Studied the effects of 120 hours of chess instruction on the mathematics achievement of southern, rural, black secondary students. Analysis of covariance results show the treatment group (11 females, 9 males) scored significantly higher than the control group (10 females, 10 males) in mathematics achievement. Discusses results in terms of altering…

Studied the pretest and posttest attitudes of teacher education students who were required to write a literature review with empirical references about the pros and cons of corporal punishment in the classroom. Results for 59 students in 2 treatment groups and 55 students in 2 control groups at southern universities (where previous research has…

Studied the expectations of teachers and peers for gifted female adolescents using data from 28 teachers and 34 peers (seventh and eighth graders). Results support the idea that gifted females face conflicting societal expectations, with significant differences between the expectations of their teachers and their peers. (SLD)

Studied the stability of scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) over a 3-year period for 54 rural school students with learning disabilities. Mean full scale IQ scores did not change significantly between the measurement periods, but 20% of students showed significant change, and 33% of the sample showed…

Studied whether cooperative editing would significantly decrease the mean number of major (nonstandard) grammar errors on papers written by college freshmen in remedial composition courses. Four classes (79 students) were divided into control and treatment groups, with the treatment groups using researcher-developed cooperative editing exercises.…

Studied empirical factors related to achievement in educational research courses using a sample of 121 graduate students. Students with the lowest achievement tended to have or exhibit at least one of these characteristics: younger age, lower overall achievement, higher levels of research anxiety, higher statistics anxiety, poorer study habits,…

Proposes and illustrates a new method by which "what if" analyses can be conducted using estimated true population effects. Use of these "what if" methods may prevent authors with large sample sizes from overinterpreting their small effects once they see that the small effects would no longer have been statistically significant with only a…

Examined and categorized 203 teaching cases written by 8 groups of preservice teachers offering literacy-based arts lessons to elementary school students. Analysis revealed 11 major themes, 10 of which related to problematic issues. Only one theme highlighted the achievements and success of the preservice teachers as they recognized the increased…

Critiqued six methods that have been used to study the relationship between per pupil expenditures and student achievement and considered two methods used to summarize the results that have produced conflicting conclusions. Results of the critique suggest that a preponderance of the evidence supports the existence of a positive relationship…

Examined and analyzed critical features concerning school district size in Arkansas: standardized test scores, per-pupil expenditures, remediation rates, and students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Data from a variety of sources do not reveal functional relationships between school district size and these variables. (SLD)

Compared the problems and coping strategies of 231 adolescents (mean age, 15 years) from rural mid-south alternative and non-alternative schools. Results indicated that, overall, alternative school students tend to respond to given problems by using more negative coping strategies than do non-alternative school students. (SLD)

Studied whether high-stakes accountability measures are fair to all school systems despite disparities of wealth, community mores, and geographic location using data from Kentucky school districts including grade-level accountability data. Results help alleviate concerns about bias when using within-district gains to decide accountability, but…

Studied the identity of minority third graders through their autobiographies. Findings based on 188 autobiographies from 8 urban elementary schools show a pattern of responses that crosscut psychological constructs, gender, and race. Discusses changes needed in school culture to facilitate the development of well-adjusted children. (SLD)

Studied whether significant differences existed in the work cultures of schools with high student achievement scores and low student achievement scores focusing on six Florida elementary schools. Schools grouped based on student achievement were found to have significantly different work cultures, with more collaborative cultures in higher…

This journal publishes articles that focus on the results of applied educational research, scholarly reviews of research, descriptions of classroom techniques, studies of assessments, and other topics of interest to educational researchers. Issue number 1 of Volume 6 contains these articles: (1) "'More than Having a Vision': The Emergence of…