Educational reform now focuses largely on school restructuring, making transformational leadership and cultural change models critical issues for school administrators. Both concepts are inextricably linked to communication. Consequently, leadership for change requires a knowledge base in leadership, organizational theory, and communication…

Overviews a bilingual program serving urban schoolchildren who come from Arabic-speaking homes. The article describes the mission of the program as the preparation of students, in close cooperation with their families, to become contributing citizens in a changing society by providing a challenging curriculum to develop knowledge and a sense of…

Reiterates the importance of voting and education to the democratic process. Praises President Clinton's efforts to increase voter participation and access including his support of the motor voter law. Briefly summarizes Clinton's vision for the future of the country. (MJP)

Presents a concise overview of the complicated web of laws and regulations governing the financing of federal political campaigns. Discusses related issues such as "soft money," and the conflict between restrictive campaign regulations and free speech. Notes that regulation of state elections remains with the states. (MJP)

Presents a learning activity consisting of a forum where five students role play individuals arguing contrasting viewpoints concerning a mail-in ballot procedure for a U.S. senatorial special election. Other class members conduct independent research supporting their positions and help coach the forum members. (MJP)

New Mexico ranks high in youth violence, substance abuse, poverty, teen pregnancies, and school dropout rates. In response, Western New Mexico University developed a special master's program in bilingual special education, attended primarily by minority-group school personnel, and implemented a program to address the cycle of poverty by training…

Followed up on 570 adolescents studied as preschoolers. Found that preschoolers' viewing of educational television programs was associated with achieving higher grades, reading more books, placing more value on achievement, exhibiting greater creativity, and behaving less aggressively as adolescents more consistently for boys than girls. Found…

In this study of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program, qualitative and quantitative analyses of the relationship between the implementation of AR and student motivation and extent of reading are drawn from data collected in three schools in Scotland and England. These schools represent low (Scotland, n=53), middle (Scotland, n=40), and high…

Many learners, especially those in a foreign-language setting, draw on the classroom as their primary forum for using and experiencing the target language, still for the most part during teacher-led instruction. Nevertheless, communicative language teaching does not provide a decisive definition of "good language use." Teachers usually take an…

Deviant behaviour and victimization at school have been consistently related to poor psychological adjustment in adolescents. This research explores the mediating role that parents and teachers have in adolescent psychological distress in 973 Spanish students aged 11-16 years old. Structural equation analyses results showed that adolescent deviant…

This study was designed to contribute to a small but growing body of knowledge on the influence of gender in technology-rich collaborative learning environments. The study examined middle school students attitudes towards using computers and working in groups during scientific inquiry. Students attitudes towards technology and group work were…

This study examined childhood gender atypicality, lifetime victimization based on sexual orientation, and current mental health, including trauma symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among 528 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. Nearly 80% reported verbal victimization, 11% physical, and 9% sexual, with males reporting significantly…

We examined the relation of overt and relational victimization to depressive symptoms, fear of negative evaluation (FNE), social avoidance, and loneliness in a sample of Hispanic and African-American children. The Social Experience Questionnaire, Children's Depression Inventory, Social Anxiety Scale for Children--Revised, and Asher Loneliness…

This article describes an action research project, based within a school, to develop and increase the social resiliency of students with special education needs in both school and community settings. The programme included role-plays, scenarios and problem solving. An assessment tool was developed to measure self-esteem amongst the students and…

During the past few decades, people have been increasingly exposed to health-related messages in the mass media, conveying recommendations for healthy lifestyles. The present study investigates whether these messages represent a stressor, and whether coping responses increase levels of motivation or levels of negative affect. A sample of 403 women…