This paper describes conditions that enhance planned change efforts in rural secondary schools. The following six conditions are vital to school improvement efforts: (1) teacher commitment; (2) a common understanding of research on best practices; (3) collaborative planning; (4) an egalitarian approach; (5) peer leadership; and (6) support from…

The study examined the claims that social support from family and friends are not the same in their effects on young adolescents; and that the relationship between social support from family and friends is not the same for African-American and Latino students. A sample of 792 students from the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades of 18 Chicago…

A national stratified random sample of superintendents (N=432) responded to a 42-item questionnaire listing probable causes of students dropping out. They were asked to identify causes that they believe should be given high priority as well as those that had the necessary research foundation from which to develop significant intervention programs.…

Teens for AIDS Prevention (TAP) is a model peer intervention program designed by the Center for Population Options to increase knowledge and change attitudes and behaviors among youth to reduce their risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. The program utilizes peer pressure in a positive sense: to encourage youth to protect…

This experiment investigated how sex of model and type of modeled behavior influenced achievement outcomes among elementary school children who had experienced difficulties learning mathematical skills in school. Children observed either a same- or opposite-sex peer model demonstrate either rapid (mastery model) or gradual (coping model)…

The perceived importance of sources of sex education and the effects of gender, coital activity, and type of information were studied, and previous studies were assessed. Attention was directed to the relative contribution of parents, institutions, reading, and peers to the information about each of 35 different sexual topics of 116 male and 116…

Rhetorical ethos, or the character of the rhetor as she presents herself in discourse, is vital to the success of any student attempting to enter the universe of academic discourse. According to Aristotle, ethos is demonstrated by showing good sense, good character, and good will. However, in the modern university, with the diversity of…

A joint project of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District, Project DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is designed to equip elementary and junior high school children with the skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with drugs and alcohol. The goal is to teach students how to say "no." A growing…

In the spring of 1987, a survey was conducted of 2,700 seniors in 37 overseas schools of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) system, replicating an earlier 1982 survey. Both matched a parallel series of domestic national surveys in the ongoing Monitoring the Future study. This report presents the findings on the prevalence of drug…

The applicability of socialization theory for understanding the processes of college impacts on students is discussed. The focus is affective dimensions of college impact, particularly influences of college on student's values, personal goals, and aspirations. Conceptual dimensions of the socialization process are considered, with attention to…

Research has shown that students and teachers can benefit from structured in-school helping relationships in which peers assume formal roles as tutors. For the student in need of academic help, peer tutoring programs provide an opportunity to learn in a more nonthreatening environment than the classroom. Immediate feedback and clarification of…

A national survey examined the factors that are primarily responsible in determining an individual's overall quality of life. Using the critical incident technique, researchers surveyed a representative sample of 50- and 70-year-old adults in the United States in order to determine which of 15 factors they felt had negative and positive effects on…

This report reviews five studies dealing with drug abuse and adolescence and presents an overview of the social changes which have contributed to the increased use of marijuana and other illicit drugs. The importance of the longitudinal study as a research tool is emphasized in describing the research projects that deal with the epidemiology of…

A control factor for studies of high school peer influence on college aspiration was used. Previous estimates of high school peer influence on college aspirations have used peer similarity as an indicator of peer influence but have neglected to control for peers' initial similarity in aspirations at the beginning of their friendships. Longitudinal…

The effects of two interdependent group contingencies, group-average and group-individual, on math performance and verbal interaction were investigated. In a group-average contingency the average performance of the members of the group must meet a set criterion level. In a group-individual contingency each member of the group must meet a set…