Educators working to improve dropout prevention programs should closely examine the development of defensive overlays in children's world views. Efforts to neutralize defensive world views within existing dropout prevention initiatives should refocus efforts to be more holistic. Such neutralization may best succeed in small schools. (SM)

Discusses the recent influx of non-native English speakers at Portland Community College and the resulting quantity-versus-quality dilemma of ESL education. Provides policy recommendations for effective and inclusive ESL instruction. (YKH)

Examines role of schools and peer group culture in constructing male and female identity among adolescents in the context of gender violence. Discusses a United Kingdom Department for International Development funded study of abuse of girls in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Ghana. Reveals contemplative sexual socialization processes in which male violence…

Examines the perceptions of European teenagers living in Europe regarding that continent. The study focuses on their declared knowledge sources, attitudes towards a European identity and second language learning and future aspirations. The article discusses the role of schools, the media, and the home environment in shaping the perceptions of…

Looks at the daily activities of one preschool in southern China. Reviews the attitudes of educators and parents, and the application of social theory to curriculum and pedagogy in the Chinese preschool. Places special emphasis on the words and ideas of the teachers and administrators in reference to the policies created by the government. (MOK)

Discusses computer-aided instruction from home computers as an alternative or an adjunct to public school education. Topics addressed include the partnership between parents and schools; new roles for parents and schools; financial considerations; educational software; a program to help teachers develop their own software; and field testing in…

The attached schools of national universities in Japan are comparable to U.S. laboratory schools. This article discusses the history of attached schools, their present condition, and restructuring the role of these schools to make them clinical schools, compatible with overall reform of clinical education for beginning teachers. (IAH)

Addresses the need to integrate services in rural areas and provides guidelines to help practitioners move toward systemic change that facilitates service integration. Presents case studies of three sites in the Pacific Northwest that are utilizing community and school-level service integration to expand service delivery to rural families. (LP)

This article describes the methodological challenges and processes involved in designing and conducting the School Health Policies and Programs Study. Information is provided on questionnaire development, sampling, data collection, and weighting and variance estimation. (SM)

Reviews the major phases of development of the relationship between French private education and the state from the early 1950s when private schools (mostly Catholic) began receiving state subsidies. Concludes that the framework of subsidies has enabled Catholic schools to elaborate new social roles as well as to strengthen their traditional place…

Discusses the importance of family and community involvement to student achievement. Schools can establish an effective partnership among schools, families, and the community by providing support for families, creating family-community learning centers, supporting the community, providing opportunities for shared responsibility, facilitating the…

Describes goals, beneficiaries, offerings, locations, and providers of six current school-linked service efforts. Identifies several integrating elements needed for systemic reforms to make school-linked services produce more successful outcomes for children and families. Programmatic initiatives must complement deep-reaching changes in ways…

Reviews types of evaluation that may be applied to school-linked services; and discusses the needs for a range of evaluative strategies for program providers, policymakers, and funders. For some programs evaluation will be primarily descriptive, whereas for others a carefully designed outcome evaluation will be possible. (SLD)

Describes a program that pairs an elementary school in Hartford (Connecticut) with 99 percent African-American enrollment with its nearby racial opposite (Morley School). The Across the Lines project conducts about 75 joint efforts each year, including a student newspaper. Similar exchanges in Arizona, Maryland, and California are described. (SLD)

Investigates the relationship between family social status of 1,734 seventh through twelfth grade students in an urban Southern California district and crime or delinquency committed by these students in a school context. Acts of school delinquency are related to school attendance, sex, and age. Discusses reasons for the relationships. (SLD)