Conceptions of learning and approaches to learning within vocational education were studied with 30 Finnish students of automotive mechanics. About half the students took a quantitative view of learning and favored a surface approach. Encouraging a qualitative view of learning and deeper approaches in vocational education is discussed. (SLD)

The seven chapters of this theme issue examine how to create a moral context to stimulate moral development and how the system of self-interest in childhood and adolescence integrates the system of morality in ways that yield a high moral identity. Among issues considered are the moral climate of a school and child development. (SLD)

The seven chapters of this theme issue are concerned with how individuals learn and reason in the subject matter domain of history. In this general context, there is a more specific focus on historical explanation and understanding. These chapters explore what should be taught in history and how it should be taught. (SLD)

The ethics of the influential psychologist and ethicist Lawrence Kohlberg are analyzed from a communitarian perspective. Kohlberg's conception of morality is described as not as formal and universal as claimed, and it is suggested that it is, in fact, a monological ethic. (SLD)

Thirty-one undergraduates and two tutors engaged in argumentative e-mail discussions related to texts on the sociology of education. Findings suggested that e-mail encouraged and stimulated students to engage in debates and that e-mail is an appropriate context for practicing argumentation. (SLD)

The efficiency of 286 Swedish municipalities in the provision of elementary and secondary school education in 1993-94 was studied through stochastic frontier production with the estimation of production- and cost-function models. Empirical results show that most operate at 85 to 100% efficiency. (SLD)

The perceptions of students toward conservation and nature utilization and their behavior toward the environment were studied with 725 Danish adolescents and a previously studied group of Bavarian adolescents. Following construct validation, comparison of mean within-region factor values reveals substantial differences between countries. (SLD)

Influences of heredity and environment on educational and occupational choice in mid-life and elderly cohorts were studied using longitudinal twin data (413 pairs). For both education and occupation there is a trend toward increasing genetic variance for females in comparison to males in the younger cohort. (SLD)

Analyses of the union-related work of 35 teachers in 10 U.S. and Canadian school districts reveal how teachers' practical and ideological concerns encourage assumption of organizational and political roles, and how this work provides access to information, resources, and influence. Discusses constraints and opportunities related to challenging the…

Interviews with 20 engineers revealed that their approach to technological problem-solving bore little resemblance to the model of "problem-solving through technology" in the Alberta elementary science curriculum. Engineers emphasized the importance of context and previous experience in making decisions about each unique situation, whereas the…

Describes the use of portfolio assessment in preservice teacher education, specifically elementary science methods courses. Presents both theoretical and practical considerations relative to ensuring the highest possible levels of validity. Includes a set of practical validation focus questions and comments from student portfolios. Contains 33…

Videotapes of four teachers tutoring first graders in a reading intervention program were analyzed for instances of metacognition and scaffolding (interactional talk structured by teachers to maximize learning). The most frequent category of scaffolding was coaching, which frequently preceded children's self-corrections and served to reinforce…

In two experiments, an elaborative interrogation strategy (responding to why questions) increased memory performance more than fact repetition for adolescents and young adults and increased performance more than self-selected strategies for children and adolescents. Young adults performed equally well using elaborative interrogation or…

Alberta surveys of 231 junior high school students and 28 administrators found that students intentionally did not report most incidents of violence for fear of reprisals, believed that violent behaviors are normal, and were not satisfied with how victims and perpetrators of violence were dealt with by school staff. Administrators' and students'…

A study of groups of fifth graders working in competitive or cooperative learning conditions found that in the cooperative condition, most student interactions were on-task, whereas in the competitive condition, all student interactions were off-task. Groups that began the term in the competitive condition and then switched to cooperative learning…