Closing the achievement gap depends on highly effective public schools, strong community support, and family involvement. Raising the overall rates of achievement in Minnesota is a vital part of this goal. Research has shown that pre-college outreach programs improve college access for underrepresented groups, including low-income,…

The role of parental communication and instruction concerning sexual behaviour were studied in a community-based sample of 1083 youth aged 13-17 (mean age of 15 years; 51% girls, 49% White). The Youth Asset Survey was administered along with items measuring demographics and youth risk behaviours. After controlling for demographic factors,…

Hackney Community College's Mental Health Education Project is celebrating a decade of support for students with mental health difficulties. The project was set up 10 years ago to guide and support mental health service users into mainstream education and employment. The author met John McClean, the college's mental health coordinator, and George…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find out the anti-smoking counselling frequency and its correlates in a sample of Chinese physicians. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, 268 physicians in Baoding, a city near Beijing, filled out a questionnaire asking about their own smoking status, their anti-smoking behaviors as well as their…

This research examined news reports in order to identify incidents that precipitated dress code revisions. News reports were examined within the framework of rules for civil behavior. Using key words "school dress codes" and "violence," LEXIS/NEXIS was used to access 104 articles from 44 U.S. newspapers from December 3, 2004 to December 2, 2005.…

The authors investigated how negotiating two cultural expectations may influence the career decision-making process of Chinese youth. In-depth interviews were conducted with 8 participants addressing issues of role models, career interests, and individuals with whom they discussed career concerns. Consensual Qualitative Research (C. E. Hill, B. J.…

In a Flemish case study, deaf role models revealed a moment of awakening, indicated by the Flemish sign WAKE-UP. Contact with deaf cultural rhetoric made them "wake up," and deconstruct and reconstruct their lives, a process represented by a "circle of deaf empowerment." Flemish deaf leaders mentioned acquiring this rhetoric…

Since the mid-1990s, considerable concern has been expressed about the feminization of education. The underlying assumption is that the increasing number of female teachers is leading to a lack of male role models, which may then have negative consequences for the achievement and behaviour of boys in particular. For this reason, policy is…

As many as four-fifths of high-school graduates will need some form of postsecondary education if they are to become self-sufficient and the nation is to remain economically competitive. At the same time, policy makers, business leaders, and national study groups say the quality of student learning is subpar and want measures of institutional and…

Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are the basis on which teachers and other service providers are required to design educational programs for learners with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). As part of their work with the National Professional Development Center (NPDC) on ASD, researchers developed a process for reviewing the research literature and…

A counseling procedure termed vicarious induction of behavior was used to develop academic achievement motivation in disadvantaged adults. The procedure required an analysis of the desired target behavior---academic achievement motivation---to identify specific skills and covert attitudes. New achievement behaviors were anticipated, specified, and…

This part of a series of reports in this issue traces the role and "image" of serial television's women. (CH)

Encyclopedias, picture books, and fiction career stories have the most dated viewpoints concerning women, while some fiction gives an honest view of contemporary attitudes. (Author/PF)

Several studies were conducted where subjects were not instructed to imitate models. Subjects viewing models exhibiting complex, flexible, divergent, or creative behavior tended to increase this behavior, while subjects watching rigid or convergent thinking models were less consistent. (Author/BJG)

Noting that previous research has shown that television content influences attitudes and behavior, a content analysis of 269 television commercials broadcast during prime time was conducted to examine whether male sex role stereotyping existed in the commercials and, if it did, to determine the characteristics of that stereotyping and whether the…