Improving Educational Standards and Productivity: The Research Basis for Policy, edited by Herbert J. Walberg (McCutchan Publishing Corporation, 2526 Grove St., Berkeley, Calif. 94704; 374 pages, $21.00).
For policy makers at all levels of education, this book presents the findings of 28 educators who have researched the question of how to increase “educational productivity,” a phrase they use to mean improved student learning. Part I addresses the roles of teachers, administrators, and students in achieving higher learning levels. Part II discusses strategies for increasing schooling’s positive effects, including using the media, extracurricular a
ctivities, and management initiatives. Part III examines school facilities and the role of the community in achieving educational productivity. Each argument is refuted by a second contributor. The book is part of a series called Contemporary Educational Issues, funded by the National Society for the Study of Education. Mr. Walberg teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle.
Learning Disabilities Explained, by Stanley S. Lamm and Martin L. Fisch, with Don McDonagh (Doubleday and Company Inc., 245 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10167; 262 pages, $16.95).
Based on the premise that a child with learning difficulties should be surrounded by supportive people and encouraged to develop his or her capacities to their fullest potential, the authors describe their team approach to assisting learning disabled children. Published this month, their book explains to teachers, counselors, and parents the causes and treatments of learning disabilities and includes case histories that show how treatment can be tailored to the individual child. Specific examples are based on the authors’ work at the Long Island College Hospital in New York. Includes a list of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of more than 300 federal, state, and local programs and organizations that can provide help for learning disabled children. Dr. Lamm is a practicing physician, Dr. Fisch is a clinical psychologist, and Mr. McDonagh tutors children with reading problems.
Straight Talk About American Education, by Theodore M. Black (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 757 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017; 320 pages, $12.95).
Mr. Black, former Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, writes in his preface that he wanted to write a book diagnosing the ills of education and providing workable prescriptions for their solution. The book, published this week, provides his evaluation of this country’s entire educational system, from the author’s perspective as a member of the nation’s oldest educational governing body. Writing for general readers as well as educators, Mr. Black identifies what he believes to be the strengths and weaknesses of education with the aim of improving the quality of learning. Excellence should be the aim of programs and policies, the author believes. “All other considerations are secondary,” he writes. The book’s 12 chapters cover such topics as sex education, discipline, higher education, desegregation, and testing.
Guides and Directories
Career Resources A To Z: The Career Explorer’s Guide to Occupational and Educational Information (Career Guidance Media, P.O. Box 2222, Springfield, Va. 22152; 16 pages, $2.00 per copy, $1.50 for 10 or more).
Practical information for students, counselors, and educators on how to obtain and use career information from the more than 250 organizations listed in the pamphlet. Covers such careers as: appraiser, copywriter, ecologist, executive housekeeper, fbi agent, grocer, mapmaker, meteorologist, midwife, mortician, surgeon, tool and diemaker, and zoologist.
The College Cost Book, 1982-83, Third Edition (College Entrance Examination Board, Publication Orders, Box 886, New York, N.Y. 10101; 191 pages, paper $9.95).
Designed to help high-school students and their parents prepare for the costs of attending college. Provides information on the following areas: the general costs of college, broken down into tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and other areas; family income and evaluating the ability to pay; and sources of college aid and application methods. Includes worksheets, student profiles, costs of specific colleges and universities, and a list of organizations that can provide information on state grants and the Guaranteed Student Loan program.
The Concise Dictionary of Education, by Gene R. Hawes and Lynne Salop Hawes (Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc., 135 West 50th St., New York, N.Y. 10020; 249 pages, $18.95)
A compilation of definitions of educational terms, labels, and slang currently in use, from preschool to postdoctoral and adult education. The terms span the fields of economics, administration, sociology, and psychology, including: block grant, creationism, new math, Pell grants, preppy, and tax credit.
Covering School Desegregation: A Deskbook for Education Writers (The Educational Equity Project, Institute for Public Policy Studies, Vanderbilt University, 1208 18th Ave. South, Nashville, Tenn. 37212; 119 pages, $10 plus postage).
Designed for education writers, this photocopied guidebook presents current information about legal developments, research, and the status of desegregation in schools nationwide. Based on research by the National Review Panel on School Desegregation Research at Vanderbilt University, the book also describes desegregation activities in 22 selected districts and includes a glossary and a list of suggested readings.
Extremist Groups in the United States: A Curriculum Guide (Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017; 300 pages, paper $10).
For high-school teachers. The guide is designed to help students recognize the prejudice of extremist groups as it exists in today’s world. Divided into three sections, the book covers extremism of the right and left and ways to handle the “threat of hate groups” in a democratic society. Includes 14 lesson plans, suggested readings, bibliographies, and discussion sections.
Handicapped Funding Directory, 1982-83 Edition, by Burton J. Eckstein, (Research Grant Guides, P.O. Box 357, Oceanside, N.Y. 11572; 211 pages, paper $18.00).
The names and addresses of more than 500 corporations, foundations, government agencies, and associations that fund programs for handicapped people are listed in the third edition of this directory. Additional information on how to apply for grants, a list of other sources of funding, and addresses of state agencies and directors is included.
Index of Majors, Fifth Edition (College Entrance Examination Board, Publication Orders, Box 886, New York, N.Y. 10101; 596 pages, paper $10.95).
For school counselors and high-school seniors, this book lists 385 major fields of study and the 2,540 colleges, universities, and graduate institutions in the U.S. that offer them. In addition, the book includes information on: special academic programs, internships, cooperative-education programs, student-designed majors, honors programs, and foreign study. Also contains an alphabetical index of major fields of study and the religious affiliations of individual colleges.
1983 Classroom Computer News Directory of Educational Computing Resources (Intentional Educations Inc., 341 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, Mass. 02172; 200 pages, cloth $29.95, paper $14.95).
A computer information guide for educators, this directory includes: names of computer companies, local and regional computer organizations, available educational opportunities, computer-related events and advertisers, and a yellow-pages listing of additional printed material. Published by the editors of Classroom Computer News, a magazine on computers in education.
Your School: How Well is It Working?: A Citizens Guide To School Evaluation, by M. Donald Thomas (The National Committee for Citizens in Education, Suite 410, Wilde Lake Village Green, Columbia, Md. 21044; 80 pages, $4.50).
A step-by-step guide for community members seeking to evaluate their public schools. Identifies criteria for assessing educational quality; provides a checklist for citizens; lists useful federal, state, and local organizations; and instructs the reader on how to identify positive aspects of educational performance.
Other Resources
Minority Leaders for Independent Schools, by Bobette Reed Kahn and William L. Dandridge (National Association of Independent Schools, 18 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 02108; 20 pages, paper, free).
For minority teachers and administrators in independent schools and for placement officers recruiting minority students, this pamphlet offers guidelines for achieving multicultural and multiracial education. Includes brief comments by minority teachers and administrators on the roles of members of minority groups in independent schools.
Private School Education in the U.S.: An Annotated Bibliography, 1950-1980, by Alice H. Songe (McFarland and Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson, N.C. 28640; 89 pages, paper $15.95).
Lists 421 books, monographs, serials, federal and state publications, articles, and doctoral dissertations on nonpublic elementary and secondary education from 1950 to 1980. Publications cover such topics as: public funding for church-related schools, the effects of public funding of private schools, parental rights in choosing schools, and private-school elitism in a democratic society.
--Anne Bridgman
