This chapter focuses on the innermost level of Bronfenbrenner's four-level conception of the human environmental ecology, namely the microsystem, and more specifically, the child's socialization in the family. Following discussion of concepts related to socialization, competence, and environmental ecology, selected research studies are reviewed to…

This document consists of a facilitator's guide and related materials for implementing a program that teaches social, communication, and study skills to middle school and junior high school students. The goal of the program, which incorporates peer tutoring, is the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. This program was developed in Iowa to address…

When students enter the classroom they are confronted with a wide variety of goals to strive for, activities to engage in, and challenges to face, across a number of domains: academic, artistic, sporting and social. Recently, there has been a growing recognition of this complexity of goals among researchers interested in student's motivational…

This book uses an examination of admissions policies, especially affirmative action, at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), to explore higher education and its role in public debates about access, equality, and social change. Chapter 1, "The Admissions Furor: Battle Cries or More Confusion?" casts the personal side of…

This paper describes several practices designed to challenge preservice teachers to question their assumptions regarding multiculturalism and to explore other points of view. The "Culture Walk" at Susquehanna University (Pennsylvania) increases awareness and sensitivity to interpersonal and personal identities. It involves writing and…

This book argues that efforts to improve the effectiveness of public schools are ironic and harmful to the family. It asserts that "pushing schools toward becoming one-stop service centers" whose mission is to care for the "whole child" is at the same time decreasing parents' responsibility to care for their children, turning schools into…

A national survey investigated the perceptions of Hispanic women administrators in higher education concerning factors that positively influenced or hindered their advancement to leadership positions, and developed a profile of the Hispanic woman senior level college administrator. Respondents were 68 women in four major subgroups (Central/South…

For each of two years, 50 Hispanic and Black eighth graders were selected for a field-based, environmental science summer program designed to nurture math and science talent and encourage bright, minority youth to persist in school. Students were selected on the basis of participation in an outreach program, essays, grades, recommendations, and an…

Taking its departure from a conference hosted by the National Center on Education in the Inner City (Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), this collection considers developing a research base for preventive and intervention-oriented efforts to foster resilience and educational success for minority students from disadvantaged backgrounds.…

The theme issue of this bulletin is a discussion of youth with emotional disturbances who are in the juvenile justice system and how to meet their needs. Articles include: (1) "Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System" (Susan Rotenberg); (2) "Prevalence of Mental Disorders among Youth in the…

An alternative system of course delivery, wholly online computer-managed instruction, was evaluated to estimate its contribution to total full-time-equivalent (FTE) students two years after its implementation at Christopher Newport University (Virginia). CNU ONLINE offers eight online courses and one online degree program. In Spring 1997, nearly…

This paper describes the results of a collaboration between three local community colleges in Oregon, Clackamas Community College, Portland Community College, and Mount Hood Community College with Portland State University, to study student transfers among the institutions. Using a random sample of 504 students who had completed at least three…

Non-traditional learners, adult learners who are age 21 or older, have many obstacles to overcome in their quest for knowledge. This paper investigates affective forces that influence non-traditional learners in a traditional computer lab and in a satellite-delivered instructional setting. Study participants consisted of 58 graduate and…

This volume is the third in a series of self-portraits of projects that receive funding from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The 31 essays in this volume are grouped around seven main themes: (1) school-to-college transition and retention; (2) rewarding effective teaching; (3) improving teaching and learning; (4)…

In Latin America and the Caribbean, poverty is not merely a problem of marginalized communities. It is the situation in which 240 million people--50 percent of the population--are living. This report describes research undertaken by the Quality of Life Project, which aims to improve the situation of children in these disadvantaged communities. The…