Foreign language teachers need to provide students and administrators with a more accurate understanding of the nature and value of language programs if the programs are to successfully compete for enrollment. A survey of principals in Minnesota provided data reinforcing these views. (PGD)

"Instructional design" technology focuses on the learning process and student achievement rather than on the teaching process and student control. Adoption of this technology permits the effective use of computer-managed instruction as a learning tool. Teachers must learn to use both the technology and the tool to improve instruction. (PGD)

Administrators can help teachers follow six steps to gain the skills and confidence to use computers in the classroom: (1) familiarization with microcomputers, (2) understanding classroom computer applications, (3) acquiring parent and community support, (4) finding appropriate software, (5) introducing computers to students, and (6) evaluating…

Four research models used by schools to study writing across the curriculum are compared and discussed briefly, reasons for conducting such research are considered, and recommendations are provided for those interested in conducting similar research. The models cited were used in New Jersey, Toronto (Canada), and Perth (Australia). (PGD)

The anthropological concept of culture helps students develop a realistic sense of their roles in the world. Students and teachers both benefit when this concept is included in the curriculum. The culture conflict within native American students provides an extreme but illuminating example of the need for such studies. (PGD)

After 10 years of academic education, students not going to college should enter 2-year programs of cooperative education. In these programs students would spend half their time in real-world employment and the other half studying subjects relevant to the world of living and working outside of school. (PGD)

Discipline-based arts education is systematic instruction in concepts and processes intrinsic to the visual arts and includes participation in the aesthetic, critical, historical, and productive activities essential to appreciating cultural values. The systematic character of the instruction permits accountability. Guidelines for such study have…

Justifications for the retention or expansion of offerings in music education include music's value in developing the individual's creative potential, awareness of cultural heritage, and aesthetic responsiveness. Music also serves as a therapeutic tool and as a focus for social and personal involvement. (PGD)

Five questions relating to the management of incompetent teachers are answered: (1) What is incompetence? (2) How can the administrator help the incompetent teacher? (3) How can principals prove incompetence during dismissal hearings? (4) What kinds of resources are needed? and (5) Why is managing incompetent teachers worth the effort? (PGD)

A national study of 2,000 secondary school students found that the work experiences available to teenagers have little or no effect on their tendency to delinquency, their academic learning, or their psychological well-being. Earlier studies suggest that coordinating work with education more systematically could provide social benefits. (PGD)

Adopting a seven-period school day can help ease problems caused by declining enrollment in the following areas: teaching load, retention of electives, reduction of pupil-teacher ratio, utilization of facilities, graduation requirements and student interest, length of periods, and availability of time for noninstructional uses. (PGD)

Some computer education goals, such as computer-assisted instruction, are very expensive and difficult to meet. Programing, computer literacy, and word processing are less expensive computer education areas, and programs are easier to implement. (PGD)

A study of the learning style preferences of preservice education majors at the University of Idaho showed differences between men and women on 8 of 16 variables, between preparing for elementary and secondary school careers on 7 variables, and between students in different subject matter majors on 10 variables. (PGD)

At Liberty High School (Missouri), in-school suspension is a corrective, rehabilitative process. The successful program features a Saturday School, infraction-specific self-help packets for students, staffing by a full-time paraprofessional, visits by subject-area teachers, and meetings with counselors. (PGD)

Aurora, Colorado's Horizon Middle School maintains good community relations partly by housing a branch of the city library, a city-sponsored community center, three classrooms for a preschool, a sixth-grade class, a boy scout troop, soccer teams, local homeowners' associations, and two church groups. (PGD)