This paper reports on Year 1 of a two-year study of implementing new literacies strategies into social studies and English/language arts content areas in two low-performing middle schools (grades 6-8). Situated within a New Literacies Studies framework, the study addressed three overarching questions: (1) What are teachers' and students'…

The initial stimulus for measuring the composition skills of students in the Des Moines (IA) Independent Community School District came in 1980-81 when the school board adopted a goal for the year which stated: "The district should have school programs that improve pupils' competency in written expression." The intent of the original…

This article discusses the nature of the therapeutic intervention provided by "A Quiet Place" project and outlines its aims, objectives, philosophy, and intervention protocol. A study involving 172 children with emotional and behavioral difficulties in seven schools found the program had a significant effect on their short-term behavior. (Contains…

How has our society typically responded to the challenging problems facing youths? Communities have, more often than not, focused resources on prevention programs that have attempted to stop youths from taking drugs, joining gangs, getting pregnant, and dropping out of school, among other things. A problem is identified, and the response is to…

The Doorways training program was designed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Safe Schools Program (Safe Schools) to enable teachers, community members and students to prevent and respond to school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). This booklet, "Doorways II: Community Counselor Reference Materials on…

Three 2-week international courses using a holistic experiential program design--dramaturgy--were evaluated. Seventy participants completed questionnaires 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after the courses. Dramaturgy enhanced the challenge to participants through innovative nonphysical activities and can be adapted during the program for specific…

Examination of the treatment program for learning-disabled adolescents at McGill-Montreal Childrens Hospital Learning Centre (Quebec) suggests intervention can mitigate effects of even severe learning disabilities if it addresses consequences of prolonged stress and failure and affective and social competence as well as cognitive and academic…

Although many correctional education studies have identified various treatment programs as being effective for reducing recidivism, few, if any, of these studies appear to be above reproach when assessing their methodological vigor. This paper highlights the shortcomings in the current post-treatment quasi-experimental design primarily used to…

Veraguas province, Panama, is an example of the need to have generalists, not specialists, deal with the interrelated aspects of rural areas in developing nations. Intricate connections between living standards, agricultural production, market and credit structures, land tenure, the political system, the social structure, education, health,…

Reviews major research conducted between 1984 and 1989 on test anxiety among college, concluding that test anxiety may result from long-term memory problems. Explores techniques for reducing test anxiety, assessing the relative validity of each. Proposes a holistic approach to reducing test anxiety that addresses cognitive and emotional…

This article describes a holistically oriented therapeutic intervention (Quiet Place) developed to promote a sense of peace and relaxation for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Evaluation of the first cohort of British children (n=22) to complete the program indicates the intervention had a positive effect overall on emotional…

Funded by the Learning and Skills Council and the European Social Fund, the North East Worcestershire (NEW) Women project, based at the Multi-Resource Centre in Bromsgrove, offers family learning--in its broadest sense--for young mothers. It has in place all the requirements of good practice for providing learning opportunities to young mothers,…

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the holistic approach, as compared to the segregated-skill approach, on the quantity and quality of EFL students' academic writing. The subjects for the study were 64 graduates enrolled in the Special Diploma in Education at the School of Education in Suez during the second semester…

This response to Englert's article (EC 602 935) on sociocultural factors in teaching writing to students with learning disabilities addresses the application of social constructivist theory. It notes that the success of the Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing program may be not only attributable to its holistic social emphasis but also to…

A study described the 1989-90 Chapter 1 Developer/Demonstration Program, Learning to Read through the Arts (LTRTA), and evaluated the effectiveness of its implementation. The program offers intensive reading and reading-oriented arts instruction to Chapter 1-eligible students. Of the 797 students served by the program, 98 were ungraded special…