Critiques the popular view of rural United States and presents various systems for classifying rural counties. Describes six major socioeconomic and political trends affecting rural areas. Hypothesizes the effects of the six major trends on types of nonmetro counties using the typology which classifies nonmetro counties based on primary economic…

Results in 487 reports were integrated by meta-analysis to study characteristics of problem solvers, conditions for harder and easier problems, effects of different instructional methods on problem-solving performance, and effects of classroom-related conditions on problem-solving performance. Problem solving related positively to measures of…

Considers theory and hypotheses about the relationship between preschool experiences and literacy outcomes that are based on the longitudinal Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development project, now in its fourth year of data collection. Also discussed are the sample, data collection techniques, and types of analysis being used in the…

Investigated effects of kindergarten schedules and prior preschool attendance on elementary children's academic achievement, incidence of grade retention, and reception of special education services in 32 Ohio school districts. In this statewide longitudinal study, children who attended preschool prior to kindergarten had greater success in…

Compared students who had four years of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) secondary curriculum to two distinct groups of comparable students at three different sites (one urban and two suburban). UCSMP students at all three sites achieved higher but registered little difference in attitude. (Contains 48 references.) (MDH)

Rural families in the 1990s have less to support their children and schools than a decade earlier: rural poverty (particularly among children), single-parent families, and maternal employment have increased whereas education and incomes of young adults have decreased. Although education has increased in importance for jobs, rural schools systems…

Investigated whether specific strategies of commenting or questioning by the adult reader would influence the complexity and type of spontaneous comments to story details made by children listening to stories. Results suggest that parents and teachers should combine questioning and commenting during storybook readings to induce lengthier comments…

Four third-grade and three fourth-grade students received individualized instruction on addition and subtraction of fractions for three weeks. Students overgeneralized the meanings of symbolic representations for whole numbers to fractions and vice versa. (MKR)

Reports on a battery of oral language and early literacy tests, called the SHELL. Describes the tests, presents tasks and scoring system, and provides information about performance by participants in the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development. Descriptive, correlational, and predictive analyses based on SHELL-K (kindergarten) and…

Attempts to express a group of children's understanding of inversion, retrograde, and retrograde-inversion as it applies to musical composition and color schemes. The children, ages six to nine, displayed idiosyncratic approaches to the problems. Discusses the possible implications for symbolic language and cognitive development. (MJP)

Provides an insightful summation and critique of David Elliott's "Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education." Praises the book for its broad selection of thinkers and diverse array of topics. Claims, however, that the book places undue emphasis on performing and stoops to ridiculing rival theories. (MJP)

Delineates the cultural norms evident in the performance and practice of Ghanaian children's play songs. Describes the similarities and differences between these and those of adult Ghanaian music culture. Discusses the social significance of the songs and includes several tables showing musical notation. (MJP)

Describes one teacher's attempt to enlarge the scope of her teaching to include the music of Africa. Uses this experience to examine the practical problems of introducing multicultural education into the elementary curriculum. Primary problems concerned finding and adapting appropriate and authentic instructional materials. (MJP)

Presents a personal reflection on an ethnographic study of teaching and learning practices in Irish traditional music. Describes the aims and methods of the study and some of the culture of Ireland. Concludes with a rumination on the nature of truth, applicability, consistency and the role of the ethnographic researcher. (MJP)

Addresses questions of how students learn to play the piano and what is the role of the teacher. Discusses a project in which piano students were allowed to set their own learning goals. Shows that most students had favorable opinions of the project and felt that their playing improved. (DSK)