Significant differences were found in the mathematics test scores and word knowledge scores of Swedish junior high school students from one-parent versus two-parent families. Similar lower achievement patterns for students from one-parent families emerged with high school seniors. Results are discussed in terms of family configuration theories.…

Eight papers discuss research into career progression in teaching. Topics include: teachers' satisfaction and stress, historical research on teachers, English primary teachers' careers, studying teachers' knowledge using collaborative autobiography, methodological issues in analyzing teacher career path data, attitude and perceptual change in…

Current thinking of researchers from different disciplines about interaction among students in educational settings and the potential of peer interaction for learning and cognitive development is discussed. Topics of the eight papers presented include: potential outcomes of peer interaction, its nature, peer learning settings, and factors shaping…

To project the future of schools in the 1990s, current societal trends are discussed--from the Swedish perspective--that have resulted in dramatic problems of large urban schools. School institutional changes are needed to meet societal changes. The inherent conservatism of the school can result in a mismatch with society. (SLD)

Distinguishing between motivation and cognition in goal-directed activity is discussed; goal and energy are assessed from motivational and cognitive viewpoints. Motivation is a broader concept than cognition. If a problem or goal-solving activity is ego-involving or self-challenging and affects the individual's personal standards, the term…

Factors influencing 834 Swedish men to participate in organized adult education programs on a life-long basis were studied. Indicators of social origins, cognitive ability, formal youth education, occupational status, job satisfaction, and attitudes toward education collectively explained little of the variation in participation. Factors possibly…

Eleven papers on developments in middle school education (grades seven through nine) in England, West Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium are presented. Topics include comprehensive education for 11 to 16 year olds, mathematics, political issues, accessibility, curricula, school evaluation, and the view of the United States. (TJH)

Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test results from Spring 1984 through Fall 1986 were analyzed for 14,768 males and 16,574 females with regard to gender differences at the item level. For four of the six subtests, differences were related to item subject content; this was untrue for the two quantitative subtests. (SLD)

Factors influencing students' interpretation of learning tasks are discussed and two qualitatively different types of student interpretation are identified--procedural and content-related. The implications for research on the alternative frameworks used by students are discussed, including the identification of different levels of alternative…

Topics related to the identification and use of effectiveness indicators in the economic analysis of education are discussed. These topics include the relation between economic concepts and educational production; the economic concept of utility; and the nature and use of input, process, output, and outcome indicators. (TJH)

Six papers on applications of item response theory are presented. Applications involved include item bias, criterion-referenced measurement problems, test score equating, computerized ability testing, information processing approaches, unidimensional binary responses, multidimensional and polychotomous responses, and estimation and goodness of…

Interviews were conducted with 20 student-teachers and four of their supervisors to assess the subjects' perceptions of professional knowledge. Results indicate that: (1) professional knowledge covered both cognitive and affective descriptors; (2) the two groups share many common perceptions; and (3) findings agree with those in the literature.…

Research and theoretical analyses into school administration are reviewed. School administration is compared to a role-system, an organized anarchy, information processing, managerial arenas, a street-level bureaucracy, and the virtues of patience and prudence. Research methods and the role of the researcher are also addressed. (TJH)

An overview of meta-analysis in education is provided. Methodology is discussed and substantive findings from meta-analytic studies are reviewed for six major areas of educational research: (1) instructional systems; (2) instructional design; (3) curricular innovation; (4) teacher education and evaluation; (5) class and school organization; and…

Explores the experiences of four Canadian prospective primary teachers during an eight-week practicum. Suggests that subjects' conformity to cooperating teachers' practices was not passive acceptance of the status quo, but rather a response to their interpretations of the constraints of being a student teacher. Contains 46 references. (Author/SV)