Investigates student perceptions of school membership, linking student and school characteristics to these perceptions. Draws on psychological, sociological, and educational theory to create a measure of perceived school membership: student feeling of belonging, student commitment to school, and student commitment to academic work. Discusses study…

This paper compares the oral and visual representations which 12 to 13-year-old students produced in studying computer games as part of an English and Media course. It presents the arguments for studying multimodal texts as part of a literacy curriculum and then provides an overview of the games course devised by teachers and researchers. The…

This study sought to examine the attitudes of heterosexual university students to peer suicide when that peer was gay, lesbian, or heterosexual. University students (n = 206) completed several questionnaires, including The Suicide Attitude Vignette Experience. Results indicated that the suicide act was seen as more justified, acceptable, and…

The purpose of this paper is to explore face-to-face discussions and electronic threaded discussions. Forty high school students engaged in both face-to-face and threaded discussions during a world history course. Their comments and interactions were analyzed, and they revealed that both types of discussion hold promise for helping students…

The paper focuses on educational projects developed in the ETSII (Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales) of the Polytechnic University of Madrid during the past few years. These projects were developed as new tools for enhancing the active role of students, for improving practical teaching, especially by means of virtual laboratories…

Pupils of White and Black Caribbean descent make up the largest category of mixed heritage pupils in the United Kingdom. As a group they are at risk of underachieving and are proportionally over-represented in school exclusions. Yet little is known to date about the barriers to their achievement. The common-sense explanation for their…

Peer relations, academic competence, and help-seeking behaviors of Black elementary school children were examined. Results indicated that, in comparison to boys, girls were preferred more as helpers, were perceived to be more academically competent, and sought help from peers more often. The distribution of boys and girls across different peer…

Students with autism are increasingly being placed in general education "inclusion" settings for the purpose of improved social integration. This article presents information on the social integration of ten students with autism in elementary inclusive settings. The purposes were to describe three social integration constructs of students with…

This report summarizes results of Austin Independent School District's 2006-2007 student climate survey, given to students in grades 3 through 11.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Canadian adult students collaboratively learn with peers in both formal and non-formal adult literacy programs. A multisite case study research design was used involving several local literacy organizations. Data collection occurred over a four-month period and focused on nine different program…

This study applies the family--systems concept of differentiation (the balance of autonomy-granting and connectedness) to another primary system of adolescent development--school. This study assessed the relationships among levels of family and school differentiation to the externalizing and internalizing behaviors, peer group membership, and…

Two questions serve as the focus in this study on factors affecting perception of femininity among pre-adolescent girls: (1) What are the meanings that girls themselves invested in gender and feminity? and (2) Through what social processes do girls negotiate meanings of gender and femininity? Researchers used a participant-observation study in…

It can be very difficult for writers to invent classroom communities, to share their writing; it can be especially difficult for anxious young writers who have never before worked in peer groups. Student participation is largely influenced by gender roles shaped by years of socialization. Teachers should not be startled by less female…

The conventional nature of school-sponsored writing, in which writing becomes a formal operant within the closed space of classroom signifying practices, is one in which the feminine mode of expression often announces it cannot play. While the masculine style of peer-response to student writing is largely aggressive, the feminine is conceptually…

Teens for AIDS Prevention (TAP) is a model peer intervention program designed by the Center for Population Options to increase knowledge and change attitudes and behaviors among youth to reduce their risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. The program utilizes peer pressure in a positive sense: to encourage youth to protect…