In response to legislative mandate intended to curb a national trend toward students taking longer than the traditional two- and four-year time frame to complete educational degrees, the Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges conducted a study of factors in this trend; options for encouraging students to carry full credit loads; and…

German (n=610) and Russian (n=610) adolescents in 3 age groups, 12, 15, and 18 years, were given a questionnaire assessing their feelings towards environmental destruction, their readiness for pro-environmental action, and their ethical attitude toward nature. In both nationalities anxiety, sadness, and anger about environmental destruction were…

This paper discusses strategies and techniques that early childhood educators can use to encourage self-esteem and responsibility in young children. It examines Kohlberg's theory of moral values, which states that children progress through three stages of moral development: (1) the pre-moral stage, based on rewards and punishments; (2) the moral…

This study used ethnographic methods to examine current explanations of Asian American students' success in school and how a group of high-achieving Chinese American high school freshmen perceive themselves and others as learners and as group members. The study attempts to illustrate (1) how the students view educational achievement and group…

With the aim of relating reading with wider social action, this paper discusses the macro-cloze procedure for reading a novel, which promotes social interaction while reading and helps develop students' ability to predict, ask questions, and summarize. The paper includes a brief rationale for the procedure (in which each small group of students…

This issue of the newsletter "Prevention Forum" focuses on smoking among adolescents. The articles are as follows: (1) "Where There's Smoke--Will Prevention Put Out the Fire?" (Joanne Burgess), an overview of the Surgeon General's report "Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People," including interviews with prevention…

This guide is designed to encourage educators as well as parents and community members to view physical education as an integral component of the school's educational program. It can be used for curriculum building and as an example of what represents current best practices in physical education. Model learner outcomes cover eight areas of study:…

Outcomes of inschool suspension programs that were initiated in the Des Moines public schools are described in this report. Programs were implemented in 10 middle and 5 high schools in 1988 to reduce the number of instructional days lost and to change student behavior. The programs are described in terms of revenues and expenditures, goals and…

This report presents descriptive and evaluative information on the Alcohol and Other Drug Program (A & D Program) developed at Pennsylvania's La Salle University and supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. The program includes an alcohol awareness project, a peer education program, a resident educator with A &…

This handbook offers teachers suggestions for ways to help students become risk-takers. Five levels of risk-taking behavior are identified: the uninhibited risk-taker, the analytical risk-taker, the cautious risk-taker, the inhibited risk-taker, and the nonrisk-taker. The importance of risk-taking for problem solving, and the teacher's role in…

This study investigated teacher and peer perceptions of aggression in minority elementary school students enrolled in three urban public schools in southern California. Students (N=650) in grades 3, 5, and 8 were rated by teachers and completed a peer assessment questionnaire. Boys received significantly more peer nominations for aggressive…

This study examined the relationship between children's experiences of domestic violence and their adjustment at school. Sixty-three children (28 girls), in Israel, their classmates and teachers took part in the study. Children were divided into four groups: (1) those who were victims of physical abuse; (2) those who witnessed abuse; (3) those who…

This document reports on a September 1990 meeting held in the People's Republic of China (PRC) involving National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA) representatives and officials from: China's State Education Commission (SEDC); major Chinese universities; the bureaus of higher education in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou; the United…

A description is given of the Classroom Organization and Management Program, designed to help teachers in grades 1-9 and staff developers improve their overall instructional and behavioral management skills through planning, implementing, and maintaining effective classroom practices. It also seeks to improve student task engagement and reduction…

This study investigated the influence of context on teachers' classroom management decisions represented by the interactive classroom management task of handling student misbehavior. A review of pertinent teacher cognition research suggests that the key to understanding classroom management involves investigation of teachers' cognitions in…