The purpose of this study is to compare the inter-ethnic and co-ethnic friendships of 390 junior high school students in multi-ethnic neighborhoods of Montreal and Toronto. Friendship dyads were identified on the basis of reciprocal nomination as close friends. The quality of the friendships was measured by questionnaires completed by both members…

A review of the literature of early adolescence was conducted to provide background information for instructional designers and scriptwriters from the Skills Essential to Learning Project, which develops television/film series and related print materials for different grade levels to enhance the teaching of thinking skills in the context of major…

Deals with knowledge of scalar transformations among Brazilian students and construction foremen. Compares students' mathematical experience to foremen's. Reports study on students' and foremen's performance in solving scale drawing problems. Discusses aspects of relationship between learning mathematical procedures in school and daily life and…

Compares typicality effects in recall between good and poor junior high readers to determine the influence of knowledge base upon memory. Results suggest that poor readers have a different knowledge base for familiar categories than good readers and that cognitive differences between them are related to differences in their semantic memories.…

This study explored and documented Taiwanese students' alternative conceptions of animal classification. We examined the understanding of the "animal", "vertebrate" and "invertebrate", "fish", "amphibian", "reptile", "bird", and "mammal" concepts among elementary,…

A study designed to discover reasons for reduction in public library usage by children as they reach adolescence surveyed 122 junior high students to determine where they obtain reading material, what influences selection, and whether location of young adult books in the children's section inhibits use. Ideas for promotion and improved programming…

Approximately half of a group of 12-year-old students were taught fraction and ratio topics by a concrete process-oriented method. The others were taught in the regular way. The concrete, process-oriented approach resulted in significantly improved achievement in, and attitude toward, fractions and ratios. (Author/DC)

Studied whether pubertal age affects reports of psychosomatic symptoms among 14- to 16-year-old girls. Considered whether differences in dating and alcohol use might be mediating factors in the relation between pubertal age and psychosomatic symptoms. Subjects were 935 Finnish eighth-grade pupils who completed questionnaires three times during a…

Use of general mathematical strategies by Australian students in grades 8-10 was studied, with students required to describe their reasoning and articulate reasons for the choice of particular strategies. Main effects were found for cognitive level, year level, and sex. A taxonomy is also presented. (MNS)

Examines cognitive change in student participants (N=103) of alcohol education programs which persuade subjects to use alcohol responsibly. Results showed that knowledge retention was greater under conditions of a credible communicator and low fear appeal; no significant attitude changes were found. (BH)

Differences in life-change events, life stress, depression, and suicide ideation were investigated in a mixed-ethnic sample of 34 gifted and 38 nongifted urban junior high school students. Suicide ideation was significantly and positively correlated both with level of depression and with levels of past and recent stress. Recent stress and use of…

Affective experiences have been shown to influence student self-concept and to influence and predict academic achievement. In the present research, two groups of seventh-grade boys and girls numbering 30 in all participated in either facilitated or directed affective experiences in which they explored personal feelings and attitudes toward school,…

Training paradigms were used to pinpoint key obstacles to covariation judgment accuracy among children, adolescents, and adults. The majority of junior high subjects, even when given training, failed to learn the rule. Fourth through eighth grade subjects could be taught to compare two sums in the sum-of-diagonals rule. (RH)

Training paradigms were used to pinpoint key obstacles to covariation judgment accuracy among children, adolescents, and adults. The majority of junior high subjects, even when given training, failed to learn the rule. Fourth through eighth grade subjects could be taught to compare two sums in the sum-of-diagonals rule. (RH)

This article argues that more theoretically based research is needed on the academic expectations of gifted adolescents regarding summer enrichment programs. Concept mapping is suggested as an alternative methodological approach to such research and one such map is presented, which was developed by mapping expectations of 74 seventh and eighth…