Having kindergarten children use familiar play objects can serve the needs of the children and the goals of the teacher. Findings showed that, in addition to promoting interaction among children, play materials in kindergarten classrooms also embody institutional messages and facilitate socialization. (AM)

The hypothesis that a link exists between a female teacher's sex-role ideology and her expression of sexuality in the classroom was tested. The classroom behavior of three female high school teachers, with traditional, ambivalent, and androgenous sex-role ideologies, was studied using ethnographic observation methods. (AM)

Describes the development and application of a model for social studies program evaluations. A case study showing how the model's three-step process was used to evaluate the Improving Citizenship Education Project in Fulton County, Georgia is included. (AM)

A methodology for exploring limits and subtleties of children's construction of mathematical concepts and operations is described. It is believed that the failure to observe children's constructive processes firsthand denies a researcher the experimental base so crucial in formulating explanations of processes. Researchers are encouraged to teach…

The effect of direction of motion on the difficulty of slides, flips, and turns for first, third, and fifth graders was examined. The study considered only students with no training in transformation tasks. The investigation found that the sex main effect was not significant. (Author/MP)

In elementary grades, word problems that cannot be solved by a routine application of a single arithmetic operation can cause a great deal of difficulty. The role of several factors in children's performance when solving two-step problems of a given structure was probed. (Author/MP)

A comparison of male and female enrollment in mathematics courses for six predominantly Black senior high schools was made. Patterns were not found uniform across schools and females were about as likely as males to elect courses. It is suggested that future studies should focus on conditions within schools. (Author/MP)

Issues covered stem from concerns that research in mathematics education may not always be used to maximum advantage, or engaged in things that would help teachers. Details of work done at Chelsea College, University of London are provided. Teaching is criticized as a profession which does not listen to customers. (Author/MP)

Describes a study which tested the reliability and validity of the Barth-Shermis Social Studies Preference Scale as a measure of teaching orientations with respect to Barth and Shermis' three traditions. Subjects were 190 secondary social studies teachers. (AM)

Reviews literature on student learning that emphasizes the social factors that affect learning. The influence of student social status and the effects of cooperative learning efforts and individual and group reward structures are discussed. (AM)

Examines the relationship between social class and curriculum organization. It is suggested that the inquiry and critical thinking elements of social studies curricula share a style of social control most extensively attempted in the 1970s open classroom movement. (AM)

Explores the differences between the social science (SS) and reflective inquiry (RI) teaching traditions. Each tradition defines problems differently. For example, in the SS teaching tradition, the learner's problems are predefined. In the RI teaching tradition, the learner defines the problem. (AM)

Describes a study to determine which student, teacher, and learning environment characteristics correlate with students' attitudes toward social studies. Teachers and 1,758 students in grades four, seven, and nine completed questionnaires. (AM)

Reports on two studies which examined the effect of teacher enthusiasm on the social studies achievement of seventh-grade students. The purpose of the first study was to determine whether three levels of teacher enthusiasms would produce corresponding differences in social studies achievement. The second study was an attempt to replicate the…

Tests a model which relates student political attitudes to the degree of participation in extracurricular activities. Subjects were 3,087 high school students. Findings showed that political attitudes are predictors of participation in the political arena in high schools. (AM)