THE RELATION OF WEEK‐DAY RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION TO THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

This article seeks to demonstrate that in the burgeoning spiritual memoir literature of those leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy, scant attention is paid to the negative impact of schooling, yet it may be a significant contributing factor to the decision to leave traditional practice and community. Differing educational expectations for girls and boys—an amplified focus on modesty for females and scholarship for males—can become constricting and, ultimately, oppressive. Highlighting these inequities in other similar parochial systems or traditional but more progressive schools may shed light on how specific messaging may work counter to desired educational outcomes.     

THE CHALLENGE OF THE TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY

Two Oregon “baby boomers” now serving in the U.S. House of Representatives consider issues vital to the future of their cohort as it ages and describe the role they would like the federal government to take in that future.     

ATTITUDE OF THE JEWS TOWARD WEEK‐DAY RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION

The purpose of this column is to keep religious educators abreast of the relevant significant research in the general field of psychology. Its implications for methods and materials in religious education are clear. Religious educators may well take advantage of every new finding in scientific research.

Each abstract or group is preceded by an evaluation and interpretive comment, which aims to guide the reader in understanding the research reported.

All of these abstracts are from PSYCHOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS and used by permission of that periodical. The abstract number is Volume 30, Number 5, October 1956.     

DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC PLAY IN YOUNG CHILDREN AND ITS EFFECTS ON SELF‐REGULATION: THE VYGOTSKIAN APPROACH

The necessity for parents and teachers to work together collaboratively to optimize children’s learning and development in early childhood education is well recognized. Yet, ways in which initial teacher education programs might prepare teachers for professional relationships with parents are rare in the literature. This paper reports on the use of field experience in family homes that occurred in the 1^st year of a teacher education program. A case study of two student teachers is discussed to illustrate the potential of such an approach to this aspect of teacher preparation. These student teachers experienced the realities of the daily lives of families with young children. Six months later, their experiences appeared likely to have had a positive influence on their understanding of parenting and their attitudes towards establishing and maintaining effective partnerships with parents in their future professional role.     

FROM NEAR‐RUBBLE TO REBIRTH: A FORMER CHURCH BUILDING AS A CENTERPIECE OF COLLABORATION FOR CHILDREN

This article describes the collaborative efforts of multiple organizations and individuals in transforming a doomed church in a large urban community into an exemplary public Pre‐k through Grade 2 laboratory school. Central to this emerging facility was the commitment of all cooperating parties to focus upon meeting the educational, health, and social needs of each child through school, home and community involvement. Unique to this collaboration has been the continual involvement of higher education institutions in Western New York in the planning, organization and implementation of this project. Further, infusion of the latest in computer and video technology with distance learning capability supported cross‐fertilization and friendships among higher education professionals and their students from a variety of related disciplines.     

SALUTE TO ALL TEACHERS OF YOUNG CHILDREN

There is a story many years ago of an elemen-tary school teacher.Her name was Mrs.Thompson.And as she stood in front of her 5~(th) grade class onthe very first day of school,she told the children alie.Like most teachers,she looked at her studentsand said that she loved them all the same.But thatwas impossible,because there in the front row,slumped in his seat,was a little boy named Teddy     

CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING AT THE TWO‐YEAR COLLEGE: THE TYPES OF DATA USED

After decades of rapid expansion, community colleges have begun to examine their internal academic processes; this study examines how curriculum is approved at one two‐year college. A previously developed classification system is utilized to examine data utilized by a college's curriculum committee in their deliberations preceding decision making. The system employs the use of three judges trained in the use of the system and also in the research technique of Content Analysis. The study classifies two groups of data—data sources and data subjects. It identifies some specific avenues in which data enter the curriculum deliberations; reveals some patterns of data usage; and develops a hierarchy of subjects, or topics, most often used in curriculum decision making at the college.