Lions Quest "Skills for Adolescence" is a schoolwide program designed for middle school students (grades 6-8). The program was designed to promote good citizenship skills, core character values, and social-emotional skills and discourage the use of drugs, alcohol, and violence. The program includes a classroom curriculum, schoolwide…

The third issue of this Character Education and Civic Engagement Technical Assistance Center (CETAC) newsletter focuses on parent involvement in character education. The Partnerships in Character Education Program (PCEP), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is currently providing support to projects that demonstrate parent involvement in…

Developmental assets are a research-based list of the essential building blocks of healthy youth development and comprise the relationships, experiences, and values that youth need to grow up caring, confident, and responsible. In November, 2001, Assets for Colorado Youth (ACY) convened a group of educators, students, and family advocates from the…

At a time when democracy in America suffers from a profound sense of cynicism, lack of trust, and disengagement, especially among young adults, this book is a much needed antidote. Here are original essays by some of the most distinguished and insightful political thinkers of our time. No armchair observers, they have advised presidents, been…

With updated language and references to the 2005 revision of the Code of Ethical Conduct, this book, like the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, seeks to inform, not prescribe, answers to tough questions that teachers face as they work with children, families, and colleagues. To help everyone become well acquainted with the Code and use it in one's…

Investigating what is viewed as an inseparable link between culture and politics, this book analyzes how many notions of patriotism, citizenship, community, and family are communicated within specific public and private institutions. The volume extends the meaning and purpose of pedagogy as a cultural practice outside the classroom, focusing on…

The role of schools in the development of good citizenship has been well established. This role has expanded to include the incorporation of the cultural differences of students. In order to meet this requirement there must be a strong commitment from the leadership of an educational system to the education of all students. Particular attention…

The development of a high quality system of early care and education requires the attention, investment, and action of several groups, including parents, business leaders and philanthropists, teachers, media, and policymakers. This report, produced by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) as part of its Early Learning: Improving Results for…

This paper discusses three forms of community connections: service learning, partnerships, and public service, and offers an overview of the current service-learning movement in community colleges. It argues that, in order for community colleges to fulfill their missions, they must embrace the full implication of the having "community" in their…

Outlook is the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Each issue contains information relating to private education such as: new legislation and regulations, the most recent research, court rulings, national trends, federal initiatives, private school news briefs, and more. This issue contains the following…

A study was conducted to examine the effects of structured interactions in conferences and journals on the cognitive complexity of adult educators. The specific focus was the effects of the use of specific dialogue patterns within reflective conversations and of structured response patterns in journals on the cognitive processes of mentors and…

A study examined the impact of school professional community on the intellectual quality of student achievement (authentic achievement) and the relationship of professional community to the technical and social organization of the classroom, including the mediating relationship of these classroom organizational features on authentic achievement.…

This ERIC Digest reviews the development and current status of peace education in the United States. After briefly surveying the peace education movement from its origins with a small group of educators in New England in the 1800s through its stigmatization as being anti-American during periods of hot and cold war, the Digest devotes more…

A solution for high school male athletes who demonstrate unsportsmanlike behavior during competition is discussed. In recent years, there has been an increase in unsportsmanlike conduct among high school athletes, including the use of profanity and obscene gestures, public expressions of dissatisfaction, negative comments, incidents of vandalism,…

This study investigated how urban and rural children who lived along a major river in Brazil understand and value their relationship with the natural environment. Forty-four Brazilian children in fifth grade were interviewed, and background of the city and village they lived in was ascertained. Each child was individually administered a…