Writing and going to school are intimately linked in the minds of many people. The second 'R; even more than reading, is regarded as a particularly school-like activity, and images of pupils huddled over desks gripping their pens, scrawling out lines on a clean page, readily spring to mind. The ...

Theories of how we learn to read are important springs for research and as research data piles up their strengths and weaknesses are being revealed. Meanwhile, back in the classroom, trial and error is as important as theory and data. In this item we have the experiences and methods of ...

What is work experience for? The main goal may be to make students more employable, or it may be to teach students about the community in which they live. It may be to help students to become more responsible and socially mature, or, to establish links between school and community ...

Most claims of bias in a test concern its content. Each of the three illustrations contains elements of content bias, which is the type of test bias that comes readily to mind for most people. A test with biased content contains questions that in one sense or another are 'unfair' ...

Browsing is the most common way of choosing what book to read. Coming closely behind is selecting an author, and selecting a subject. However, men put choosing the subject first, and browsing wins only by averages. Those who read a lot mentioned more ways of choosing what to read than ...

On June 12, 1982, a little book with a long title, Ko Ngā Kupu Pū Noa o te Reo Māori: The First Basic Māori Word List, was launched by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. The 'basic-ness' of the words included in the book (there are about 800 ...

It describes different types of solvent abuse, lists some of the signs and symptoms of sniffing, and makes some practical suggestions about ways of dealing with sniffing 'epidemics'. It is intended primarily for teachers and principals, but other professionals, including  those in health areas, may find it useful as background ...

Of course fathers are important - aren't they? Fathers have always been important. Fathers provide for their families. Fathers supervise, discipline and train. Fathers teach children skills and how to survive in a harsh external world. Fathers, as Talcott Parsons said, play the instrumental role in a family leaving mothers ...

Young children often play fantasy or pretend games. It's especially common between about 2 and 7 years or age. It starts in simple  ways. The Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget described how as early as 15 months his daughter Jacqueline lay down on a cloth, sucked her thumb and blinked her ...

The term 'non-verbal test' is used to describe a range of paper-and-pencil tests designed to tap a selection of cognitive processes that are unlikely to involve verbal language. This does not mean that verbal instructions and verbal strategies have been entirely eliminated for all those who take these tests; it ...