Showing papers on "Primary education published in 1985"

Returns to education : a further international update and implications

Abstract: This paper updates evidence on the returns to investment in education by adding estimates for new countries and refining existing estimates to bring the total number of country cases to over 60 The new cross country evidence confirms and reinforces earlier patterns, namely, that returns are highest for primary education, the general curricula, the education of women, and countries with the lowest per capita income The findings have important implications for directing future investment in education which, for efficiency and equity purposes, should concentrate on these priority areas

Explaining the Origins and Expansion of Mass Education

Abstract: The prevalence of mass education is a striking feature of the modern world. Education has spread rapidly in the last 2 centuries, becoming a compulsory, essentially universal institution. It has even expanded greatly in the poorest countries. Unesco estimates that about 75 percent of the children of primary school age in the world are enrolled in something called a school (1980 data).' For the developing countries, the mean figure reported is 68 percent. Although the richer countries have long since reached virtually universal enrollment, the fervor for education in the poor countries may be even stronger.2 Mass education is clearly no longer the prerogative of boys: the World Bank reports that elementary enrollment ratios for girls are as high as those for boys in developed countries, and they are only slightly lower than the ratios for boys in developing countries.3 In both rich and poor countries, secondary education has expanded to the point where it is obviously to be considered a mass form of education as well. The day is not far off when at least some type of secondary schooling will be widely available in countries where it was completely absent a few decades ago. Another way to gauge the universality of education is by the fact that about 19 percent of the world's population are students, nearly all of them in mass educational institutions. For most people, education may be the most important element of their social status, and their educational background will have a greater direct impact on their overall life chances than any other element but nationality. In the first part of this article, we consider a number of lines of explanation of the rise of mass education that have emerged over the past 2 decades. Two general sociological themes characterize these theories. First, there has been a tendency to see vertical or lateral social differentiation

Teacher Cognition: Differences in Planning and Interactive Decision Making Between Experienced and Inexperienced Teachers.

Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to describe the decision making processes employed by experienced and inexperienced teachers as they planned for and taught two lessons in physical education. Eight elementary physical education teachers with five years or more of teaching experience and eight elementary teachers in training thought aloud as they planned two physical education lessons subsequently taught to four elementary school children. Following each lesson, the decision making strategies employed during interactive instruction were accessed using a stimulated recall technique. Results indicated that, when planning, experienced teachers made more decisions concerning strategies for implementing instructional activities than did inexperienced teachers. During interactive teaching, experienced teachers focused most of their attention on individual student performance, while inexperienced teachers attended most frequently to the interest level of the entire class of students. The findings ind...

Avoiding Type III Errors in Health Education Program Evaluations: A Case Study

Abstract: Monitoring the implementation of a program being evaluated can improve the interpretability of data collected and help evaluators to avoid committing a Type III error: evaluating a program that has not been adequately implemented. This article describes an evaluation that analyzed the implementation of a school health education curriculum, assessed cognitive learning outcomes attributable to the curriculum, and examined the relationship between classroom implementation and changes in students' knowledge. Five fifth-grade classes (n = 101) participated in the curriculum, and five classes (n = 84) served as a comparison group. Data collection procedures involved a pretest and posttest of all students' health-related knowledge, daily monitoring of classroom implementation by the five teachers participating, and questionnaires completed by principals and teachers. Analysis methods included descriptive statistics, parametric and nonparametric tests of significance, and qualitative assessment procedures. Results indicated that the curriculum had a positive effect on learning in students; curriculum implementation varied considerably among the five classes participating; teaching/learning activities that were most and least likely to be implemented could be identified and described; both teachers and principals perceived the program favorably; some health instruction was occurring in the comparison classes, so it was not appropriate to consider them as pure controls; and no statistically significant relationship between curriculum implementation and cognitive outcomes was observed. This study provides evidence of the need for and value of measuring implementation of programs being evaluated. Implications for developing implementation measures and the role of formative evaluation in health education practice are considered.

Student and Teacher Perceptions of the Environment of Elementary School Classrooms

Abstract: in the classroom (Dunkin & Biddle 1974; Peterson & Walberg 1979) or techniques of naturalistic inquiry and case study (Stake & Easley 1978). An alternative approach, which forms the basis for this article, focuses on student and teacher perceptions of psychosocial characteristics of the classroom environment. Some advantages of this approach claimed by Walberg and Haertel (1980) are that questionnaire surveys are economical and that, compared with using an external observer, this approach involves the pooled judgments of many students (and possibly the teacher) over many lessons. By using students as informants, it also makes use of an important but often neglected source of information about classrooms (Weinstein 1981). However, this approach is limited because it assumes that students can render valid

Home and school connections in schools of the future: Implications of research on parent involvement

Abstract: (1985). Home and school connections in schools of the future: Implications of research on parent involvement. Peabody Journal of Education: Vol. 62, Planning the School of the Future, pp. 18-41.

Becoming an Elementary Social Studies Teacher: A Study of Perspectives

Abstract: Student teachers' perspectives toward social studies education are analyzed in this paper. Sixteen elementary-level student teachers were selected at two university teacher education programs. One year's observations and interviews with the student teachers and their colleagues provided the data. The 16 participants held one or more of six perspectives. They viewed social studies as a nonsubject, as human relations, as citizenship indoctrination, as school knowledge, as the integrative core of the elementary curriculum, and as education for social action. A case study of a representative student illustrated the complexity of how perspectives develop. These findings suggested that official conceptions of social studies have little to do with student teachers' beliefs and actions in the classroom and that methods courses should address this discrepancy.

A Comparison of Classroom Writing Practices, Teachers' Perceptions of Their Writing Instruction, and Textbook Recommendations on Writing Practices

Abstract: ing instruction practices (Applebee, 1981; Florio & Clark, 1982), there is still much to be learned about the current status of writing instruction. If there are to be changes in children's writing experiences, we need to understand current classroom writing practices as well as factors that influence these practices. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the number and types of writing experiences in which elementary teachers and children engage throughout the school day. Two major influences on instructional practices are also analyzed: teachers' perceptions of writing instruction and textbook guidelines.

After the Bus Arrives: Resegregation in Desegregated Schools

Abstract: Data from 5284 fifth-grade students and 886 teachers in 94 elementary schools are used to examine two aspects of the prevalence and effects of resegregation in desegregated schools. First we explore teacher and school characteristics that affect how teachers organize opportunities for intergroup contact and academic learning in their classrooms. Results suggest that positive attitudes toward integration influence teachers' selection of grouping practices that promote student interaction, such as active learning and equal-status programs. Negative attitudes toward integration, or teachers' beliefs in separate education for blacks and whites, promote their use of less flexible, resegregative practices, such as tracking and within-class grouping. Next, with data from teachers and students, we investigate whether different classroom organizations influence black and white students' achievement and behavior. Multiple regression analyses show that, with other important student, teacher, and classroom structures controlled, less resegregative classroom structures are more advantageous for black students' achievement. There is higher black achievement in classrooms using equal-status programs, cooperative activities, or flexible tracking.

Instruction on Derived Facts Strategies in Addition and Subtraction.

Abstract: The study concentrated on derived facts strategies in which the child uses known number facts to find the solution to unknown number facts. The study documented the children's spontaneous derived facts strategies and the influence of instruction in derived facts on children's solution strategies. The use of derived facts strategies more than doubled during the instruction and accounted for half the answers to addition problems. The increase in derived facts was accompanied by a decrease in counting. Counting on did not appear to be a prerequisite for learning derived facts strategies.

Differentiating Mildly Handicapped, Low-Achieving, and Regular Education Students A Curriculum-Based Approach

Abstract: Issues of accuracy of classification practices for mildly handicapped students remain paramount in the public schools. This study investigates academic performance differences between students receiving special education services for the mildly handicapped, low-achieving students receiving Chapter 1 services, and regular education students. All students were in grades 4, 5, and 6. These groups are compared on curriculum-based measures of reading, spelling, written expression, and math. Consistent differences are obtained with the results discussed in terms of alternative identification practices for mildly handicapped students.

Acquisition of Manual Sign Use: Collateral Reduction of Maladaptive Behavior, and Factors Limiting Generalization.

Abstract: An 11-year-old, nonverbal boy diagnosed as "autistic" was trained to communicate wants and needs with manual signs The signs were trained first in a corner of the classroom, and when generalization did not occur to other times of day and other areas of the classroom, training was delivered in "natural" classroom situations Training in the natural situations was introduced in a multiple baseline design across signs Both use of manual signs and frequency of maladaptive grabbing and yelling were measured Results indicate that sign training in the corner had no effect on the use of signs in the classroom or on the maladaptive responses Training in the natural setting was functionally related both to use of signs across the school day, and a dramatic reduction in grabbing and yelling Implications for sign language instruction, generalization and reduction of maladaptive behavior are addressed The ability to communicate is fundamental to a broad array of individual behavior pat terns One method of communication that has proven functional for severely handi capped and autistic individuals is the use of manual signs (Cohen, 1981; Stremel-Camp bell, Cantrell & Hall, 1977) It is evident that a large number of individuals who do not have verbal skills can learn to use manual signs (Fristoe & Lloyd, 1979; Hopper & Helmick, 1977; Moores, 1974; Poulton & Alogozzine, 1980; Schepis et al, 1982) If this skill is to be useful, however, signing should extend be yond training situations to those situations experienced in day-to-day living Generaliza tion of this type should not be assumed While examples of sign use in nontrained situations exist (Schaeffer, Musil, Kollinzas & McDowell, 1977), there are equally strong demonstra 1 The activity which is the subject of this report was supported in whole or in part by the US De partment of Education, Contract 300-82-0362 However, the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the US Department of Education, and no official endorse ment of the Department should be inferred 2 The authors express appreciation to Julie Wil liams, G Thomas Bellamy, Shawn M Boles, and Barbara Wilcox for comments on earlier drafts of this study, and to Marv Wilkerson, Ellen Adler, and Linda Hall for their cooperation in imple menting the intervention tions of poor generalization (Carr, 1982; Ful wiler & Fouts, 1976; Kohl, Wilcox & Karlan, 1978; Konstantareas, Oxman & Webster, 1978) Programs designed to teach manual signs must address procedures for ensuring that signs will be used in situations beyond training In addition to providing students with a functional mode of communication, sign lan guage has been associated with substantial re ductions in inappropriate behaviors (Carr, 1979; Creedon, 1973; Miller & Miller, 1973) For example, Casey (1978) reported the re duction of several different deviant behaviors after autistic children were taught to use manual sign language Similarly, Durand and Carr (1983) have demonstrated that instruc tion in communication skills was functionally rel ted to reduced self-stimulatory behavior This correlation between improved com munication and reduction in maladaptive be haviors raises the issue of using sign language instruction as one method of eliminating in appropriate responses The present study addresses two research questions: (a) What are the comparative effects of training manual signs in a simulated versus natural setting as methods of producing per formance in the natural classroom, and (b) is there a functional relationship between sign language training and the reduction of mal adaptive behaviors? Teaching Manual Sign Language to a Nonverbal Student / 39 This content downloaded from 1575539163 on Wed, 23 Nov 2016 04:18:59 UTC All use subject to http://aboutjstororg/terms Method regular public school The classroom included eleven students and five adult staff Instruc Subject and Setting tion was conducted in both small groups and , • one-to-one situations The subject was an 11-year-old male, with a diagnosis of "autism" and an IQ below 40 as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale Measurement For Children (Revised) (his exact IQ score was withheld as part of school district policy) The primary dependent variables were the The subject demonstrated good receptive "use of appropriate signs" and "grabbing and language skills but extremely limited use of yelling" in the classroom when presented with expressive language Prior to the study he the five stimulus conditions listed in Table 1 had not been exposed to manual sign language A third dependent variable was the percent training, and did not use any conventional of correct responses during sign training ses signs sions The study was initiated in response to Data were collected on the primary de teacher requests to reduce the subject's rate pendent variables during the normal class of grabbing and yelling during the school day room routine by a graduate student in special Systematic observation of antecedent and education Each time the subject was pre consequent events associated with these besented with one of the stimulus conditions in haviors indicated a pattern in which grabbing Table 1, his response during the following and yelling were associated with five specific 15 seconds was recorded as "grabbing and/ stimulus conditions (see Table 1) Teacher or yelling," "appropriate signing," or praise for not grabbing and yelling, and time' 'other'' Grabbing and/or yelling was defined out following grabbing and yelling had been as "physically removing unoffered items from used unsuccessfully prior to the study others" and/or "verbal responses emitted at The study was conducted in an elementary, a volume above normal conservation" Ap special education classroom for students lapropriate signing was defined as "production beled "trainabiy mentally retarded" within a of the American Sign Language (ASL) manual

Computers and Achievement in the Elementary Schools

Abstract: This article is a summary of a comprehensive meta-analysis of CAI research at the elementary school level. One conclusion is that CAI is effective in raising student achievement scores, but that different classes of children and different forms of CAI produce different results.

A Qualitative Study of Seatwork in First-Grade Classrooms.

Abstract: learning opportunities for everyone? Teachers have developed strategies for coping with the complexities of their job and for providing equitable treatment of all students. One common strategy, revealed in studies of time use in elementary schools, is creating time for working with small groups by having other students work independently. In many classrooms, students spend up to 70% of their instructional time doing independent seatwork assignments (Fisher et al., 1978). In this article, we present descriptive data from a study of how well this arrangement works for different achievement