No abstract

Academic competence and school performance are important to the successful adjustment of pupils. Unfortunately, along with social-emotional deficits, a primary characteristic of behaviorally disordered pupils is an inability to learn from academic instruction. The purpose of this article is to review the research on the academic status of behaviorally disordered adolescents and to identify future research needs and issues. The research needs identified involve sampling techniques, the selection of dependent measures including curriculum-based assessment, the assessment of the learning strategy, abilities of students with behavioral disorders, and instructional variables affecting the achievement of adolescents with social-emotional disorders.

Textbooks are the most predominant instructional medium used in America today. Recent research indicates that the issue of textbook readability is complex, extending beyond traditional text evaluation based on readability formulas. In this study, 10 eighth-grade texts were evaluated with respect to factors such as global coherence, local coherence, questioning techniques, and vocabulary development. Results are discussed in terms of instructional implications.

A bulwark of democracy is an informed electorate. Recently, disturbing evidence has been presented indicating that young Americans lack the knowledge of democratic principles and history required by our democracy. One explanation for this complex problem concerns the nature of the social studies instruction that our children are receiving. In this article, common practices in social studies instruction are described and critiqued, and an alternative, more conceptually based model of history instruction that is of potential benefit to students with learning disabilities is proposed.

This multiple baseline study investigated the effectiveness of history strategy instruction emphasizing the linkage of knowledge in teaching junior high students with behavior disorders. The intervention included 24 students and 3 teachers across three classes for 3-6 weeks. The strategy included a scripted curriculum involving brisk student-teacher interchanges; student note taking and constructing of timelines and vocabulary definitions; and reciprocal questioning, using a carefully selected history textbook. Results indicate that the history strategy was effective; students in each class showed immediate and educationally significant improvement compared with baseline instruction that employed traditional history instruction.