Examines relationships between student personality and choice of traditional on-campus or online college classes. Data show differences in personality, age, and computer experience between online and on-campus students and help to elucidate characteristics of students selecting the online venue for college classes and/or curricula. Results are…

Evaluates an interactive, instructional Web site that teaches the basic tenets of human performance technology. The methodology, based on a combination of heuristic and formative evaluation techniques, involved measuring attitudinal reactions to the Web site, learning gains from performance scores on practice exercise, and content, navigation, and…

Tests the effects of Web page design instruction on improving computer self-efficacy of preservice teachers. Various computer experiences, including weekly computer use, weekly Internet use, and use frequencies of word processing, e-mail, games, and presentation software were significantly related to computer self-efficacy. Use frequencies of word…

Proposes that to bridge today's gender gap in computing, prior approaches need to integrate appeals to girls' traditional and nontraditional interests, and focus content more clearly on learning about computer design itself. A test of this strategy obtained significant increases in the treatment group's interest in, sense of relevancy of, and…

Reports the results of research that examined ways in which a computer simulation of a banking workplace influenced high schoolstudents' general knowledge and understanding about the world of work. Results indicated students who used the simulation had a broader sense of work and had more subtle understandings of current trade-offs than did…

In two experiments, students overheard two computer-controlled virtual agents discussing four computer literacy topics in dialog discourse and four in monologue discourse. In Experiment 1, the virtual tutee asked a series of deep questions in the dialog condition, but only one per topic in the monologue condition in both studies. In the dialog…

This special issue provides a comparative review and analysis of early childhood education and care policies in several countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The five chapters contain cross-national research reviews and scholarly examinations, illustrated with detailed country case studies. (SLD)

Explores the impact on Canadian schools of the market economy discourse on education that emerges from international organizations and Canadian business and government agencies. Argues that market economy policies have a deleterious effect on curriculum theory and development, and suggests that educators use critical thinking tools to resist this…

Critical analysis of historical financial data of the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) examined the impact of Alberta's 1994 funding changes on the CBE and the distribution of Alberta's education funding. Findings illustrate how funding mechanisms are used to govern from a distance and how seemingly neutral accounting/funding techniques function…

Reviews theoretical concepts and research findings related to values and valuation processes as they influence educational administration and decision making. Discusses the application of values theory and research through reflective educational practice, methodological problems associated with values research, and current research trends and…

Interviews with 20 Punjabi Sikh teachers (mostly immigrants) in British Columbia found that they played a wide variety of roles in the education system. They served as bridges between the Punjabi Sikh community and the schools; acted as translators, cultural informants, and role models; and were committed to influencing parental attitudes toward…

A grade 7-8 generalist teacher attempting to implement new student-centered assessment practices was influenced by his beliefs about the nature of teaching and learning, his understandings of the new forms of assessment and their influence on other classroom practices, his involvement in the collaborative research program, and contextual…

Surveys, focus groups, and interviews with 1,965 high school students in Quebec found that 88 percent of boys and 44 percent of girls agreed with gender stereotypes, and that conformity to gender stereotypes was negatively related to students' academic achievement and parental education level. (SV)

Studied the effects of training in morphological awareness for 33 dyslexic students in grades 4 and 5. During training the experimental group gained significantly more than a comparison group of 27 students on 1 of 3 measures of morphological awareness, but both groups made equal gains in phonological awareness, phoneme discrimination, and picture…

Interviewed eight Norwegian school children whose treatment for cancer had been completed, their parents, their teachers, and health personnel. Findings show that students with cancer have a clear desire to value their own academic ability, and that they strive to master academic requirements in spite of illness. (SLD)