Presents a case study of a middle school with discipline problems leading to high suspension rates. The school implemented a voluntary peer mediation program as part of a comprehensive conflict resolution program. Discusses the program's objectives, selection and training of students, implementation, supervision of mediators, and program…

One individual's experience as dean, provost, and president at different universities suggests that a dean's success depends on choosing appropriate key goals for the school, then persisting until they are accomplished. Other important elements include a regular, formal review process, explicit agreements about returning to full-time teaching,…

Reviews research in the area of worries and concerns of young people and the relevance to programs of personal development and social education. Identifies and prioritizes general areas of adolescent concern and discusses the possible influence of culture, gender, age, and type of school. (MJP)

Tested a developmental-ecological model of violence using longitudinal data from poor, urban African American and Latino adolescent boys and caregivers. Found that community structural characteristics significantly predicted neighborhood social processes. Parenting practices partially mediated relationship between neighborhood social processes and…

Examined how risky peer group behaviors at school impacted junior high students' experience of victimization, extending findings from an earlier study of elementary students. Surveys of Arab and Jewish Israeli junior high students indicated that risky peer behaviors in school were one of the strongest predictors of victimization in both elementary…

Examines school roles, school factors, and peer-group influence in predicting Mexican-American adolescents' inhalant use. Surveys 599 adolescents to determine whether unconventional peer associations promote inhalant use. Links academic performance, conduct to drug use. Concludes negative social identity often defined by schools. Makes…

Discussion of implementation of computer-based educational innovations highlights a case study of undergraduate music theory students who had the option of using computer-assisted instruction. Barriers to successful implementation are described, including instructor attitudes, instructional style, curriculum planning, lack of peer support, program…

Eleven learning-handicapped students, ages 8-13, generated text at microcomputers both alone and as members of dyads. Examination of mechanical errors revealed a lower error rate in the dyad condition compared to working alone. The relationship between error monitoring and the social interaction needed for collaboration is discussed. (Author/JDD)

Explored the connection between emotional expression in the child's family environment and children's social competence with school peers using direct observation of affective dimensions in naturalistic environment (n=50). Reported expressiveness and observed parental affect were both found to be meaningful predictors of children's sociometric…

An ongoing longitudinal study of 699 adolescents and their parents, begun when the adolescents were ages 13 to 16, found that, although black families had more single-parent households and lower family incomes than white families, black adolescents had higher abstention rates and lower rates of alcohol abuse and other deviance than white…

Reviews the problem of violence in public schools, summarizes existing knowledge of prevention, and reviews violence prevention programs that use educational, regulatory, technological, or combined approaches. Recommendations address both policy and program needs. (Author/SM)

Explores peer relationships between individuals and their involvement with and commitment to delinquent peers in group and dyadic relationships. Preliminary findings from the Puerto Rican Adolescent Survey for approximately 820 males in New York City suggest that emotional estrangement within the peer group characterizes involvement with…

For students progressing from sixth to eighth grade, an enhanced Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study curriculum emphasizing social pressure resistance training, peer support, and norm setting was developed. Schools participated as either curriculum or control groups. Pretesting and posttesting indicated the curriculum effectively increased students'…

Reports the results of a questionnaire given to eighth-grade students in Moscow (Russia). Presents results on student opinions about the school environment, their teachers, their image of schools of the future, and the significance of peer groups in their lives. Includes quotes from students on each topic discussed. (CFR)

The experience of the Harvard University School of Public Health with use of cases for promoting faculty discussion of teaching is described. It is concluded that the technique provides a forum for faculty to examine their own perspectives and gain insight from other teachers in the same institutional setting. (MSE)