Argues that the Black community should be viewed as a complex of family and kin networks that support the survival and function of the Black family in a racially discriminatory society. Discusses the roles of male and female networks and the Black church. (FMW)

Presents results of a survey that examined what project management team members enjoyed most in recent projects. Ideas are summarized in a checklist for project management that provides guidelines in four areas: project planning, internal and external communication, personal qualities, and morale. (SLW)

Reviews services provided to 120 children (62 experimental and 58 control) by state welfare agencies. Finds that, over six years, children in the experimental groups required less supervision time, lived at home longer, and were in less-restrictive placements than those in the control group. (Author/JDM)

Describes a kindergarten teacher's successful efforts to create more heterogeneous groupings and less animosity among students in her class. Discusses efforts to encourage after-school visiting among peers, classroom agreements about put-downs and exclusion during play, turn-taking, teacher-assigned grouping, conflict management, efforts to…

Describes "community meetings" in early childhood classrooms, designed to create an intentional community devoted to learning to live with and consider the perspectives of others. Discusses how meetings work, community meeting and the topic of exclusion, students' learning about themselves, awareness as a kind of solution, airing a…

The tally of occurrences of a PC buzzword on academic and other websites seems to corroborate the suspicion that we're quickly abandoning "e pluribus unum" as the governing principle for treating individuals justly. In its place is the new image of America as a melange of competing interest groups. In this NAS research on comparative…

This study examines the formation of group cohesion and social support in exercise classes among former sedentary adults, participating in a Danish community-based intervention. Furthermore, the aim is to analyze the impact of this process on exercise activity among the participants. A multimethod approach was used, analyzing both survey data and…

Education in many countries is used to initiate children and young people into publicly accepted forms of knowledge and to further a common identity among members and citizens of the nation-state. This study discusses both an uncritical initiation to such knowledge and the value of criticality as an educational goal in terms of critical thinking,…

Emotional competency is defined as developed ability and skills in the areas of self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and relationship management. These skills are nurtured, developed, and practiced until they become competencies and serve as a resource when a tragic event occurs. They are relatively undeveloped in very young children…

This book describes in detail the basic elements of school-based management (SBM) and the ways in which to implement successful change in the individual school. Specifically, it tells how Prince William County Public Schools (Virginia) has implemented SBM. Chapter 1 presents a rationale for the development of a more effective school-operation…

This paper examines the ritual socialization of parents into a school community. Rituals may be mundane or sacred and typically involve actions that have transformative potential. In the context of groups, rituals may serve the purposes of identifying and constructing group identity, maintaining cohesion, and constructing and communicating values.…

To research the implications of portfolio assessment for student learning and teacher methodology, a teacher examined the interplay of reflection and evaluation in her expository writing class of 12. In a semester-long intermediate-level class, students wrote a draft of a paper each week, with each paper then going through multiple drafts.…

A "do-it-yourself" library move may produce significant changes in the established patterns of personnel organization and behavior of the library staff. However, most previously published work on the topic of moving a library collection concentrates on procedural aspects of a move. This study recounts and analyzes the impact of such a…

Family stories, told and retold, become important vehicles in shaping the lives of family members. Knowing and understanding family narratives can aid students in understanding their families' histories, communication patterns, and meanings. The stories are a cohesive element for holding the family together, and may also capture the essence of the…

After a discussion of the circumstances that led to the unification of the two German states, this paper then evaluates the challenges to political education in Germany after unification. Beginning with the focus by the media and politics on the effects of East German political changes on the two German states, the revolution in East Germany and…