of teachers and students in public and private urban elementary schools to explore higher order teacher questioning. Data from observations of elementary classrooms indicated that there were no gender differences in students' responses to higher order questioning. The 16 teachers observed used predominantly…

Third and fifth grade teachers rated the mathematical skill level, classroom behavior, and effort of their students, most of whom had completed mathematics and reading achievement tests. Results indicated that mathematics and reading achievement test scores, together with student effort, were significant predictors of teacher rating of mathematics…

Supplemented an earlier study of the nature and frequency of externally imposed classroom interruptions and their perceived impact by classroom teachers. Surveys of Canadian elementary and secondary school classroom teachers indicated that most teachers experienced interferences from outside the classroom. Most respondents considered the public…

Investigated the influence of parent involvement, parent socioeconomic status, and instructional supplies expenditures on the mathematics achievement of fourth graders in a low-income North Carolina county. Data analysis indicated that instructional supplies expenditures per pupil and parental volunteer hours were not statistically significant in…

This introduction sets the stage for the themed issue. It describes the ambiguities inherent in the interpretation of the literature on compositional and peer effects and the genesis of the project. The balance of the introduction then describes the approach adopted to search for peer effects. First, there is a brief outline of the Barr and…

This chapter explores the dynamics and processes of peer group influences in learning settings from a social constructivist perspective. A two-tiered model of peer influences is presented, in which environments for learning are linked with mechanisms and processes most likely to underpin student learning. A distinction is drawn between more…

This paper reviews research on grouping of students within classes and its effects on learning. Primary consideration is given to grouping and mixing students by ability, though consideration is also given to grouping and mixing students by ethnicity and gender as well as to research on the effects of group size. Results of meta-analyses of…

This chapter reviews the research on school composition and peer effects from three comparative perspectives--Catholic and public schools, single-sex and coeducational schools, and small and large schools. Most of the research is sociological, focuses on high schools, and draws on national samples. The chapter seeks to discern cumulative trends in…

This chapter examines the extent to which the composition of classes affects learning outcomes. The aim is to explore peer effects when students are organized into classes on the basis of ability, ethnicity, or gender, as well as the effects of multigrade and multi-age classes and class size. The argument is defended that these composition factors…

This chapter discusses issues that are common across the literatures and makes connections across the different levels of inquiry to develop a conceptual model of peer influences on learning. Based on the premise that compositional effects operate through a nested series of hierarchical layers, the chapter proposes a multi-layered model with…

Despite over 30 years of research into the effects of school composition or "mix," there is remarkably little consensus over the nature and size of school compositional and peer effects. Developing an analytical review of international research in this area, this chapter begins by discussing conceptual and methodological problems related to…

This paper explores the role of negotiation in teacher-student interaction and argues that the negotiation of meaning, defined as a set of conversational moves which work toward mutual comprehension, is too narrow a construct to fulfil its pedagogical potential in teacher-student interaction in communicative and content-based second language (L2)…