This study explored how preservice elementary teachers experienced coursework and field experiences that fostered commitment to socially and pedagogically progressive teaching, especially development of against-the-grain perspectives. Interviews and observations indicated that against-the-grain perspectives evolved from complex interactions of…

Maintains that adaptive help seeking exemplifies how elementary- and middle-school students regulate their own learning and intellectual development. Discusses how parents, teachers, and peers contribute to the development of children's skills and attitudes associated with adaptive help seeking. Traces early help-seeking behaviors in the home and…

Project EXCITE was developed and implemented specifically to raise the achievement of gifted minority students in a large suburban school district of Chicago so that they could qualify for advanced programs and accelerated tracks in high school in mathematics and science. This paper describes the goals, components, eligibility, and selection…

This review covers articles published during the recent two decades on attitudes toward the participation of individuals with disabilities in physical activity. Research literature has been retrieved and analyzed by content and quality, across research type categories (cross sectional vs. intervention) and members of the participation context…

This paper looks at the relationship between the study behavior and academic engagement of individual students, the norms and attitudes of close friends, and the peer culture of school. The authors are particularly interested in how the academic orientation of a student and his or her close friends invites or protects him or her from harassment by…

This study reports on CHAMPS, a youth tobacco and prevention program intervention that focused on peer-led educational activities. Nineteen schools implemented a CHAMPS tobacco prevention program in grades 5, 6, and 7. Six schools served as nonintervention comparison sites. Baseline and follow-up questionnaires were completed by 1,412 students.…

Purpose: The paper seeks to report the impact of a partnership training intervention on trainee teachers' confidence to teach Personal, Social and Health Education. Design/methodology/approach: This intervention required trainee teachers to work in 15 groups of four across subject disciplines. Each group was required to negotiate, plan and deliver…

Antisocial behavior has been the object of investigation in many studies seeking to establish its etiological factors as well as risk factors which help to perpetuate such behavior over the course of the individual's life. In this paper, we seek to classify and clarify risk factors underlying the origin and development of antisocial behaviors from…

As part of the formative assessment for the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG), a multicenter study to reduce the decline of physical activity in adolescent girls, girls and boys with diverse ethnicity from six states participated in focus groups and semistructured interviews. Data from 13 girls' focus groups (N = 100), 11 boys' focus…

The "Commissioner of Education's Report on Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in New Jersey Public Schools", submitted annually to the education committees of the Senate and Assembly, provides the Legislature with data in four broad incident categories: violence, vandalism, weapons, and substance abuse. This year's report highlights…

Early adolescence, the period from 10 to 15 years, is a significant transitional period in human development, marking the crossroads between childhood and young adulthood. This book is designed as a guide for parents, teachers, or anyone else who has contact with and who would like to better understand early adolescent children. The chapters in…

Papers by graduate students, and occasionally papers from their mentors which establish a context for the student papers, are organized by sponsoring University. Student papers presented are: (1) "Cognitive Strategy in Design: The Measurement of its Effect On the Student Design Project" (Michael Eckersley); (2) "The Effects of…

Drama and role playing are effective ways for teachers, school counselors, and other individuals who work with young people to teach and discuss sensitive issues. The eight plays in this publication are designed to help middle school students develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, and logical decision-making skills. The eight scripts use a…

Analyzing data from the High School and Beyond survey on the behavior of 13,000 high school sophomore women over a two-year period, this document reveals the following facts about single motherhood: (1) young women with different background profiles exhibit markedly different rates of single parenthood; (2) because teenage women who become single…

Drawing on thousands of "reading autobiographies," in which generations of students wrote about their experiences with reading, this book investigates what makes young people want to read. Chapters include: (1) Growing with Books; (2) Learning To Read; (3) Literature and the Human Voice; (4) Reading Habits and Attitudes: When, Where, and…