Associations between suicidal behavior and social-ecological variables were examined among 1,618 Latina high school students (mean age = 15) from the nationally representative Add Health sample (68% were U.S.-born). Ideations were associated with having a suicidal friend, lower perceived father support, and overall parental caring. Attempts were…

Field philosophy is interdisciplinary experiential environmental humanities learning. It grows from a community-focused conception of environmental ethics and place-based environmental education, and it aims to help students develop an awareness of the role of environmental ethics in environmental issues, as well as cultivate an empathetic…

Language serves many functions for humans, but three of the most important are coordination, learning, and friendship. All of those functions were well served by the conversations from which this special issue emerged, a conference, "Grounding language in perception and (inter) action", held at Gordon College in June 2009. The conference brought…

This study explored two White inservice teachers' understandings of Whiteness in relation to privilege and caring. A yearlong professional development set of courses used a multimodal construction of three significant course experiences designed to reposition Whiteness and illuminate White teachers' predisposition to care for their students in…

Pamela High, MS, MD, co-director of the Infant Behavior, Cry and Sleep Clinic at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, discusses the phenomena of infant crying and the impact it has on families. In most cases, infant crying will peak and resolve in the early months, but infant irritability can increase the risk of maternal…

Improving principal leadership is a vital component to the success of educational reform initiatives that seek to improve whole-school performance, as principal leadership often exercises positive but indirect effects on student learning. Because of the importance of principals within the field of school improvement, this article focuses on…

Student performance and achievement are often seen as the only indicators of school success. This emphasis on accountability and achievement exacerbates the dropout crisis in public high schools as increasing numbers of students fail to graduate on time, many of whom eventually leave school without a diploma. This article demonstrates how a…

Children and their teachers are more likely to achieve success when genuine caring is connected to literacy learning. This connection is important because it increases the chances of success across the curriculum and through the grades. Among the ways of demonstrating a caring attitude is to provide children with opportunities to make choices, to…

Today's classrooms are increasingly diverse, and some of the students may be learning English at the same time they're trying to learn math, science, and history. Many new teachers are left to decide on their own how best to address the variety of backgrounds, languages, and experiences their students bring to the classroom. For new teachers with…

Recent studies of school discipline (Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002; see also, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, n.d.) have called for greater scrutiny over treatment of students in varying demographic contexts. Minimal research, however, has grappled with the ethics of disciplinary practices using legal data. Utilizing…

California has long been on the cutting edge of social and political change. This trendsetting continues today on issues from addressing climate change to supporting immigrant communities to ensuring equal rights for all. But, when reviewing the grades of this year's California Children's Report Card, it is difficult not to ask the question: why…

Teachers' decisions about pedagogy are informed by a range of educational discourses. These discourses constitute particular kinds of teaching practices and teacher-student relationships in ways that are not immediately obvious. When a particular pedagogy becomes accepted as best practice and it produces desired learning outcomes for the majority…

In the current elementary school environment of increased academic and administrative demands on schools and teachers, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain the personal teacher-student relationships that form the basis for learning. In this qualitative study, we conducted focus groups with 17 elementary students and 6 elementary…

For over 30 years, Ken Ponds has served as Chaplain to thousands of children of color at Starr Commonwealth. This school was founded in 1913 by Floyd Starr with the legendary motto "There is no such thing as a bad boy." Starr Commmonwealth sees their mission as "discovering greatness" in every young person. In this interview…

In this paper, we explore what events, activities, and teaching styles invoke student interest in engineering courses. The research is based on inputs from some of the best and award winning faculty members across disciplines. The activities that professors use to keep students engaged are highlighted. Similarly, the actions that professors take…