Examines ways in which current United Kingdom school-choice policies interact with parental pressures on their children to achieve excellence and how these pressures affect the emotional health of their middle- and working-class children as they make the transition from primary to secondary school. Finds serious emotional consequences (exam…

Morehouse College, which has played a central role in shaping the nation's black middle class leadership, is valued as a producer of positive counterpoints to a society with negative images of black males. The academic program and current endowment goals of its new president are described. (MLW).

A study in progress investigating cultural and structural factors which affect educational opportunities for white middle-class and Punjabi immigrants in a California high school is reported. In the two-and one-half years since the project began, researchers have interviewed a broad range of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The…

Examines detailed school spending and achievement data for over 2,800 Texas elementary schools for 1992-93. A school's student poverty rate is the most important factor influencing student performance. Results emphasize the importance of spending for exemplary teaching, basic supplies, and maintenance. Certain expenditures correlate with lower…

Second generation, middle-class, Black youth and middle-class White youth completed the Stanford Binet, WISC-R, or the WAIS. Results indicated that Black youth exceeded the White sample mean on the Stanford Binet and the WISC-R. Previous intelligence differences may have reflected educational and socioeconomic differences. (Author/RC)

Examined associations between early substitute care and White middle-class college students' psychosocial development and academic performance. No day care in infancy followed by full-time day care at ages two and four was best predictor of above-average high school academic achievement; part-time care throughout infancy and early childhood was…

Compared the effects of TEACH, a perceptual remediation approach, to those of phonetic tutoring on first graders whose performance in the SEARCH Program during kindergarten indicated they were at risk for reading failure. There was no evidence for significant academic effects of participation in the TEACH program for at-risk children. (GLR)

Achievement and locus of control data were gathered the first week of first grade, and seven months later, for middle- and lower-socioeconomic status (SES) children. While middle-SES children experienced greater achievement gains, lower-SES students increased in internal control. Results suggested that internal control contributed to achievement.…

A study was made of language attitudes of suburban middle class high school students with special reference to French, German, Spanish, and Latin. Of the 621 subjects chosen for the study, 82 had never had any foreign language learning experience. Two types of questionnaires were given, one to those who had studied foreign language and the other…

Research on African American students' low academic performance has focused on Black adolescents, who, like most American adolescents, exhibit oppositional attitudes. In contrast, an ethnographic study of two all-Black elementary schools suggests that middle-class Black children begin school very much achievement-oriented and engaged, and that…

Montgomery County High School in Mount Vernon (Georgia) revised the U.S. history course as an initial step in making provisions for gifted and talented students. The curriculum and evaluation process are described. The course helps address concerns about underprivileged students and middle-class youth who may require more challenge. (SLD)

Motivational beliefs of children in grades 5 through 8 (ages 10 years, 9 months to 13 years, 7 months) were assessed in a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study. Children attended a nonsectarian, private school in which the method of evaluating academic performance changed over grades from an individualized, mastery-oriented approach to a…

Presents the results of the second year of a four-year longitudinal evaluation of a partial French immersion program in Cincinnati, Ohio, that includes children from lower socioeconomic group and ethnic minority group (Black) backgrounds in addition to majority (White) and middle-class students. (17 references) (GLR)

A longitudinal study of early adolescents examined gender differences in attitude and behavior, as well as the effects of pubertal change, parental expectations, and parental support. It was hypothesized that sex differences would emerge during preadolescence and that males' and females' rates of change would be significantly different. Subjects…

In a study of academic attribution patterns, teachers were asked to suggest causes for the successes and failures of students whose backgrounds had been manipulated to provide various combinations of social class (middle, lower), race (White, Asian American), and gender. It was found that teachers cited causes internal to the student more often…