Investigates the drawing and copying skills of nine autistic and eight mentally retarded children matched for mental age. Results indicate a similarity of performance for the drawing tasks and significant differences concerning the copying. Discusses the specific functions performed better by the autistic children and provides illustrative…

Examined the relevancy of group social functioning to individual social, academic, and psychological adjustment in China. Found that social functioning--including sociability, aggression, and shyness-inhibition--of group peers had unique contributions to individual social and school adjustment and adjustment problems, and that contributions of…

A study evaluated a Czech Outward Bound course for international participants that used dramaturgy to incorporate cultural, social, creative, and psychological activities and enrich the traditional range of outdoor physical activities. Observations of 55 participants and followup surveys indicated that the main outcomes involved personal and…

A teacher at an alternative school draws upon his and other educators' experiences to illustrate that learning within relationships and learning about relationships are fundamental to the educational process. Schools must provide safe, caring environments where kids can establish enduring relationships with each other, teachers, and mentors, and…

Recounts a one-month period in the professional and family life of Joyce Tsunoda, the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii Community Colleges. Focuses on the observations and experiences of a Japanese-American woman born, raised, and immersed in a multicultural setting, learning and developing as an American and as an academic administrator and…

Reviews developmental models for understanding adolescence as they might be applied to emerging sexuality and the challenges and risks that may be associated with different sexual orientations and identities. Models have been identified as: cumulative events or simultaneous change, accentuation, or trajectory models. Models have been useful in…

When surveyed about a one-way video and two-way audio distance learning system, distance education faculty at Old Dominion University (Virginia) said they liked the personal and professional growth afforded by teaching on television, but disliked the lack of interactivity and other limitations. Faculty involvement in policymaking and integrating…

A study examining the characteristics of students engaged in service learning and the association between service learning participation and student performance involved 699 college students in an American government course over three semesters. Females and lower-income students were more likely to be service learning participants, and service…

Self concept is deeply intertwined with one's racial socialization. Two incidents are recounted as turning points in this counselor educator's self-perception as a person having a racial identity and to her career development. Coping mechanisms are described. A safe atmosphere is essential to the exploration of feelings about race. (EMK)

Examined patterns of academic functioning and mental health in middle school students and the relation of such patterns to their prior and subsequent functioning. Found variegated patterns of academic and emotional functioning at eighth grade and stability in these patterns across the high school transition. Found some long-term stability among…

This study explored the subjective experiences in post-high school development in four gifted individuals considered at risk because of significant underachievement, depression, or family stress. The developmental stories, largely in the subjects' own words, have a dominant theme of conflict with parents with resolution associated with…

Teaching Tolerance is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance in the online release of its interdisciplinary curriculum, "Vietnamese Americans: Lessons in American History." The curriculum guide-- complete with timelines, maps and primary sources--offers eight lesson plans,…

In order to better understand contributing factors of moral judgment development, gifted youth and college students were compared. Moral judgment development, ACT scores, attributional complexity, and descriptors of personality were assessed among 140 college students and 97 gifted youth. Important distinctions favoring the gifted sample were seen…

This paper considers the educational work that narrative does. Against the context of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission that examined the crimes of apartheid, it discusses the narrative implications of South African poet Antjie Krog's multi-layered text of Truth Commission testimony, and autobiographical and philosophical…

Conventional wisdom in the study abroad field has held that more is better; that is, the longer students study abroad the more significant the academic, cultural development and personal growth benefits that accrue. The standard assumption is that meaningful advancement in language learning and other academic disciplines using a culture-specific…