This study is part of a regional study in industrial South Wales on the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. The study combines contextual analysis of…

The effects of career-related factors and ethnic background on career resilience were examined in a study of 467 graduate and undergraduate students (68 African American, 42 Hispanic, and 357 Anglo American). The students ranged in age from 17 through 56 years and were predominately from middle- to upper-middle-class homes. The 102-item Career…

Reports on a study of social relationships, parental characteristics, academic achievement, and occupational expectations among 205 secondary-level Mexican-American high school students in California. Suggests that bilingualism may provide special advantages in obtaining the institutional support necessary for school success and social mobility.…

Explores the extent of and reasons for alcohol use among Soviet juvenile delinquents, ages 14-18, confined to labor-upbringing colonies. Examines reasons for drinking, for committing crimes, onset of drinking, and links between types of crimes and frequency of drinking. Illustrates alcohol-crime link. Postulates how family influence predetermines…

School readiness and functioning in children diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) are important issues due to the dramatic impact RAD has on multiple areas of development. The negative impact of impaired or disrupted early relationships, characterized by extreme neglect, abuse, parental mental illness, domestic violence, and repeated…

This article is intended to dispel the myth that Latinas and Latinos and other urban high school youths of color are not capable of performing at high academic levels. Much research shows that youths of color are underrepresented and underserved in gifted education programs. The authors describe the four success factors to which 10 working-class…

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine the practice validity of a new ecological assessment instrument for third through fifth graders in terms of whether it provided school staff with new knowledge about students. Method: Preassessment knowledge of school staff was compared to data obtained from 21 children and their parents…

Since 1996, our research team has conducted 15 focus groups with 169 middle-school youth in small communities as formative research for campaigns against alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and violence. Some key findings of a synthesis of focus-group results are that girls and boys perceive different risks to alcohol and tobacco use; peer relationships are…

An examination of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994, 2000) factors contributing to the college expectations of high school students (N = 87) in rural Appalachia was conducted. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed support for the role of SCCT variables in predicting expectations to…

Social epistemology is a broad set of approaches to the study of knowledge and to gain information about the social dimensions. This intellectual movement of wide cross-disciplinary sources reconstructs the problems of epistemology when knowledge is considered to be intrinsically social. In the first chapter, "Social Epistemology and Social…

Materials are presented from a 1994 meeting on expanding community connections of the six-state Magnolia Circle Outreach Project, which fosters networking between families and professionals involved in services for children (birth to 5 years) with, or at risk for, developmental delays. The meeting was designed to highlight successful collaborative…

This study examined the factors influencing the academic success of 50 Mexican-Americans from low-income families who received Ph.D., J.D., or M.D. degrees from prestigious universities. All of the subjects received their college and graduate education during the 1960s and 1970s, and were interviewed using a 141-question interview protocol. The…

In the 1994-95 academic year, the Southeast Campus of Tulsa Junior College, in Oklahoma, conducted a survey of new students to determine differences in educational perceptions and expectations based upon the educational background of the students' parents. Questionnaires were distributed to all incoming students, with 1,579 completed…

This study focused on identifying factors that would enhance the probability of college attendance among African-American students. These factors included parental involvement, high school curriculum track, the prestige of one's life goal, socioeconomic status, and amount of television viewing. Data were drawn from a random selection of 1,394…

Two case studies are presented here to highlight the importance of identifying cultural giftedness in language-minority children who are monolingual Spanish or bilingual Spanish dominant with low English proficiency. In one study, the child was monolingual, Spanish-dominant and culturally or non-verbally gifted; in the other, the child was an…