Reports on a survey that evaluated the leadership system in ideological and political education presently in place in colleges and universities in Beijing, China. Describes the current system and suggests improvements that can be made. (GG)

Explored relationship between birth order, number of siblings, and alcohol use among 549 adolescents. Only children had level of alcohol use below sample mean, while families with three children demonstrated above-average levels of alcohol use among all three birth orders. In two-children families, older child had consumption level below average,…

Contends that secondary education formalizes transition from adolescence to young adulthood in ways that exemplify patterns of segregation, transition, and incorporation that compose Van Gennep's "rites de passage." Explains how socially immature adolescents are segregated in high schools and formally socialized for responsibilities of…

Provides testimony from five elementary school principals concerning the Skills for Growing Program piloted in U.S. and Canadian schools during 1987-1988. Principals stress the program's beneficial effects on student self-esteem, community involvement, curriculum enrichment, and staff morale. (MLH)

Factors affecting the stability of social relationships between 14 community members and 1 or more individuals with mental retardation were assessed. The community members had previously served as staff members to the clients, were willing to overcome logistical barriers to being friends, and perceived reciprocal social support from the…

Interviewed children, teachers, women street traders, and professionals about children's street trading, or vending of goods, which is an aspect of children's responsibility training in Nigeria. Concluded that values learned in street trading have become maladaptive with schooling; and street trading maintains traditional values of family and…

This review of 50 social validation research studies involving persons with handicaps concludes that social validation procedures are an appropriate and important component of applied behavior analysis. Discussed are methodological issues, social importance of effects, social significance of goals, social appropriateness of procedures, and…

Discusses the distance learning process that occurs when computer-mediated communication is used and presents a conceptual framework based on the theoretical principles developed by Gavriel Salomon. Characteristics of the technology are identified, including active user participation, activation of cognitive skills related to information…

Tests thesis that degree of media influence is contingent on audience receptivity. Audience receptivity to suicide stories assumed high during Great Depression. Developed taxonomy of stories using classic imitation, social learning, and differential identification theories. Analysis of monthly data on suicides and publicized stories revealed…

Examines the implications of literary theory in light of social patterns defining the parameters of culture in the classroom. Considers literature a means of giving expression to the social forces at work in schools, providing a frame of reference for the transfer of culture. (DMM)

Evaluates the "expanding environments" approach to social studies education. Argues that the sequence fails to portray the political environment realistically. Suggests an alternative approach that would bring all political organization levels together at each grade level. Concludes that such an approach would give students a more…

Analysis of 28 studies of characters on television and in children's books, magazines, and basal readers reveals that elderly people, especially women, were underrepresented, generally depicted in a negative light, and rarely cast in major or fully developed roles. (SK)

Two theories of children's household labor participation (child socialization or the need for household labor) involving 1,352 families from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households find support for both, with more confirmation for the pragmatic (labor needed) aspects. Children's efforts represent about 12 percent of all household…

Two strands of feminist pedagogy are (1) the liberatory model, which examines structured power relations and systems of oppression, and (2) the gender model, dealing with women's socialization as nurturers. Adult education teaching strategies and learning environments may be based on aspects of these two models. (SK)

For a middle school, family involvement in school life begins with the orientation program for incoming students. An effective transition program can help parents and prospective students anticipate a new school's academic and social expectations. This article describes a Vermont middle school's transition program, highlighting planning and…