At this year's National Association of Secondary School Principals convention, participants agreed that schools should address social problems but voted against national competency testing and school choice. At the National Association of Elementary School Principals convention, principals expressed various administrative concerns, but most…

Community service, widely touted as the cure for youngsters' political apathy, teaches little about the art of participating in public life. The service language of "caring and community" provides no antidote for today's youthful cynicism about politics, because it fails to reveal the public world extending beyond personal lives and…

Examples from Canada and the United States are used to explore social values such as individualism vs. collectivism; definition and solution of social problems; social construction of the "crisis" of aging; and public debate and moral discourse as a process for developing public policy. (SK)

Traditional professionalism and reflective practice are inadequate and less than empowering models of teaching expertise. Teacher expertise will be more open and foster democratic relations in education if professionalism takes seriously social antagonism and social difference. (SK)

Reviews research and thinking on the causes of the disproportionate involvement of black male youths in interpersonal violence and violent activities, and examines societal and community responses to this problem. Programs aimed at preventing or reducing black male youth violence are critiqued. (SLD)

This study compared gifted and regular fifth graders' thoughts and concerns about the future in 1975 and today. Although gifted students were more pessimistic than regular students in 1975, today both groups are more negative about the future than earlier and the pessimism of gifted students has dramatically increased. Gifted students see a…

Examines how patient race, rating of physical and emotional health, expression of physical, emotional, and social-problem symptoms, and physician perceptions of patients' physical health, emotional health, and social problems influence psychotropic prescribing in patients with chronic illness. Emphasizes the importance of training primary-care…

Investigates the learning styles of English students identified as school refusers and compares their style distribution to that of students in regular attendance in mainstream English secondary schools. Indicates that, compared to those attending school regularly, the learning style of refusers was skewed toward the Wholist end of the…

Because homeless students' problems reflect complex social problems, a multifaceted, collaborative approach is needed to address fundamental issues. This article provides a framework for examining four levels of collaboration, highlighting lessons learned from pursuing educational goals at the state level. Collaboration with professionals from…

Describes a strategy for a study of social problems in social studies classes that involves selecting brief excerpts from various literary genres that focus on a key social issue. Notes the students identify the problem, consider its implications, and offer solutions--then the students are encouraged to read the entire text to see how the problem…

Describes redesigned thematic units used by a middle-school teacher to make social justice a year-long focus that unified all aspects of her class endeavors. Claims that opening the door to the tenets of social justice expanded the classroom community to include the insight of teachers in a neighboring city, the wisdom of a Holocaust survivor, and…

Civic engagement in higher education is being renewed within the academy. Suggests that what is missing from this commitment to societal issues is education in democratic principles and responsibilities. Recommends that it is time to focus on these fundamentals in educating for citizenship. (EV)

Provides titles, synopses, and publishing information on books focusing on the Latino experience either in the United States or in other Latin countries. The books include fiction and nonfiction, picture books, chapter books for intermediate and young adult readers, and adult books suitable for teenagers. Publications are divided into…

American society exudes both a deep-rooted hostility and a chilling indifference toward youth, reinforcing the dismal conditions that increasingly characterize young people's existence. Children and teens are losing hope for the future. An education professor (and former basketball scholarship student) provides enlightening insights from his own…

Responses from 565 of 1,200 former urban residents who moved to a simpler rural lifestyle show that they hold progressive views on environmental and social issues. However, their levels of community organizing and activism are much more modest. (SK)