Two explanations for the effect of ability groups on student achievement are discussed. One stresses the importance of peer groups, the other differential instruction. Little evidence was found that achievement differentials in elementary school grouping systems arise from either peer influence or from differential instruction. (Author/IS)

This paper analyzes how the composition of an institution's student body affects performance of that institution's students, examining how average student quality and dispersion in student quality within the student body affects individual students' future earnings. The first section examines two reasons why one's peers would affect future labor…

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of educating students on the negative aspects of enabling their peers. Enabling is any action taken by a concerned person that removes or softens the effect of a harmful consequence. For this study, 24 students (21 females) who were characterized as "Natural Helper" students at a…

Women in institutions of higher education who deserve special attention in advising situations include those with multiple responsibilities, those in under-represented fields, and reentry women. Factors that can help women be successful in an institutional setting are a supportive family and informal peer support groups. Stressors for women seem…

Using a journal format, this book invites teens to examine their lives and relationships with family, friends, classmates, and new acquaintances. The book focuses on physical, emotional, and sexual boundaries to relationships and uses stories of other teens to illustrate how personal space and feelings can be either respected or violated in…

Focusing on the expectations of schools, teachers, parents, peers, and society for the gifted and talented, the author proposes curriculum design, gives guidelines for parent-teacher conferences, outlines the benefits of peer instruction, and suggests ways that parents and society can identify talented students and enrich their education. (SK)

The importance of parental influence on the development of adolescents' attitudes and knowledge about sex and their sexual behavior is reviewed along with information about peer group influence. Ways in which families can play a positive role in their children's sex education are discussed. Open communication is stressed. (PP)

Surveyed junior and senior high school students (N=1,269) to determine the extent to which students deliberately drink to get drunk. Responses indicated that most students who drink in order to get drunk or high find the experience of being drunk pleasurable. (Author/RC)

Tested the effectiveness of a skill-training method, Structured Learning Therapy (SLT), and identified variables that will promote transfer of training. Disruptive male adolescents (N=43) were assigned to three experimental and two control conditions. Found groups receiving the SLT performed significantly better than groups not receiving SLT.…

A study was done to determine and describe the level of preschoolers' and first-graders' awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Data strongly reflected the fact that parents and older siblings are very influential in the eventual choices of young children to smoke or not to smoke. (JN)

The peer self-help group approach used by Alcoholics Anonymous can be a model for other types of adult learning. The group's power, solidarity, experience sharing, and values clarification can provide positive social and educational experiences to others such as the chronically unemployed, illiterate adults, and high school dropouts. (SK)

Effects of individual and group contingencies on reading performance of special education students were examined in a counterbalanced multiple-baseline design with experimental manipulations introduced at random. Students evidenced more accuracy and preferred the group contingency phase. Ease of implementation of group contingencies within a…

Assesses characteristics of counselor trainees preparing to work with deaf persons. Entry level characteristics of males and females, normal hearing and hearing- impaired trainees, differed. Trainees completing the program were similar to those who did not. Normal hearing students seemed to adopt personality traits of their deaf peers. (Author)

Describes a project intended to help high school students personalize their school environment. The program emphasizes positive social reinforcement, positive peer pressure, interaction with administrators and teachers regarding school problems and solutions, and peer counseling during homeroom. (DB)

Drawing from literature on differences between the Mexican American experience and that of other groups, offers a model to explain the higher rates of inhalant abuse among Mexican American youth. Considers cultural, ecological, structural, and economic factors. (Author/GC)