In 1980, Oregon Research Institute implemented Programs to Advance Teen Health (PATH), a smoking prevention program that helps seventh and ninth graders learn to resist social pressures to smoke. This report describes PATH and discusses the reasons behind its smoking prevention strategy. The report first notes the importance of preventing…

Three mothers whose children were connected to Dallas (Texas) gangs told their stories at the Fourth Joint National Conference on Gangs, Schools, and Community. It is said that gang members come from dysfunctional families, usually from homes where fathers are not present or involved in children's upbringing. In spite of a great deal of research…

This document is comprised of the two issues in volume 4 of "Parent News Offline," a publication of the National Parent Information Network (NPIN) designed to introduce those without Internet access to the activities and information available through NPIN. The Spring 2002 issue contains the following articles: (1) "Middle College…

This book offers suggestions for the broad integration of leadership training and opportunities into school programs. It is hoped that such an approach will allow educators to tap into the networks of peer influence that exist among adolescents and to realize the goal of citizenship education. The chapters are: chapter 1, "Introduction: The…

This collection of five issues of the PRISE Reporter examines concerns regarding the education of handicapped students. In addition to a major article, each issue typically includes publication reviews, test reviews, instructional material reviews, a research brief, and a listing of dissemination events. Major articles have the following titles…

Spurred by a national dropout rate of 25 percent, educators are examining causes of leaving school early, identifying high risk students, and devising student retention programs. This paper profiles the potential dropout, describes 10 characteristics of effective student retention programs, and describes three exemplary programs in Colorado,…

This article adopts a motivational stance in identifying factors that strongly predict physical activity in children. One model for understanding physical activity motivation in children portrays the sources and consequences of self-esteem for physical activity behavior (perceived competency/adequacy, social support, enjoyment, and physical…

Peer coaching develops from a leadership role on the part of educators of linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) students, together with an interdisciplinary cooperation between bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) and mainstream staff. Peer coaching is a professional development method in which teachers share their expertise and…

This second in a four-part series on why academic achievement gaps exist notes that standard explanations for why minority students trail behind non-Hispanic whites are not good enough, suggesting that no single explanation for the gap exists, but instead a multitude of factors are influential. Poverty, though not the single most important cause,…

Three issues of a University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) newsletter by and for teaching assistants (TAs) are presented. Each issue focuses on one of these themes: where to go, experiential learning, and peer group learning. Topics include: TA minigrants up to $250.00 that are funded by UCLA Office of Instructional Development through the TA…

Designed to explore the ways language functions to help children gain access to meaning as they progress through the educational system, this journal issue views communication as a social, interactive process in which speakers and writers attempt to link into what listeners and readers know, want to know, or need to know. The 12 articles in the…

Current thinking of researchers from different disciplines about interaction among students in educational settings and the potential of peer interaction for learning and cognitive development is discussed. Topics of the eight papers presented include: potential outcomes of peer interaction, its nature, peer learning settings, and factors shaping…

Papers by graduate students, and occasionally papers from their mentors which establish a context for the student papers, are organized by sponsoring University. Student papers presented are: (1) "Cognitive Strategy in Design: The Measurement of its Effect On the Student Design Project" (Michael Eckersley); (2) "The Effects of…