One of 52 theoretical papers on school crime and its relation to poverty, this chapter explores programs designed to prevent or to reduce student crime and violence in secondary schools that are based on the assumption that pupils are competent to make rational decisions and take rational actions, and programs that assume pupils are not competent.…

An argument is made against the use of school averages as composition measures by documenting the non-random nature of peer associations and by presenting evidence that different students are influenced by different reference groups. The structure of friendship associations among some 20,000 students in the McDill Twenty High School Sample is…

A collection of ten essays related to education from the personal experiences and perspective of the author is presented. The first essay, "A Fighting Chance," discusses the environment for educational reform in the 1970's. In the "Story of a Lake" the author describes the environment of his home and its interrelation with the surrounding physical…

The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation Studies on innovation have tried to evaluate what is happening in different member countries to achieve a balance between organized processes for change and free initiative of the individual school or teacher, and to establish effective institutions in the different national circumstances. The aim…

This document represents a complete compilation of instruments used by the University of Georgia Project R.O.M.E. (Results Oriented Management in Education) staff to field test the Georgia Principal Assessment System in order to validate high priority principal competencies and performance indicators during the 1974-75 project year. The seven…

This study analyzes the relationship between student achievement and school mobility climate. The hypothesis is that an average individual achievement score tends to drop as the school mobility climate becomes increasingly more selective. A selective climate classifies students by ability or achievement as early as possible through tracking or…

QUESTA II assesses the high school environment in terms of values, attitudes, expectations, and levels of satisfaction through students' and faculty's perceptions. This questionnaire provides information about how the students feel about themselves, and their relationships with their teachers, administrators, and classmates. Since the 1969-70…

The unique position of the MicMac (American Indian) student in his efforts to cope with both the learning experiences from his MicMac background and those new experiences which are thrust upon him by non-Indian persons in either Federal or non-Federal schools is described. The study also outlines (1) the jurisdictional aspects of Indian education;…

This is an extensive bibliography, with some brief annotations, of recent literature describing possible alternatives to the traditional form of American public elementary and secondary education. (JG)

In an attempt to make basic social science education more responsive to the needs of students in a rapidly changing society, the authors developed and conducted an experimental course entitled "Economics and Politics in a Changing Society" (EPICS). The goals of this course include improvement in thinking ability and creativeness, progress in…

This report of the third year of a Head Start study indicates the diverse range of information gathered on two types of programs (Philadelphia's inner city and Appalachian follow-up) in which the Child Development Research and Evaluation Center at Temple University participated. Subjects in the Philadelphia sample were 158 Negro children equally…

There is a growing body of evidence that a separate maturation level exists for youngsters in the middle school years. Research data indicate that middle school youth possess similar physical, social, mental, and emotional characteristics. A creative development of middle school programs is clearly needed. Various facets of middle school programs…

This paper discusses the American educational system as a quiet and nondeliberate destroyer of the adolescent's spirit in terms of stifling the development of cognitive, social, cultural, and intellectual growth. This phenomenon has been produced by the content, structure, and teaching methodology used in schools, beginning with fourth grade and…

Those who are responsible for the planning and implementation of a school plant realize the great changes that have taken place in the total process. Rapidly developing technology, new insights about human behavior, and a growing social conscience demand change in educational methodology. With changing methods there follows a requirement for…

New York State schools have adopted a variety of alternative schools and programs. The schools and programs include free schools, community schools, open education schools, street academies, schools without walls, minischools within schools, minicourses in the curriculum, and alternative programs that bridge the gap between schools and colleges,…