Reports on a study of 640 Russian secondary students and 140 teachers on their attitudes about schools and schooling. Finds that both students and teachers agree that the primary goal of education should be to transmit the culture and prepare people for decision making. Also finds that forced participation in extracurricular programs caused…

Asserts that, like medical doctors, teachers perform clinical tasks and therefore should have clinical training. Argues that the separation of remediation and prevention is illusory. Recommends that psychology instruction must be an essential part of teacher education. (CFR)

Campus events of recent years teach that we need to reaffirm ideas of decency, charity, and respect rather than academically fashionable notions of diversity advocated without regard for the rights and feelings of others. Speech and behavior codes are enforcing a hierarchy of campus groups that favors the politically left. (SLD)

Discussion of peer-based collaborative learning focuses on two related studies: a micro-structure comparative analysis of students' psycho-social behaviors in computer-based collaborative learning experiments conducted in face-to-face and distributed learning environments; and an examination of cognitive effects of peer-based collaborative…

An ethnographic study in a second-grade full-inclusion classroom examined spontaneous, unstructured peer-assistance interactions between 22 general education and 11 special education students during small-group and independent work periods. Found that helping exchanges in academic contexts were complicated by students' social agendas: desire to…

Describes a five-step process by which preschool teachers can meet the individual needs of all children, including those with disabilities, while maintaining a group instructional format. The process links assessment to curriculum, has planned teacher-directed individualized group instruction, implements behavior management techniques, and…

Presents the results of a study that surveyed 350 Australian secondary teachers concerning their experiences and attitudes about computers. As hypothesized, computer anxieties were inversely related to the quality of prior computer learning experiences. Recommends approaches for the reduction of computer anxiety among teachers. (MJP)

Describes efforts to apply the action-research process to design and evaluate a theory-based program of intervention to reduce and prevent youth violence in high-risk urban environments. Twelve objectives were developed to design and evaluate "Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways," a violence-prevention curriculum for sixth graders.…

By helping faculty collaborate to enrich their teaching abilities and by supporting them when faculty/student relationships occasionally fail, the department chair models leadership skills that faculty themselves can use. The skills of leadership correspond very closely to good teaching skills, and can be combined with the skills of principled…

Summarizes results from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and trends from 1991 to 1997 in selected risk behaviors. Results indicate that many high school students still practice behaviors that place them at risk for serious health problems, with some behaviors more likely among particular subgroups. Some behaviors vary considerably…

The effectiveness of three substance-abuse-prevention videotapes derived from contrasting theoretical frameworks was evaluated using 312 rural Mexican-American students in grades seven through eight. The assertion-training video produced higher levels of assertiveness among ninth-graders; the others had no impact. Discusses the importance of…

Investigates preservice teachers' attitudes toward writing and toward teaching writing after completing an innovative language-arts course that stressed process approaches and the writing workshop. Examines the influence this course had on the teaching of writing during their student teaching. Investigates how writing instruction was incorporated…

Sociometric surveys were completed at third grade for a low-socioeconomic status, urban sample of African-American youth, and delinquency data were gathered at grades 6, 8, and 10. For boys, the additive effect of childhood peer rejection and aggression predicted more serious delinquency, whereas for girls only aggression predicted more serious…

Because of a 50% drop-out rate of first-year to second-year students at Mountain Empire Community College, retention was identified as a priority. Students and faculty were surveyed to determine causes of student withdrawals, a summer retreat was held, and a retention task force was created to develop a comprehensive retention plan for the fall of…

Introduces this special journal issue by outlining previous research on early peer relationships. Explains that the articles in this issue provide a backdrop for identifying the early precursors of individual patterns of success versus failure with peers. (JS)