Decision making by outdoor adventure educators revolves around balancing risk and competence. A model of outdoor adventure decision making is presented that draws on naturalistic decision-making processes and emphasizes the importance of situational recognition and prior experience. Leaders draw key information from the natural environment,…

Reviews major perspectives through which social exclusion has been examined in developmental and social psychological research and examines their limitations. Maintains that Killen et al.'s findings raise questions about attempts to account for social exclusion solely in terms of broad variables, such as prejudice, and point to the importance of…

Examines the means by which trade mark law establishes determinacy of form. The article probes how this points to assumptions about the nature of language that radically differ with those of orthodox 20th century linguistics, particularly in connection with the distinction between language and the use of language. (nine references) (CK)

Tested preschool monolingual speakers of Spanish and English in their native countries on classification of familiar objects through a task assessing strategies in a free sort, a sort with instructions to use natural gender, and one for the Spanish speakers with instructions to use grammatical gender. Results suggest that instructional context and…

Attempts to identify those dimensions lacking in most adolescent/adult English-as-a-foreign-language coursebooks whose objectives are to foster developmental language learning in instructed social contexts and to assist students in communicating in and learning English. Findings indicate that most coursebooks fail in these objectives. (27…

Reviews volume on social contexts' influence on individual adolescent development. Describes book's four sections: (1) pathways in adolescence and processes that enhance or inhibit developmental continuity; (2) how social contexts specifically affect African American adolescents; (3) effects of interrelations among contexts; and (4) intervention…

Examines the nature of language diversity in the small, isolated community of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, where a lone African American family has resided for over 130 years. (57 references) (Author/CK)

Investigated relationship between children's behavior and the child-rearing climate (future-focused, present-focused, combined) and work climate (relaxed, strained, mixed) at day care centers. Found differences in children's prosocial and collaborative behaviors in centers with future-focused or combined rearing climates and relaxed work climates…

This case study shows that young children in a multilingual Indian preschool are functioning in an environment constructed out of their community's needs and values. The school did not focus on child development but stressed memorization and free expression and functioned consistently within the Indian historical, societal, and value context. No…

A "policy communities" framework is proposed to explain why three evaluations of home care and services for the elderly in Quebec (Canada) either influenced, or failed to influence, policymaking in the area. It is suggested that program evaluation strategies should reflect the political context of the evaluation. (SLD)

The international education industry is thriving now that Western education systems have recognized the money-making potential of behaving "charitably" toward education in developing countries. This "confessional" examines whether consultants and workers in nongovernmental organizations are providing genuine leadership and…

Discusses findings of a cross-cultural study of the relation between self-perception of academic competence and achievement, and attribution of achievement to effort or ability. Considers problems in fitting Anglo-American motivation theory with Russian schooling practice. Calls for culturally sensitive, multimethod approaches in which individual…

Examined selected contextual variables, their impact on test performance, and how the variables interact with the type of test accommodation that a student received. Data from 849 eighth graders suggest that numerous student and classroom-level variables are associated with mathematics test performance, English reading proficiency in particular.…

Examined the relations between normative developmental transitions, contextual influences, and life-stage outcomes, such as academic achievement, for African American males. Data from a longitudinal study in a large southeastern U.S. city indicated that negative stereotyping and tracking from early experience in educational settings affected black…

A biopsychosocial model of the development of adolescent chronic conduct problems is presented and supported through a review of empirical findings. The model posits that biological dispositions and sociocultural contexts place certain children at risk in early life but that life experiences with parents, peers, and social institutions increment…