Examined the effects of active versus passive peer tutoring among African American first graders at risk for school failure, comparing both types of tutoring to teacher mediated instruction. Results of weekly spelling tests indicated that both peer tutoring methods produced spelling scores superior to scores in the teacher mediated group. Passive…

Describes the role of cross-disciplinary research in practice and policy for middle-grades education. Argues that for a research agenda to have an impact, it must be a coordinated effort among educators, content area specialists, health educators, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and medical researchers; and coordination must be…

Analyzed survey-based information on state policies and school practices together to explore the impact of content-driven state education reform on instruction in middle-grades mathematics. Found that content-driven state policies have great influence on instruction at the school level, and are associated with desired instructional practices at…

Studied the effects of interdisciplinary teaming versus departmentalization on student achievement in middle schools. Found no significant differences for reading, math, science, and social studies achievement. Results suggest that team teaching merits further investigation as a potential strategy for mediating the student achievement loss…

Examined teachers' understanding of the moral development of middle level students via prediction of student responses to the behavior of fictitious students in ethical dilemma situations. Found that teachers were able to predict characters which students admired least, but were unable to predict characters the students most admired. (Author)

Goal card sort and ranking task was given to middle school teachers and a sample of sixth- through eighth-grade students to generate data relevant to revising goals of an advisory program. Study categories included advocacy, community, skills, invigoration, academic and administrative. Community and advocacy goals received highest student ranking,…

Surveyed middle school principals in port-of-entry communities along Texas-Mexico border regarding preferred preparation experiences and education of potential preservice teachers. Obtained demographic data regarding teachers, students and schools, and improvement suggestions for state teacher-education programs. Found that principals preferred…

Describes how a culture of experimentation allowed a middle school to make significant changes in delivering instruction and programs, specifically, how the school became involved with school reform organizations and developed ongoing outdoor educational experiences for students. Traces how the culture developed to include teacher impetus,…

Notes that young adolescents arrive at school greatly influenced by their home environments and are then influenced by school experiences. Notes that students with risk factors at home and school have difficulty succeeding. Recounts story of a young adolescent male to illustrate impact of school and home on school performance, highlighting the…

Examined whether the use of multiple in-class college student evaluations of instruction throughout the term, coupled with instructor consultations with students, would lead to improved instruction as measured by direct observation and end-of-term student ratings. Results indicated that this created an enhanced learning environment and an…

Investigated the cumulative effects of alternative certification (AC) on the public school teaching force and the comparative characteristics of teachers certified traditionally and alternatively. Data from the 1993-94 national Schools and Staffing Survey indicated that AC had mixed results in terms of fulfilling its promises, with some of the…

Compared the efficacy beliefs of Taiwanese student teachers just beginning their program with the beliefs of students near the end, examining the validity of a teacher efficacy scale. Beliefs about roles and potential for success changed with experience. Efficacy beliefs may be constructed and integrated with social and cultural perspectives.…

Explored the usefulness of Galileo, a computerized neural-network content analysis program, in analyzing 11th-grade students' essays on the problems of Chicago public schools and how to solve them. Without subjective coding or characterization of the essays, the program detected salient, meaningful patterns of statistically associated words that…

Evaluated the four-year outcome of the Research-Based Model Partnership in Education Program, an after-school tutoring and adaptive-skills training program for mostly low-achieving, low-income African-American students. Computerized school records provided academic and social data. Results indicated that four-year participants had higher grade…

Examined the relationship between parents' educational expectations for their adolescents and adolescents' expectations, using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, specifically the 1992-1994 panel samples. Participants were high school seniors in 1992. Results indicated that fathers and mothers equally influenced…