Explores sources on sex differences in reading achievement and presumed causes. Reports that explanations fall into two categories that are not necessarily mutually exclusive: physiological-maturational and cultural-societal. (NH)

This factsheet examines alcohol use among college students. It explains how to identify problem drinking, discussing negative consequences of drinking, excessive consumption and intoxication, and reasons for drinking. Correlates of problem drinking are described in the areas of personality and gender; peer, family, and environmental influences are…

This bibliography provides annotations of 33 major research studies on the school and social factors that impede disadvantaged children's ability to learn and succeed in school. The studies demonstrate that a wide range of educational, familial, and social influences can either put children at risk of educational failure early in their lives or…

Broad changes in social values, as well as the raising of achievement standards by parents and administrators, are pressuring teachers to change curriculum for young children, with the result that children are hurried and hothoused. Early childhood educators are particularly vulnerable to criticism of their work, and this reduces their ability to…

State budgeting for higher education is a complex, multifacted process which is influenced by conditions outside both state government and higher education including the historical traditions, political culture, economic and demographic aspects of a state. Noted is the need of higher education to compete with other policy areas for resources and…

Appropriate and inappropriate uses of the strategic planning concept are identified, and significant literature on the subject is reviewed that gives both conceptual and practical guidelines. Included is a series of very simple to more complex planning models that colleges and universities can adopt or modify, depending on their circumstances, to…

This ERIC Digest briefly reviews studies of maternal employment, child care settings, and links between children's development and family and child care influences. Studies of maternal employment suggest that infants' positive relationships with caregivers may compensate for insecure attachments with mothers. If future research supports this…

This review of research on recent refugees to the United States focuses on the Indochinese, Haitians and Cubans. An introduction stresses the need for more information to enhance a better understanding of the newcomers. Succeeding sections review published literature on: (1) the development of Federal policy concerning refugees, emphasizing the…

Summarizes 16 recent ERIC documents and journal articles on children's social difficulties. Topics of the articles include social-cognitive processes of withdrawn children; genetic and environmental influences on inhibition; anxious-withdrawn preschoolers; helping children grow up in the 1990s; development of inhibition; behaviors of parents of…

This monograph reviews the literature in three key domains (home, school, and public policy), each of which appears to foster achievement in African American children. Three core sections comprise this review. The first section looks at the research on family influences, including socioeconomic factors, the socialization of achievement, the…

The need for a collaborative effort between school and family in the area of career guidance is considered in this digest. Issues relevant to this effort are discussed, including family determinants of children's career development, stages of children's career development, counselor guidelines for starting parent programs, and counselor…

Although there is a substantial research knowledge base in the field of teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), this topical bibliography and commentary suggests that much misinformation still persists. The articles that form the basis for this topical bibliography and commentary agree on the approach that is most effective for ESL…

This overview of the self-concept theory describes how people organize and interpret their personal existence. It discusses the beginnings and recent history of the self-concept theory, and presents three major qualities of self-concept: that it is learned, organized, and dynamic. It asserts that individuals have relatively boundless potential for…

This compilation of information for teachers and parents translates important aspects of research regarding children's social development and peer relationships into strategies that can be used by parents and teachers to understand and help children who need to develop more effective ways to deal with peers. The publication includes three topical…

Emerging perspectives on numeracy and their social, cultural, and political implications provide a context for new ways of thinking about adult numeracy instruction. Beyond daily living skills, numeracy is now being defined as knowledge that empowers citizens for life in their particular society. Thus, numeracy has economic, social, and political…