Until recently, teacher behaviors as conceptualized by educational researchers were not consistent with teachers' own views of effective teaching. Explicit attention has to be devoted to the characteristics of the teacher so that changes or adoptions of new procedures will be congruent with the teacher's own ideas and attitudes. (JN)

Teaching involves intense personal interaction with many students simultaneously and requires the complex intellectual tasks of diagnosis, interpretation, and decision making. Teachers need and deserve psychological and social support to keep their energies focused upon what is essential. (JN)

There is a great need for theoretical frameworks to generate research that could help to guide the development of teacher education programs. Studies of successful adult functioning in complex careers support the construct validity of developmental stage as predictor. (JN)

This article describes how to identify implicit theories of teaching and learning through a workshop which creates an open, reciprocal climate that enhances self-knowledge and knowledge of others and facilitates communication. (CJ)

The central task of the teacher is to accomplish tasks that will result in pupil learning. Research on the effects that certain competencies have on teacher behavior and student academic achievement is needed. (CJ)

A staff development program that conceptualizes the teacher as "executive," or manager of time factors, curriculum, and instruction would help teachers to deal with the complexities inherent in the modern elementary school classroom. (CJ)

The issue of whether or not early adolescence is a transitional or stable period of development may be dependent on our ability to describe ways in which early adolescents are quantitatively and qualitatively different from when they were children and how these early adolescent characteristics are forerunners to the more elaborate constructs of…

Puberty culminates in a dramatic and visually apparent set of changes in each individual. Social and psychological effects of the meaning of these changes are an important component in understanding the significance of puberty for adolescents and their behavior. (CJ)

Theory and research concerning early adolescent self-concept and self-esteem indicate that: (1) many early adolescents' cognitive changes affect dramatically the way they see and evaluate themselves; (2) a variety of new significant others are involved in early adolescent self-concept; and (3) changes taking place during adolescence are not as…

The amount and type of decision-making activities available to and used by adolescents are examined. Adolescents' effectiveness in making decisions, methods they employ while doing so, and various decision-making models that may help adolescents perfect decision-making skills are discussed. (CJ)

Research involving adolescent identification with and development of sex roles is reviewed in the areas of cognitive skills and personality traits, theories of sex role development, and minority group adolescent sex role development. Emerging issues and educational implications in these areas are discussed. (CJ)

The relationship between maternal employment and adolescent development is enormously complex, and no simple generalizations are possible. Many intervening variables alter the impact that maternal employment has on adolescent development. There is an urgent need to discover what impact this arrangement has on adolescent development. (CJ)

Although the movement to create specialized schools and improved programs for early adolescents has experienced some difficulties, many encouraging signs have emerged indicating that the gap between theory and practice is narrowing. Many middle-grade schools exist today and the national movement to establish more shows no sign of abating. (CJ)

A complex set of issues plague the efforts of public school sex education programs to reduce the level of pregnancy risk among adolescents. Issues include: (1) uncertain status of sex education; (2) training the teacher; (3) support among school leaders; (4) other influences on adolescent development; (5) developmental characteristics of…

Strategies for promoting moral development in early adolescence reviewed include the "plus-one" model, Deliberate Psychological Education, didactic courses in social studies, and a high school Just Community on moral reasoning. (CJ)