Described is a graduate course in sociology intended to facilitate the transition from the role of student to the role of professional sociologist. Topics discussed in the course include departmental policies and politics, teaching techniques, preparation of vitae, research proposals and scholarly papers. Course evaluation indicates that student…

This study explored change and development as a student attends college, focusing on the "other" education, that received outside the classroom. The 61 students who were interviewed attended Texas A&M University, a university distinguished by strong traditions and a distinct sense of what it means to be an "Aggie."…

In this collection of essays, the authors use Lev Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory of human development to frame their analyses of schooling, with particular emphasis on the ways in which literacy practices are mediated by social interaction and cultural artifacts. The collection extends Vygotsky's cultural-historical theoretical framework to…

Attention to professional community has increased markedly over the last few years as part of both practitioner and scholarly efforts to promote improvements in student learning. Interest in this area joins two previously distinct literatures--one dealing with the benefits of communal school organization, another with enhanced teacher…

Teachers and caregivers understand well how important their role is in the promotion of young children's cognitive development. However, they must also emphasize the development of prosocial behaviors in children, particularly in light of some recent data indicating possible heightened aggression and lack of prosocial interactions among…

When a woman is promoted to an administrative role in a central office, her transition can be especially difficult. Aspects of the socialization issues resident in this experience, as revealed in a narrative study of one woman administrator's experiences, are reported. The narrative, drawn from journal entries made during the administrator's first…

The values humans possess take form in relation to the day-to-day activities and decisions (instrumental values) and as criteria for a lifetime (terminal values). This study compares the importance level assigned by adolescents to instrumental and terminal values and the relationship of adolescents' perception of value importance with their…

An investigation examined the way in which specific women were selected for and inducted into school leadership. Each had graduated from a newly designed preparation program built around state and national standards, focused on teaching and learning as the central role of schools, and committed to collaborative approaches as the best way to…

In kindergarten, students learn the symbols of the alphabet and numeric symbols. This unit is designed to help students understand what patriotic symbols are and that the nation and the state have symbols and icons to represent thoughts, feelings, emotions, and physical objects. Exposure to different national and state symbols helps students…

Describes the psychosocial aspects of the past and the present living situation for today's elderly Chinese and Japanese Americans; many values to which first-generation Asian Americans were for maintaining adequate life satisfaction during the later years. (Author/JM)

Argues that the compression of poverty and resultant weakening of local relationships in the ghetto, combined with a widespread involvement with television and other mass media, created an orientation toward a larger symbolic black community, and transformed ghetto residents into black revolutionaries. (SF)

Argues that black psychologists must play a key role in changing attitudes and behavior if minorities are to succeed in the process of "revolutionizing" the system: black people must get themselves psychologically together, then teach their chaldren how to maintain the mental edge. (Author/JM)

Summarizes and assesses some recent observations on youth culture as a factor in social change and points to the need for a systematic analysis of the inter-relations of social change and new generations. (Author/SF)

This article examines educational policy as it relates to the political socialization of children and the utilization of available research on the topic. (Editor)

The performance of black youths in educational and psychological testing situations cannot be assessed adequately without consideration of their particular attitudes, perceptions, and behavioral patterns. The authors discuss Blacks' attitudes toward whites, systems of time allocations, expressions of identity, attitudes toward learning,…