Explored the perceptions of African American male students who chose to leave a traditional academic setting for an alternative education program within the same setting. Data from students, parents, and teachers indicated that teachers and educational leaders failed to incorporate the relevancy of African American male students into the classroom…

Describes an intensive three-week experience for 10th and 11th graders in a National Science Foundation Young Scholars Program. Two weeks of biology instruction precede one week of field research. The curriculum includes life histories of birds in the Chesapeake Bay area, reproductive ecology, aquatic ecology, entomology, and statistics. (DDR)

Public education focuses on the lowest common denominator; cannot meet individual student needs; teaches competition; teaches children to learn for praise, not for the sake of learning; and has a 40 percent failure rate. These factors lead many to choose home schooling, but approaches to home schooling are so varied that a common definition of…

Addresses the issue of student engagement in education. Suggests that reasons behind high dropout rates for first-year students may include the college's adherence to the traditional learning paradigm that characterizes the student as a passive learner. Urges institutions to move toward learning through engagement. (NB)

Examines differences between undergraduate distance-learning students and traditional students in terms of their motivation, wants, and what they receive from their educational experience. The differences between the two groups was found to be small. The major difference was that distance-learning students are more satisfied with what they receive…

Describes Generation www.Y (Gen Y), a program that trains technology-savvy students to help teachers incorporate technology into their lessons. Discusses how Gen Y works; benefits for students and teachers; and how Gen Y is funded. One table lists differences between the traditional way of infusing technology and the Gen Y way. The two student…

Common elements among unschooled families include an environment conducive to exploration and experimentation, adult models and facilitators of learning, and underlying trust that children will learn. Public education limits its expectations of children to narrow standards of behavior and academic achievement, whereas unschooling allows children…

Drawing on the idea that a constructivist classroom is very different from a traditional setting, this article presents a rubric based on current understanding of constructivist theory and education. The rubric is designed as a formative assessment of teachers to stimulate thinking and improve methods related to constructivist teaching. (SD)

Examined the motivational effects of a teacher research initiative within an urban alternative school, studying participating teachers' self-efficacy, empowerment, collaboration, and perceptions of school climate via surveys, interviews, observations, and field notes. Growth occurred in general and personal teaching efficacies from pretest to…

Implementation and impact findings from a large evaluation of federally funded dropout prevention programs suggest that alternative middle schools for younger students and GED programs for older students are promising. Striving to understand the nature of academic, social, and personal problems affecting students and tailoring services to address…

Reports that 38 states currently have policies that encourage enrollment of high school students in college-level classes, while another 10 have institutional-level concurrent enrollment agreements. Discusses these and other postsecondary enrollment options, such as advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs, being explored by…

Traces the ten-year history of the dual enrollment program in Virginia, highlights its success, and identifies issues that will be examined for the future. Discusses how dual enrollment can serve the needs of rural as well as urban communities, and predicts that emphasis on occupational/technical dual enrollment courses and distance education…

Examines the educational foundations of a proposed two-way bilingual/bicultural charter school for adolescent Latino parents in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). Discusses teenage pregnancy in the two contexts of Hispanic cultural values and educational alternatives available to teen parents in Milwaukee; the school-community partnership; and arguments for…

A mother and daughter describe their family's educational experiences with a K-12 noncoercive free school, Upattinas School and Resource Center (Pennsylvania), and with home schooling and public school. They have learned that people learn best when placed in a supportive environment. Forced learning, as in public school, tends to turn off the…

An English-as-second-language (ESL) teacher could not interest her students in their work until she changed her perception of education by reading books on unschooling and meaningful learning by Holt, Dewey, and Freire. By combining solid language acquisition research with holistic learning theory, she was able to transform the experience of…