This article had four goals. First, the authors identified a set of general challenges and questions that a life-span theory of development should address. Second, they presented a comprehensive account of their Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development. They integrated the model of optimization in primary and secondary control and the…

The approach used in two different public school systems to change white attitudes was discussed and evaluated at two conferences for public school educators in Maryland. One program discussed was conducted for a large suburban system with more than 160,000 students enrolled. The system had had many racial incidents over the years and was…

Reviews by Margaret A. Gibson (1988) and by Margaret A. Gibson and John U. Ogbu, Eds. (1991). These two books contribute significantly to theories of minority school success and failure in plural societies. Both distinguish between immigrant and involuntary minority groups, and attribute differing degrees of academic success to the cultural models…

This monograph presents a paradigm for identifying giftedness among all groups of young people. Section 1 presents a review and critique of traditional identification approaches and highlights the limitations that tests may have for identifying talent potential among groups currently underrepresented in gifted programs. Section 2 examines the…

Examines M. L. Maehr's Personal Investment Model of motivation. Presents evidence for the usefulness of the theoretical framework and the validity of the Inventory of School Motivation, based on the theory, using data for 2,152 high school students from aboriginal (n=492), migrant (n=487), and Anglo (n=1,173) backgrounds in Australia. (SLD)

Comments on problems raised in this special issue, focusing on the distinctive aspects of the risk research reported. Highlights issues like sample characteristics, measurement strategies, specificity of risk factors, and risk mechanisms. Discusses the challenges of integrating alternative models of risk, with special references to research into…

Comments on research problems raised in this special issue. Suggests that recent research highlights the nature of the multiple processes underlying variability in child and adolescent adjustment. Views variability as a function of covarying influences from multiple domains, operating on specific developmental outcomes across a background of time…

Comments on this special theme issue examining the roles of socialization, biology, and culture as they affect adaptive and maladaptive developmental outcomes. Presents models for predicting and understanding behavioral and affective change at transitions occurring especially from middle childhood through adolescence. Provides examples…