Culture and community are considered key aspects of effective middle level education. Effective schools for young adolescents are inviting, inclusive, and supportive; are staffed with adults who support youths' academic and personal development; and affirm the important role that families play in educating youth. In this article, the authors…

Raising and educating healthy young boys is an area of increasing concern among early childhood educators, child development experts, and parents. A growing body of research has raised questions about young boys' vulnerability on a number of fronts: social/emotional development, expulsion from preschool, referral to special education, and academic…

The first section of this paper deals with the contributions of non-academic experiences to education. Two measures, "my overall development as a person" and satisfaction with the non-academic scene, indicated positive correlations both between satisfaction with experiences in the non-academic area and overall growth, and between level of…

The value of the social context present in some specialized education environments to promote the optimal development of children who are gifted and talented is discussed. Issues and variables that might be considered when conducting research on social context in specialized environments are also considered. (SW)

The problem of sexual harassment in junior and senior high schools is addressed in this practicum. Its major goals were to raise the awareness and understanding of sexual harassment and to create a school environment that does not tolerate sexual harassment. It was found that both students and staff possessed a poor understanding of what defines…

A new body of educational research is now showing that there are many things teachers, principals, and schools can do to improve student performance. Effective teachers do five things: (1) focus teaching and curriculum selection on the basic skills; (2) provide most instruction to the class as a whole; (3) maintain a high student success rate; (4)…

This study analyzed a variety of departmental and student outcomes data obtained from faculty and graduating seniors in 27 academic departments at a Research II University. The purpose was to answer two questions: (1) does a strong research orientation by an academic department promote or hinder student learning and growth? and (2) are differences…

It is generally agreed that students (especially those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds) are better educated in Catholic high schools than in public high schools. This book examines a broad range of Catholic high schools to determine if this difference is so, the reasons why, and whether this type of success can be transferred to the…

THIS REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE OF THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION FOCUSES ON THE FORCES (I.E. SOCIAL CLASS, PARENTS, PERSONALITY, CURRICULUM PURSUED, AND FRIENDS) WHICH INFLUENCE STUDENTS TO REMAIN IN SCHOOL OR DROP OUT. IN THE CLASSROOM SITUATION, THE TEACHER, THROUGH THE USE OF POWER, AND THE PEER GROUP, THROUGH GROUP NORMS, HAVE THE MOST…