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This study was concerned with the classroom adjustment of the nursery school child and the role of the teacher as a facilitator of change in adjustment. The first objective was to increase the value of the teacher's social responses of attention and approval in children who seemed to value these responses least, and the second objective was to assess whether an increase in the value of the teacher's social responses would produce increases in classroom adjustment. One member of each of 12 pairs of low attraction children was rendomly assigned to the experimental condition, and the other was assigned to the control condition. The assistant teacher in each class served as the treatment agent who implemented a 19-session program of interaction with the child. The treatment program, derived from principles of desensitization and positive attitude conditioning, was designed to reduce aversion or dislike and increase attraction to or liking of the teacher. All nursery school children were pre- and post-tested on a 26-item rating scale of classroom adjustment. Significant increases were shown in social interaction and compatibility by the children nominated as shy/avoidant or unresponsive. (Author/DB)

To assess the effects of familiar social stimuli on arousal in a novel and mildly stressful environment, skin conductance was measured in 4-year-old nursery school children who experienced this environment under two conditions: (a) alone, and (b) in the presence of a close friend. The study was intended to test Zajonc's (1965) social facilitation hypothesis that the presence of others as spectators or as coactors enhances the emission of dominant responses, and Berlyne's arousal-reinforcement theory (1967), which implies that the affective consequences of a stimulus will be dependent upon prior level of arousal, Teacher ratings identitied mutual friendships between like-sex children, and these children were paired in the experimental room. Electrodes attached to the fingers continuously measured skin conductance while the children listened to tape recorded sound effects (gong, crashing dishes, barking dogs, etc.) spaced at unpredictable intervals against a background of white noise. Results provided support for the present application of neither Berlyne's nor Zajonc's hypothesis, since significant main effects of the Alone vs. Friend conditions were not found. (NH)

This investigation evaluated the effectiveness of a 3-year project on the teaching of sex education, funded through Title III of the Elementary-Secondary Education Act. The sample included 515 teachers and 1,110 pupils. Teachers and pupils were assigned according to experimental and control conditions. The experimental group of teachers received special in-service training in the teaching of healthy sexuality. In comparing experimental and control group teachers, the findings indicated no significant changes in general teacher personality characteristics; however, they did indicate that special in-service training did bring about significant changes (increases) in the experimental group teachers' knowledge of and attitudes towards teaching sex education. Also, significant differences (increases) were found in the knowledge of healthy sexuality gained by pupils of experimental group teachers, as compared with pupils of control group teachers. (Author/JA)

The past decade has seen an increasing number of libraries move to convert their periodical holdings to microform. The very practical problem arises of how to determine which part of the collection should be converted and in what priority. A simple, yet effective, tool for use in non-research oriented colleges and universities is described. (Author)

The relationship of background factors to separation reaction and social emotional adjustment at the start of nursery school was examined in 106 middle-class 4-year-olds. Mothers completed the Cain-Levine Social Competency Scale and questionnaires on the social experience of their children. Ratings of reactions to separation and of adjustment were obtained on the first day of nursery school and one and five weeks later. Experience with playmates at home, experience in group settings away from home, and contact with different baby sitters in the home were each independently related to ease of initial separation. A total social experience score correlated -.46 (p<.001) with separation distress. The social experience score was not related to fifth-week separation problems but was correlated with adjustment through the fifth week. Social competency was not related to separation reaction ratings or social experience but was correlated with adjustment through the fifth week. The results supported the view that the distress which some children exhibit at the start of nursery school is a function of the novelty of the situation for the child in question. [Filmed from best available copy.] (Author)

A 3-year Project ABLE social studies curriculum for vocational students was developed by high school teachers around general vocational, citizenship, knowledge, and self-fulfillment objectives and emphasized problem-solving ability, use of new instructional materials, different teaching strategies, and individualized instruction. Structured at three levels of learning, course content at the 10th grade consists of general concepts and treatment of political, social, and cultural problems in diverse societies, while the 11th grade limits the study of concept and treatment to a specific society and the 12th grade to the individual's role in that society. During the first year (1968-69) of implementation, several problems hampered the introduction of the instructional materials which necessitated revisions in subsequent materials. It was also found that in order to objectively evaluate the materials, special criterion measures or appraisal techniques were needed. Other recommendations were that materials should be evaluated against stated learning objectives, student population should be altered to a size permitting validation of the materials, and the format of the units should be changed to provide more variety of instructional media. Several project materials are appended. (SB)

The study was designed to investigate the exploration and attachment behavior of young children in a strange situation in the presence of: (1) an individual to whom the child was attached (the mother); (2) an inanimate object with which the child was highly familiar (favorite toy); and (3) a novel inanimate object (an unfamiliar toy). The effect of age was also investigated. Thirty-six male children from nursery schools in the Syracuse, New York area were subjects. They ranged in age from 15-42 months. The experimental session consisted of four parts: (1) instructional (mother and child shown room and toys); (2) baseline (mother and child alone in room for four minutes); (3) intermission (child coaxed or taken out of the room) and (4) test (child returns to room and finds either his mother, the familiar toy, or the unfamiliar toy. Data was compiled during baseline and test phase in two categories of dependent variables: (1) exploratory behaviors; and (2) attachment behaviors. Hypotheses and subsequent discussion of results are extensively presented. [Not available in hard copy due to marginal legibility of original document.] (TL)

A review and report on the literature dealing with the use of media in academic library orientation for the inclusive period of 1950 to 1972 is presented in this paper. In a few cases papers relating to special or high school library orientation have been included when the approach and information is equally useful for academic libraries. The bibliography is divided into two parts. The first part is arranged in alphabetical order by source to assist the reader in searching the literature. Each entry is preceded by an abstract number and a letter. The letter indicates the subject emphasis of the article and corresponds to the subjects listed. The second part consists of an author index. (Author/NH)

THIS REPORT IS AN EVALUATION OF A PROGRAM WHICH PAIRED STUDENTS FROM TWO "SLOW" SECOND-GRADE CLASSES IN A HARLEM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH STUDENTS IN TWO HIGH ACHIEVEMENT FIFTH-GRADE CLASSES. THESE PUPILS LUNCHED TOGETHER WEEKLY AND PLAYED TOGETHER AFTERWARD. ONCE A WEEK THEY MET FOR DIRECTED CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES. ALSO THEY WENT ON SCHOOL TRIPS TOGETHER, ATTENDED ONE ANOTHER'S SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES, AND WERE ENCOURAGED TO EXCHANGE GREETING CARDS AND OTHER TOKENS OF FRIENDSHIP. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE SECOND-GRADERS, HAVING THEIR NEED TO IDENTIFY WITH A SUCCESSFUL MODEL FULFILLED, WOULD SHOW AN INCREASE IN MOTIVATION, ACHIEVEMENT, PERSONAL AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT, AND POSITIVE SCHOOL BEHAVIOR AND RELATED ATTITUDES. EVALUATION PROCEEDED ON THE BASIS OF TEACHERS' RATINGS, INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, AND STANDARDIZED TESTS. TWO CONTROL GROUPS WERE ESTABLISHED FROM THE SECOND- AND FIFTH-GRADE CLASSES. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOWED THAT THE SECOND-GRADERS IMPROVED IN SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND READING ACHIEVEMENT. HOWEVER, DATA RELEVANT TO SOCIAL AND PERSONAL ADJUSTMENT WERE NOT CONSISTENTLY SUPPORTIVE. MOREOVER, ALTHOUGH THE JUNE 1966 TEACHERS' RATINGS AND THE INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS INDICATED THAT THE PUPILS HAD GENERALLY IMPROVED SINCE SEPTEMBER, THE JANUARY 1967 TEACHERS' RATINGS OF THE PUPILS (THEN IN THIRD GRADE) WERE NEGATIVE, ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO PEER GROUP AND CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION. POSSIBLY THE SOMEWHAT TUTORIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OLDER AND YOUNGER CHILDREN INHIBITED THE YOUNGER CHILDREN'S ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PEER-GROUPS SITUATIONS. FURTHER CONTROLLED TESTING IN THIS AREA IS NEEDED. APPENDIXES INCLUDE A RESEARCH PAPER WHICH DISCUSSES THE PROGRAM IN TERMS OF THE PARTICIPATING FIFTH-GRADERS, AND OTHER RELEVANT DATA. (LB)

Three- and four-year-olds who had been in day care from infancy were compared with matched subjects who had no day care experience on eight personality characteristics. (DP)

Gives a brief survey of the different versions of the air trough and related devices. Presents some of the applications of this equipment in the teaching of the concepts of inertia, acceleration, and velocity. (GS)

Based upon eight months of observation in the same setting, 19 three- and four-year olds who had been in day care from infancy were compared on nine behavior traits with matched subjects who had no day care experience prior to the study. The early-day-care group was found to be significantly more aggressive, motorically active, and less cooperative with adults. Consideration of these results in the light of other findings with the same and other samples, suggested that early day care experience may not affect adversely adjustment with peers, but may slow acquisition of some adult cultural values. (Author/NF)

The objective of this project was to test the effect of the presence of a mother, compared with the presence of an adult female stranger, upon the apprehensiveness of children confronted with novel stimuli. Subjects were 10 children, 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years old, who were individually placed in a room containing a toy cash register, a marble-race toy, and a hidden mechanical toy gorilla. Each child was accompanied either by a mother or by an assistant experimenter. Ratings were made of facial expression, movement about the room, and visual orientation over a 5-minute period when the gorilla was animated. It was predicted that behavior would differ between the subjects in a manner suggesting less initial fear and rapid dissipation of fear by those accompanied by a mother. Results were opposite to predictions. The difference in the effects of the presence of an attached individual and an unattached individual are not as marked for children 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years old as they are for children 9 months to 2 1/2 years old. Since this study is inconclusive, other studies with additional experimental and control groups are planned. (DO)

THIS REPORT SUMMARIZES THE MAJOR FINDINGS, ISSUES, STRATEGIES, AND PROJECTS WHICH EMANATED FROM A SEMINAR ON THE EDUCATION OF DEPRIVED AND SEGREGATED CHILDREN AND YOUTH HELD AT DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, SEPTEMBER 3-15, 1963. FOUR HIGHLY INTERRELATED SOURCES OF EDUCATIONAL FAILURE WERE IDENTIFIED--(1) THE QUALITY OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY LIFE, (2) SOCIAL CLASS, RACIAL, AND ETHNIC PATTERNS, (3) THE TECHNOLOGICAL-ECONOMIC FACTOR, AND (4) THE CAPACITY OF THE SCHOOLS FOR CREATIVE CHANGE. THE SEMINAR WENT ON RECORD AS RECOGNIZING THE EXISTENCE OF EDUCATIONAL DISASTER AREAS OF SUCH MAGNITUDE AND INTENSITY AS TO CONSTITUTE ONE OF THE GRAVEST EMERGENCIES FACING THE NATION. (LP)

Compared the perceptual learning of reflective and impulsive kindergarten children. (WY)

Survey of students not accepted to the U. of Washington medical school during 1968 and 1969 from the states of Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. (HS)

The relations between data, information and prediction are discussed. A conclusion is that the output of mathematical operations is not related to the input as a deductive or probabilistic consequence of its real information content, but rather to information attributed to the data by assumptions inherent in the method. (9 references) (Author/SJ)

Teachers estimated students' progress; the result, using EMR students, was no apparent statistical relationship between expectations and academic achievement. (Editor/SP)

Discusses use of two EAI semi-expanded TR-20 units to display solutions to differential equations for harmonic oscillators, quantum-mechanical particles, trajectories, radioactive decay series, and hysteresis curves. Suggests practical applications for both undergraduate physics laboratories and classroom demonstrations. (CC)