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The report presents a collection of articles on constitutional issues from a 1976 social studies conference. It is intended to be used by teachers in planning and implementing curriculum materials on development of the U.S. Constitution. The booklet is divided into eight articles. The first article discusses interpretive problems in the formation of the constitution and gives examples of how historiographic issues can be effectively used in the teaching of history. The second article explores ways of teaching and understanding legal terms, reasoning, analysis, and rules. In the third article, the English roots of American constitutionalism are explored, followed by discussion of women's rights under the constitution in the fourth article. Urban problems before the courts, and, particularly, ways in which social studies teachers can draw themes from court action, are discussed in the fifth article. The sixth article presents a history of the Supreme Court's handling of cases related to education, followed by a report of recent trends of freedom of expression in American constitutional law in the seventh article. The final article compares myths, opinions, and facts of the U.S. Constitution with those of the constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (Author/DB)

This study reports on the design, formulation, modification, and evaluation of a relatively new type of intergroup intervention--the creation of a "microcosm group" of twelve members from an organization of 250 members. Charged with improving communication among work groups and hierarchical levels, the group was developed and maintained according to boundary and relationship concepts from open systems theory. It represented a microcosm of the system in which it worked, addressed problems raised by both employees and management; assisted in a survey feedback intervention; and survived concerns raised by the union, middle management, and leadership succession at the top of the organization. There is evidence that it substantially facilitated communication about difficult issues within the organizations, earned more confidence from employees and management, and improved its own functioning over time. At the same time, the intervention was experienced as quite stressful and conflictful for all parties participating, including top management, consultants, communication group members, and other organization members whose work experiences were influenced by the group. (Author)

Approaches to the organization and administration of higher education drawn from other countries are presented. In some countries, higher education is coordinated by a central bureaucracy in which there is much nationalization of the curriculum, a nationalized degree structure, and a nationalized system of admissions. This approach is contrasted to decentralized and diversified systems which are more responsible to societal changes. The control of higher education by a monopoly of power or by a single form of organization is discussed. Decision-making needs to take place closer to the participants and the realities of local operating conditions. Cross national comparison indicates the insufficiency of uniform institutions and the need for institutional differentiation. The European version of open-door access and the notion of educational equality are discussed. Autonomous action and planning are both needed as mechanisms of differentiation, coordination, and changes. (SW)

The document consists of six papers dealing with major national and international issues in the 20th century. The papers were presented at a 1977 Yale University conference convened for the purpose of providing factual information on important historical issues to high school classroom teachers and encouraging the teachers to develop curriculum based upon the information. Six invited participants (professors of history and deans at Yale University) presented the papers. The document is presented in two major sections. Section I discusses three domestic issues--change in the United States from 1960 to 1975, the green revolution in United States agriculture, and prospects for continued economic growth in the United States. Section II examines three international issues--relations between the United States and China, background of the South African crisis, and American-Soviet relations. For each issue, information is presented on background of the topic, time span, social characteristics, religious and cultural influences, political factors, and implications of the issue for students and for society in general. (DB)

This longitudinal study examined two groups of children, boys in one sample and girls in another, to assess whether programs such as Head Start and Follow Through produce lasting measureable effects. Low-income children were examined separately from middle-income children and, within the low-income sample, a separate analysis was made for low-income black children (who comprise the largest single group in the final longitudinal sample). Effects of an extensive intervention program were seen upon the children's academic performance in mathematics, general information scores and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test IQ Scores. Retesting, four to five years following completion of the intervention, showed these children still performing higher than nonintervention children. Reasons for sex differences are discussed; results from interviews with the children and analyses of their school attendance and grades are presented. (Author/BF)

The report presents recommendations from a November, 1978 national conference on child abuse. It is explained that groups of invited representatives from government, social service and public interest groups, the media, and the academic community discussed policies for treatment and prevention of child abuse. Summarized are recommendations on the following topics (sample recommendations in parentheses): defining child abuse (having separate definitions for legal, clinical, social service and research purposes); socially sanctioned abuse (ending corporal punishment in schools); legislation (developing interdisciplinary panels to review local laws); prevention (requiring parent education in school); the communications industries (increasing the use of public service announcements); research issues (integrating research on child abuse into the mainstream of scholarship in established disciplines); and child abuse and broader issues (working for reforms to provide decent medical care and a baseline standard of living for all families). Appended are group discussion guidelines, a list of conference participants, and a summary of child welfare amendments introduced in Congress. (CL)

The importance of validity and reliability in the componential analysis of human intelligence is discussed. The roles of construct, internal, external, convergent, discriminant, and ecological validity in componential analysis are outlined. Within-replication (internal-consistency) and between-replication (alternate-forms or test-retest) reliability are also described and illustrated with examples from the author's research on analogical reasoning. The psychometric and multivariate techniques used in componential analysis of intelligence are described by the author, including linear multiple regression, nonlinear multiple regression, canonical regression, principle-axis analysis, confirmatory maximum-likelihood factor analysis, nonmetric multidimensional scaling, and additive clustering. Following a discussion of these procedures, the author describes the evolution of psychometrics and cognitive psychology as separate disciplines. The author contends that cognitive psychologists and psychometricians would benefit from an active interchange, and that psychometricians have technical skills to teach the cognitive psychologist. The first step in an interchange would be to convince the psychologist that these skills are worth learning. Psychometrists can accomplish this by showing cognitive psychologists that psychometrics is responsive to the needs of cognitive researchers. (Author/JAC)

In these proceedings of a May 1981 symposium, the origins of the New Right and its efforts to capture the "pro-family" label for itself are explored. Also addressed is the question of why there are two opposing children's lobbies, one conservative and one more liberal. Special emphasis was placed on the Family Protection Act and on federal budget cutbacks in child and family programs. "Excesses" of liberal style and more substantive factors -- most notably the persistent devaluation of the homemaker and what Alan Crawford called "the systematic sanctification of liberal sexuality" -- were cited as possible explanations for the rise of the New Right pro-family movement. Alternatives to present policies which affect families as well as the question of an appropriate federal role were also explored at the symposium. Policy issues were discussed, such as policies designed to ease the conflict between work and child care, and indirect federal subsidies to families. While participants conveyed the impression that a national family policy might be as undesirable as it appears unachievable, there was a sense that participants should work to bring family issues to the attention of the Reagan administration. A synopsis of the 1981 Family Protection Act, a comparison of the Act with the original Laxalt bill, and a postscript on the current status of some provisions of the Family Protection Act are appended. (Author/RH)