At a time when economic competitiveness is determined to a considerable extent by the education levels of a nation's workforce, the United States is at serious risk of losing its edge in this realm. While the U.S. still has the best-educated workforce in the world, the advantage arises because of the superior education attainment levels of the…

This issue of "Focus On" examines where boys are underachieving and some possible reasons for their under-achievement, including biological and environmental factors. It also offers strategies that teachers can employ in their classrooms in order to address the educational needs of boys. Books in Brief; Web Resources; and Related ERS Resources are…

The purpose of the study was to explore the academic careers of students who took AP Exams and to compare their careers with those who did not take AP Exams. For most AP Exams, students with AP grades of 3 or better had higher grade averages in intermediate college courses than did non-AP students who first took an introductory course. Two…

When describing the determinants of economic or social outcomes, economists often have a very simplified view of skill. Failure to take into account the fact that skill is intrinsically a multidimensional object may misguide both research and the design of social policy. In this paper, the authors analyse the consequences and determinants of…

This first edition of Key Data on Higher Education in Europe consists of 70 indicators offering both qualitative and quantitative information and data on 31 European countries. Key Data on Higher Education in Europe is intended to provide a very wide audience with information on many aspects of higher education systems. Its aim is to highlight…

This paper presents the facts and figures of the whole UK higher education sector in 2007. The data is derived from a variety of sources, and is updated on a yearly basis.

This study examined the influence of perceived parental, peer, and cultural factors on Black American adolescent attitudes toward substance use. One-hundred-eight Black American youth (grades 9-12) from economically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods of New York, completed self-report measures on: (a) parent-child involvement, parental supervision,…

The educational system in many schools fails to meet the academic needs of minority students. The dramatic shifts in student demographics are demanding changes in the ways teachers are teaching them. It is essential to understand the long term effects of past educational practices and bilingual programs. Research indicates that there are many…

This is the second and final part of a review of educational research on children's ideas about gravity. The first part concerned students' understanding of how and why things fall. This article picks up the trail of research studies that address students' understanding of the more complex ideas of projectile motion and orbits and examines how the…

Objective: To examine symptomatology and mental health service use following students' contact with a large urban school district's suicide prevention program. Method: In 2001 school district staff conducted telephone interviews with 95 randomly selected parents approximately 5 months following their child's contact with the district's suicide…

The Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS) Program was designed to assess the impact of a 5-d intensive prefreshman program on success and retention of biological science majors at Louisiana State University. The 2005 pilot program combined content lectures and examinations for BIOL 1201, Introductory Biology for Science Majors, as well…

Objective: This study investigates how the academic skills of children diagnosed with ADHD are perceived by teachers, parents, and the children themselves. Method: The authors analyze data collected for third graders in spring 2002 in the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey. They use linear regressions to estimate…

Although video has long been used as a teaching aid in adult literacy and basic education, literacy researchers seem to have ignored the potential benefits of using video as a tool that could add rigour to research. Reporting on their field experiences of an adult literacy learning study in Canada, the authors provide a narrative account of their…

In a 3-year longitudinal, mixed-method study, 67 children in two schools were observed during literacy activities in Grades 1-3. Children and their teachers were interviewed each year about the children's motivation to read and write. Taking a grounded theory approach, content analysis of the child interview protocols identified the motivations…

The great majority of children receiving intervention from child welfare and protection services (CWS) in Norway live at home. The purpose of this study was to assess mental health problems among these children. Data stem from a population-based study, the Bergen child study, conducted in 2006. Of a sample consisting of 4,162 children in the fifth…