Argues that genetics, as popularized in "The Bell Curve" (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994), does not affect educational attainment and personal development, but environmental upheavals do. The environmental changes that effect educational and personal development are highlighted. It cautions that works involving pseudoscience, like "The…

Recommends that teachers nurture students' emotional intelligence by teaching coping skills, how to acquire and use information, how to work with others, and how to manage personal growth. Discusses usefulness of emotional intelligence during transition to middle school, and suggests educators involve students in common activities that foster…

Studied adaptive choice behavior of older, independently living persons faced with complications in their houses. The goal was to gain insight into the coping process and its outcome--in terms of assimilative vs. accommodative strategies--and in the role of three determinants on this process. Determinants were perceived self efficacy, importance…

Discusses how social trends changed father involvement and family life, and in turn affected children's and fathers' developmental trajectories. Examines how today's children will construct expectations about fathers' and mothers' roles. Maintains that a life-span approach considers the broader sociohistorical context in which fatherhood develops.…

Extends dynamic model of cognitive growth proposed by van Geert in three directions: (1) added a term to consider exposure to material to be learned; (2) developed method to apply model to cross-sectional studies; and (3) developed procedure to scale cognitive abilities tests with items of varying difficulty. Tests model with 2- to 15-year-olds'…

This narrative distinguishes the covert racism of self-hatred that developed from divided cultural loyalty in this immigrant family. The author developed understanding of both the racist and the victim through life experiences and self-confrontation. The question is not: "Am I a racist?"; but: "How racist am I?" (EMK)

Describes the central concept of Mayan culture, the possession of the soul, or ch'ulel, in the process of forming a knowledgeable person. Soul acquisition is important to becoming the ideal person, and to the educational formation of future generations. Looks at the role language plays in culture as memory, thought formation, and learning process.…

In a rural Ontario high school, students can spend a semester in the Environmental Studies Program, which features holistic outdoor experiences and high school students teaching elementary students outdoors. Post-course surveys revealed positive student attitudes toward the course and major themes of experiential learning, interpersonal skills…

This qualitative study investigated contextual influences involved in college student identity development. It examined events, experiences, and relationships that alumni suggest either nourished or thwarted their perceptions of multiple dimensions of their identity during college. Findings suggest that self-perceptions of identity often change as…

Building a strategic direction for education ultimately rests on the extent, to which we resolve the key issue addressed by UNESCO's International Commission on Education for the 21st Century (the Delors Report): what kind of education is needed to create the kind of world, we want to emerge in the future? Certainly, globalisation brings with it…

Many adults search for spiritual guidance and direction and persist in seeking answers to life in today's fast-paced world. With burgeoning economic challenges, political corruption, war in Iraq, poverty, health care concerns, environmental concerns, rising fuel costs, violence, racism, and oppression, many adults seek solace and greater…

This emergent theory describes the relationships and factors within the context of home, school, and community that enabled six Hispanic students to participate in an advanced diploma program. The research is in keeping with the mandates from several federal initiatives to develop "asset-based" paradigms for educating Hispanic youth.…

The primary goal of this study was to assess the ability of maltreated school-age children and adolescents to understand the thoughts, feelings, and points of view of others. Level of egocentrism and social perspective-taking coordination were assessed in a group of 49 maltreated and 49 demographically matched nonmaltreated children. Twenty-six…

This article describes and evaluates information gained from a programme of workshops that took place during the late 1990s for approximately one hundred black women who originated from the African diaspora and worked in the social housing sector. The programme was designed to utilise group working in order to promote feminist thinking and…

Rural America, in direct competition with growing suburban and urban America, has struggled to maintain a high quality of life. Rural out-migration levels are high, as are poverty and illiteracy rates. Rural community colleges have worked to defend and expand opportunities in rural settings, yet face their own challenges tied to resources,…