Discusses the challenges in teaching students at the middle and junior high school level, focusing on adolescents' developmental needs. States that the literature on teaching adolescent singers focuses mostly on their vocal needs. Introduces this Music and Middle School Chorus issue of "Music Educators Journal" by summarizing five of its articles.…

Reviews school behavior and attendance policies in Canada as they relate to student attrition. Discusses a sample of schools in which policies have been revised to provide alternative programs to meet the needs of all students, especially those at risk. These schools work with other social agencies to address problems associated with high dropout…

Analyzed data on physical education (PE) enrollment, daily PE attendance, and being physically active in PE among high school students, using 1991-97 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data. Although PE enrollment did not change over time, the prevalence of students who attended PE daily and who were physically active more than 20 minutes per class…

Explores the relationship of gender, gender role identity, and type of relationship-same-sex friendship, cross-sex friendship, or romantic relationship-to-relationship behaviors and beliefs among 429 college students. Discusses implications for individual and group counseling, consultation, and primary prevention on college campuses. (Contains 32…

Compares bullying and victimization in the playground and in the classroom through naturalistic observations. Results indicate that there were more opportunities to observe aggression and receive and initiate aggression in the playground than in the classroom. Nonaggressive children were more likely to bully in the playground, whereas aggressive…

Examines the impact of a peer support service as an intervention to counteract bullying in a high school. Results indicate the intervention had no overall effect on levels of bullying in the school or on the likelihood that peers would intervene to help. However, interviews indicated that peer helpers and some victims were helped by the…

Finds that students in a comprehensive developmental studies program (study skills course and required attendance of tutoring sessions) exceeded their predicted grade point average significantly more than the comparison groups, and that instructors reported a greater number of positive behaviors on the part of these students in their classes.…

Contends that the source of school violence is children's insensitivity to others' feelings. Explains that young children should experience sensitivity training, while older children must learn about the "social contract," including topics on determining criminal blame and the issue of punishment. States that educators and the juvenile justice…

This comparative analysis examined effects of direct instruction, cooperative learning, and independent learning instructional practices on the classroom behavior of four third graders with behavior disorders. In the direct instruction condition, students displayed higher rates of on-task behavior and lower rates of disruptive behavior relative to…

Outlines classroom guidance activities designed to instill positive attitudes in students toward their peers with disabilities for greater acceptance and appreciation of individual differences. Includes simulation activities designed to provide active involvement to increase student and teacher empathy. (FC)

Reports on a study that focused on Australian students' cognitive and social skills in group decision-making activities conducted in the classroom. Finds that students were motivated to participate in group decision-making and that students' decision-making strategies are destructive when students assert their own ideas at the expense of others.…

Explains that one way to overcome free riding (when some members of a group shirk their responsibilities, leaving others to complete the work) is the "Knickrehm Method", in which the professor grades the group project and students can gain or lose points based upon peer evaluations. Describes two trials of the Knickrehm Method. (CMK)

Identifies and describes children's in-action mental model of their own learning, which was inferred from the observation of children's behaviors when learning a song. Explains that the mental model is made up of musical organizations and learning strategies, each on two levels, large-scale and detailed. (CMK)

Relates how elementary students tend to behave differently in the art classroom than in the content area classrooms. Addresses how art teachers can develop the appropriate skills to promote classroom management in the art classroom. Provides 12 classroom management hints. (CMK)

Discusses a survey of 149 students at 14 colleges about their knowledge, use of, and attitudes about illegal psychoactive drugs. Finds that low percentages of students use drugs, but with 5.5 million students attending community colleges, even small percentages of users translate into large numbers, with attendant implications for student success…