Describes perspectives of several families whose children dropped out of school. Audiotaped interviews with 3 or more members of 12 families reveal hostile views toward schooling and a 2-generation history of poor academic performance. School was a series of academic failures, conflicts, disciplinary hearings, suspensions, and expulsions. Dropping…

Discusses how to prevent discouragement in disadvantaged students. Because systems cause at-risk students to feel inadequate, the article suggests only systemic change can repair the problem. Too many students lose in the present reward-and-punishment evaluation system. Effective schools must make students believe they have equal educational…

Addresses the problems of African-American males, and argues that a focus on high literacy for this population is an important strategy for addressing the crisis of education and incarceration. Suggests that literacy is essential to African-American males' participation in the economy. (JB)

Claims that the Carolina Abecedarian Project, an early intervention with children from economically and socially impoverished homes, has produced and maintained higher IQs in children at risk of mental retardation are examined for approximately 112 children. Assertions of project success are reviewed, and the implications are discussed. (SLD)

Children eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) were found to have substantially higher mortality rates than non-AFDC children, based on data from 3,679 child death certificates. The disparity appears greater for whites than non-whites. Results suggest social class differentials in health care and risks. (SLD)

This study examined the amount of variance explained by alignment of testing to instruction among low socioeconomic level fourth graders, proposing two instructional alignment hypotheses. Results indicated that alignment had an unusually high effect. Low performing low socioeconomic level students achieved high success levels when conditions of…

Examines the growing problem of violence in American society, focusing on the public health consequences and medical costs of firearm violence and violence against children and youths. It discusses the Clinton administration's violence prevention efforts and implications of violence for health and child care professionals. (MDM)

The main outcomes of the Prague (Czechoslovakia) longitudinal studies following over 1,000 children for almost 30 years are summarized. The children were either born from unwanted pregnancies, with alcoholic fathers, born out-of-wedlock, or in divorced families. A theory of psychological subdeprivation is offered and applied to children with…

Reports results of a survey administered to the general public in a large midwestern city on public perceptions of youth gang crime. The 306 residents (aged 14 years and over) of Indianapolis (Indiana) surveyed generally feel that youth gang crime is more serious in areas other than their own. (SLD)

Data explain causes of declining well-being among families with small children in terms of demography, economics, inadequate government programs, perverse government programs, family structure, neighborhood and community, and culture. Declining economic prospects for young male workers and accelerated movement toward single-parent families are the…

Increasing the learning of economics among 76 public high school seniors from lower socioeconomic levels by teaching them to use generative comprehension procedures in cooperative learning groups was attempted. Comparison with 66 controls indicated facilitative effects of generative teaching in increasing confidence in correctness of answers and…

Emotional issues impacting the lives of gifted students are discussed, including peer pressure, competition, perfectionism, independence, expectations of self or others, and economic disadvantage. Teaching suggestions and poems by gifted students are provided. (DB)

Probes the rise in juvenile incarceration in the United States during the 1890s to 1920s and the trend toward privatization of juvenile detention centers. Develops a political model that focuses on the politics of national charities movement and on the variations among the different states regarding the building of youth facilities. (NL)

Argues that Chapter 1 has done little to improve student achievement and may prevent disadvantaged students from catching up. The most glaring problem is the perverse incentive structure that rewards failure rather than success. If student scores rise, and the number of educationally disadvantaged declines, schools will lose funds. (SLD)

Argues that current educational practices underestimate the magnitude of diversity in educational achievement and that disregarding diversity widens the range of differences. Reducing concern with grade-level achievement and increasing concern with academic mastery would have long-term educational benefits. Changes are proposed for elementary…