Information provided to high school students by their guidance counsellors and teachers can affect how students view university or college, as well as their expectations and level of preparation for the academic demands of higher education. This article describes two studies conducted with high school students that examined the type of information…

The school-wide application of positive behavior support (PBS) is a prevention-oriented approach to student discipline that is characterized by its focus on defining and teaching behavioral expectations, rewarding appropriate behaviors, continual evaluation of its effectiveness, and the integration of supports for individuals, groups, the school…

This study investigated the roles of relational and social aggression in the friendships of adolescent females. Using qualitative methodology, twenty-eight 8th grade female students from a predominantly white, rural, junior high school were invited to discuss how they respond to and cope with conflict in their friendships, identify and describe…

This article focuses on how the institutional contexts of colleges and universities shape these "greedy institutions." We look at the current social, political, and economic trends affecting all postsecondary institutions, specifically the forces that encourage "greediness." We examine the literature on structural arenas that influence teaching in…

I take up Silliman's challenge to explore the "moral logic" of "structural racism" largely absent in my book, "I'm Not a Racist, But..." I criticize and build on Glenn Loury's account of the normative assessment of racial inequality by examining three factors generating such disparities in educational achievement--stereotyping, performance-based…

This article examines how the concentration of low-income African American students in urban elementary schools is deeply coupled with a leveling of teachers' expectations of students and a reduction in their sense of responsibility for student learning. We argue that this process is rooted in school-based organizational habitus through which…

How might a concern with children's spirituality "touch down" within the different spaces, discourses and performances within a school? This article is concerned with the affordances of children's rights discourse in relation to young people's participation, deliberation, and ethical work upon the self, within one primary school in…

As part of a larger project, we studied how a foreign language test got discursively constructed in the talk of upper-secondary-school leavers. A group of students were asked to keep an oral diary to record their ideas, feelings and experiences of preparing for and taking the test over the last spring term of school, as part of a high-stakes…

This appendix accompanies "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research Report." This appendix focuses on the findings and domain comparisons of the study. This appendix contains the following: (1) Decision Rules; (2) Full Set of…

In 1988, the Jefferson County Public Schools, in Louisville (Kentucky), received an initial planning grant from the Program for Student Achievement of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation to focus on three "highs" in education--high content, high expectations, and high support. The school district chose three middle schools to participate…

This annotated bibliography provides some of the best resources available to help practitioners create high-achieving learning environments where all children have the opportunity for success. The bibliography is based on the six principles according to which resources are grouped: (1) school policies and practices demonstrate respect for and…

This study surveyed 133 counselors-in-training (graduate students) on their perceptions of African American/Black, Hispanic, and White males and females in a teen pregnancy situation depicted in videotaped dramatizations. Overall, females were perceived as more likeable than were males. Respondents were less likely to encourage the Hispanic male…

The DATAWave is a weekly publication of the Assessment Resource Office of Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Its purpose is to inform the campus community and broader constituencies about assessment issues and practice at ENMU. The issues of this first volume cover the following assessment topics: (1) introduction to the newsletter and report…

Educational policy trends have contributed to rising rates of student grade retention over the past two decades. This research bulletin looks at the evidence about whether and how grade retention may influence the chances that a student would drop out of school. In 1992, evidence indicates that about 20% of 14-year-olds may have experienced a…

In plain language, these six ready-to-copy briefs state what researchers and practitioners have learned about various ways parents can help their children do well in school. "Calculating the Risks: When Should Parents Add or Subtract?" discusses the normal risks of life, the intensification of risk by poverty, and how parents can keep…