Traces New Zealand's introduction to school mediation, reviewing underlying goals of nonpunitive dispute resolution in the United States and highlighting significant initiatives. The establishment of the Hagley School Mediation Service is described and compared with Hawaii's Dispute Management in the Schools Project. Recommendations for school…

Study tested the validity of a high inference principal-administered rating scale, the North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument. Researchers examined the relationship of its ratings to student achievement, nonachievement student variables, and teacher variables. Results indicate principals can become valid raters of teacher…

The theory of reasoned action identified personal and social variables explaining the behavioral intentions of 51 teacher union leaders initiating site-based decision-making programs with their principals. Findings indicate they considered behavioral consequences of power and morale and opinions of other teachers and parent site council members…

Researchers revised a psychological assessment of organization in memory to measure organization in thinking. Secondary students viewed a videotape, wrote essays, then created word trees using provided words that eliminated the memory component in their original task. The ordered-tree technique reliably measured organization in thinking.…

For this study, middle-school teachers, students, and principals completed surveys on organizational climate, quality of life, and use of recommended middle-school practices. Student attitudes toward school life were only slightly affected by openness in faculty relationships; they were more affected by classroom organization and use of accepted…

Reports the results from a longitudinal cohort analysis of achievement among elementary magnet students, neighborhood school students, and predominantly black transfer students in one urban district with a school choice program. Two successive cohorts of students were compared on achievement scores. Results indicated magnet students generally had…

Provides an account of how three elementary school teachers, two in Australia and one in the United States, used multimedia to enhance student learning. Topics include a historical context of trends in school computing, computer-enhanced learning, reflective learning, concept development, cooperative learning, and learning planning skills.…

Cultural differences between 182 Korean and 93 American fifth- and sixth-grade students' homework styles were investigated, noting parents' awareness of homework style and the resulting effects on homework achievement and attitudes. Surveys indicated different patterns of homework style preferences. In both cultures, parent awareness related to…

Surveys of 350 teacher trainees from Singapore's teacher training institution were used to examine relationships among quality of work life, career commitment, job satisfaction, and withdrawal cognition. Career commitment and job satisfaction were important predictors of withdrawal cognition. Perceptions of the social status of teaching strongly…

This study used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the effects on students' learning, motivation, attitude, participation, and critical thinking when prediction activities were used in teaching genetic concepts in high school biology. The prediction activities enhanced students' critical analysis, interest, and participation.…

Describes a study based on data from a national survey of elementary and secondary school teachers that identified exemplary computer-using teachers and examined differences between exemplary and other computer-using teachers, including school environments, personal backgrounds, and teaching practices. Collegiality, school support, resource…

This literature review examines the contribution of the LOGO programming language toward facilitating elementary school students' learning and in promoting problem-solving skills. Topics addressed include positive and negative effects of LOGO use; LOGO theory and development; transfer of LOGO skills; and support for structured, teacher-mediated…

Describes a study that investigated the activities of engineering students working on a collaborative design project in a distributed multimedia environment. Topics discussed include learning as a social process; face-to-face and video communication; problem-solving techniques; use of interactive media; the construction of knowledge; and group…

A study concurrently identified significant relationships between the attitudes of high school students toward nuclear energy, environmental issues, energy concepts, science concepts, space exploration, and metrication topical areas. Surveys indicated there were significant concurrent attitudinal relationships between specific science-related…

Two studies analyzed structure and content of teachers' theories of intelligence, noting relationships between theories and educational goals. Teachers provided lists of behaviors characterizing intelligent persons. Other teachers rated characteristics and educational goals using those behaviors. Teachers based intelligence on conceptual thinking…