School counseling as a specialty area within the profession of counseling is, in the eyes of many, experiencing a crisis of identity. The crisis, however, truly lies with school counselors struggling to fit the mold impressed upon them by external forces which often contradicts their educational preparation as counselors. We make two main points.…

Federal and state response to the educational needs of gifted students has been intermittent and permissive. The lack of cohesive and comprehensive policies pertaining to identification and programming for these students has created a disparity in services within and across states. Broader education policies, such as those resulting from No Child…

Character is vital force for positive development and societal well-being. Character strengths play important roles in positive youth development, not only as broad-protective factors, preventing or mitigating psychopathology and problems, but also as enabling conditions that promote thriving and flourishing. Recent research findings show that…

According to the annual United Nations declarations based on the Human Development Index (HDI), Canada remains one of the best places in the world in which to live. Ironically, this declaration of socio-economic superiority does not extend to the young people in the society. Although post-industrial societies like Canada and the United States may…

Educators are becoming more aware of the limitations of testing that simply measures student achievement at a single point in time, such as benchmark tests, locally constructed formative tests, conventional standardized tests, and state assessments used to determine adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind. Not surprisingly, school…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

The relationship between bullying or harassment and LGBT youth is examined in this article. Recent research has exposed a relationship between gender-based and sexualized forms of violence and harassment in school, and it's been theorized that heterosexism-- the belief that heterosexuality is superior to other forms of sexuality -- is the…

What are "full-service community schools," and what do they have to do with youth development? Community schools are those that have been intentionally transformed into neighborhood hubs and that are open all the time to children and their families. In these buildings, a range of support services is provided by community agencies to help…