Studies protective factors that inner-city high school students consider salient in overcoming adversity. Content analysis shows that the internal attributes such as perseverance, determination, and having the awareness to learn from the risk-attrition process surfaced. States that motivational support from family members and teachers was also…

Urges readers to ponder the importance of the future of literature in children's lives. Reflects on the role of books in the author's own family life, reviewing how literature gathers and preserves the riches of the imagination and promotes the democracy of the intellect. (SR)

Fifth- and sixth-grade aggressive and acting-out students from a Latino community were organized into two groups based on their classroom academic performance. Students who were rated as aggressive but were high on school learning reported more resiliency indicators than those low on school learning. Parental supervision was the key variable…

School communities can foster homeless students' resilience, the ability to bounce back despite difficult circumstances. Resilience can be promoted by reducing risks and stressors' effects while activating protective processes that increase the support, structure, and opportunities needed for positive adaptation. Each community member's role is…

Tests a theoretical model for the constitution of the self among adolescents in a cross-cultural, comparative study. Examines the impact of schools and families, as institutions and networks of interaction, on the self of adolescents. Based on data from three sample surveys from an East/West study of adolescent students. (DSK)

Investigated individual variation in child vocabulary competence, evaluating mothers' sociodemographics, personalities, and vocabulary and children's' gender, social competence, and vocabulary competence. Specific aspects of children and mothers accounted for variation in child vocabulary knowledge and use. Child's gender and social competence and…

Identifies the dual development of independence and interdependence as a template for thinking about social and emotional education for children. Suggests integrating social, emotional, and academic learning to foster the child's individuality. Discusses Montessori's belief that personal freedom and responsibility are built on a foundation of…

Data gathered over 17 years was used to assess 36 childhood risk factors for personality disorder in young adults (original sample of 776 children). Prediction was shown to be better for girls than boys, and for girls, better over a younger age span. Effects of individual risks are explored. (SLD)

Summarizes a 1992 Wisconsin study exploring relationships among principals' leadership styles, gender, and personality attributes and principals' and teachers' work satisfaction. None of these variables predicted work satisfaction; teachers and principals had different perceptions of leadership. Schools should hire more female administrators and…

Describes the nature and consistency differences in mother-infant interaction affected by sex of infant, and reviews past interpretations. Offers an alternative interpretation, drawing on evidence from animal studies, studies of pregnant women, and work by epidemiologists and ethologists on sex ratio data that suggests mothers of male infants may…

The extent to which adolescents diagnosed with one or more personality disorders through the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised were at an elevated risk of substance abuse was studied with 441 undergraduates. Those with one or more personality disorders showed higher levels of psychiatric symptomatology and substance use. (SLD)

Investigated the ability of cognitive, affective, personality, and demographic variables to predict second language acquisition among college students. Student surveys indicated that all four types of variables correlated with foreign language achievement, with a cognitive variable (academic achievement) and an affective variable (foreign language…

Advises student teachers to resist falling into comfortable instructional modes, find their voices as teachers, observe while in action, value both introspective and extroversive teaching styles, help marginalized children, pay attention to cooperating teachers, take initiative in the classroom, be reflective practitioners, and wear comfortable…

Argues that because democracy, education, and discussion are interrelated and seek to promote human growth, ways must be found to involve children and adults in frequent discussions. Focuses on democratic education, including the barriers, functions of discussion, and dispositional ideals for classroom members. Concludes that discussion is an…

Students (N=182) and teachers (N=33) in six Kosovar schools were surveyed to assess conditions, evaluate local resources, and determine suitability of implementing a mental health program following the trauma of war. Children (ages 10-12) showed strong coping skills and resiliency despite adversity. Teachers reported significant data about student…