The authors discuss effective rite of passage (ROP) programs as strength-based, culturally relevant interventions for African American male adolescents. They also highlight the ethnocultural strengths of this population from a resilience perspective and articulate academic and dispositional outcomes of ROP programs. Recommendations for practice…

This article presents research undertaken among male teachers and it explores their perceptions and experiences of working in early years contexts. It examines prevalent, contrary discourses and their impact on the construction of male teachers' identities. Public discourses in relation to male teachers reveal contradictions and ambiguities…

Asperger's disorder (AD) is characterized by sustained and pervasive difficulties with imaginative, social, and communication skills and the presence of repetitive interests and behaviours. A number of models have been proposed to help explain the AD phenotype; however, these theories have not fully accounted for the social difficulties present in…

British government policy on teacher recruitment gives a high priority to increasing the number of male teachers, particularly in primary schools. This focus stems from concern to challenge 'boys' underachievement': policy-makers believe that 'matching' teachers and pupils by gender will improve boys' engagement with school. Yet there is little…

Gender differences between participation in face-to-face and web-based classroom discussions were examined, by comparing the men-women actual participation ratio to the men-women attendance (or login) ratio. It was found that men over-proportionally spoke at the face-to-face classroom whereas women over-proportionally posted messages in the…

This study examines two competing theoretical explanations for why work-life policies such as dependent care assistance and flexible schedules influence organizational attachment. The self-interest utility model posits that work-life policies influence organizational attachment because employee use of these policies facilitates attachment. The…

This study takes a second look at the "big-fish-little-pond effect" (BFLPE) on a national sample of 769 gifted Israeli students (32% female) previously investigated by Zeidner and Schleyer (Zeidner, M., & Schleyer, E. J., (1999a). "The big-fish-little-pond effect for academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in…

"Supporting Boys' Learning" will help teachers develop knowledge and strategies for teaching boys in ways that build on their strengths, respect their individual development levels, and adhere to principles of child development. There is a growing body of research that has raised concerns about boys' vulnerability in terms of social-emotional…

Retention of minority students continues to be a problem for many institutions of higher education. Despite increasing enrollments of minority students in higher education, there are still disparities between completion rates of non-minorities and completion rates of minorities. The disparities are perhaps more evident in low retention rates of…

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reading skills for African American male students in Grades 4 and 8 have improved over the past decade. However, a significant reading achievement gap still exists between African American male students and their European American counterparts. The purpose, as well as the central…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama," as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K) were used to examine the relationship between cultural capital transmission and reading achievement within a nationally representative sample of 5th grade African American males. Logistic regression techniques were used to examine several differences between high- and…

There has been limited research on academic tracking and depressive symptoms among high school students in Jamaica. Students enrolled in Grade 10 of traditional and nontraditional high schools in Jamaica were surveyed (N = 278). Students completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II along with several other measures. Seven in every 10 students…

School leaders in Baltimore have mounted an offensive over the past three years to keep more students in school and on track. Last month, news came that the effort has produced a welcome dividend: Black male students are driving a marked increase in the district's graduation rate and a decrease in its dropout rate, and showing improvement at a…

It's a familiar refrain in American education: African-American children score lower on standardized tests, graduate high school at lower rates, and are considerably more likely to be suspended or expelled than the general population. Two recent reports, one from the Council of the Great City Schools and one from the American Institutes for…