Taking the perspective of environmental psychology, this paper interprets the influence of educational settings upon children's socialization. The physical environment and the social structure it reflects determine the nature of information acquired during socialization. Socialization functions, long assumed by institutions such as schools, are…

In recent years, more than 25 percent of potential graduates--more than one million youngsters annually--left school without graduating. The dropout rate is even higher for Blacks, Hispanics and students from families of lower socioeconomic status. Since the dropout problem is closely related to broad social issues, such as youth unemployment,…

Changing Attitudes Regarding Education (CARE) is a program for the elementary school level which seeks to heighten educators' awareness of student attitudes toward education that are not conducive to an ongoing learning process. The goals of the program are accomplished using a team approach. The school principal is a member of the team and…

This report describes the background and plans for an alternative education program to reduce the high dropout rate at Baldwyn High School in Baldwyn, Mississippi. Research shows that students drop out primarily because they are behind grade level and are older than their classmates. Of Baldwyn High School's approximately 290 students, between 25…

Included in this report is the complete text of the Cabinet Council on Human Resources (CCHR) memorandum entitled "Disorder in Our Public Schools," also known as the Bauer Report. The memorandum argues that the quality of public education in the United States is threatened by pervasive disorder in the schools. It also claims that school…

This paper examines factors that contribute to or inhibit the academic achievement of black students. The study is based on a process model that seeks to define interrelationships among the following elements: (1) the societal context, which is the level of prescriptive ideologies and structures; (2) the institutional context, which is the level…

A state representative sample survey of 1980 high school sophomores and seniors in Washington State schools is presented as part of the Nation's High School and Beyond study. The primary purpose of the study, a large scale longitudinal survey, is to observe the educational and occupational plans and activities of young people as they pass through…

Using Amitai Etzioni's (1961) sociological model as a basis for analysis, the paper examines the relationship between central student characters and their chief reference group or significant other(s) in the schools as portrayed in three films: "If" (1969), "Child's Play" (1972), and "Educating Rita" (1983). Two…

The goals of Project Assist in the Ocean View School District (California) are to socialize sixth through eighth grade recent immigrant and other limited English proficient students into the school mainstream and to aid them in passing eigth grade competency tests in basic skills of English reading, written composition, and mathematics. The…

This paper agrees that there are inadequacies in school desegregation research and suggests strategies for improving its quality and availability as well as improving current educational policies. It is suggested that the interaction of power and resources determines the post-desegregation changes in school policies. The effects of desegregation…

For three weeks participants in a Seattle (Washington) seminar conducted an intensive review of school discipline problems that included a survey of all staff; a sample survey of students at three shcool levels; five community meetings; presentations by 61 individuals, agencies, or groups; a review of district statistics, practices, and…

Over 250 journal articles, ERIC documents, dissertations, and books dealing with confluent, humanistic, and affective education are listed in this annotated bibliography. Journal articles comprise those published since 1975. Other earlier works listed are considered of major importance in the field. The resources are listed under five categories:…

The coming decade will be a more significant period for the relationship of education to vocation and work than any other period in U.S. history. No longer will life be divided into periods of preschool play, formal learning, forty years of work, and decline; rather, these periods will interlock, especially as continued learning becomes…

The author argues that despite the conventional wisdom that schools cannot overcome the effects of socioeconomic status and race on academic achievement, there is a growing body of literature indicating that school climate and students' sense of control of their environment are strongly correlated with achievement. Five school-specific strategies…

Suggestions are presented for the improvement of current educational programs in the state of New York through student involvement in "recycling" available local resources and the generation of new resources that may be used in cooperative programs involving the entire school and the local community. Benefits of the suggested approach…