Presents profiles of Soviet elementary and secondary students, grades one through 10, based on the author's teaching experiences and informal discussions with other veteran teachers. Compares the contemporary profile with students from 20 years ago. Considers family, mass media, peer, and teacher influences. (CH)

Tested a structural model of mathematics achievement and attitude with a probability sample of 3,116 adolescents from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth. Concluded that prior achievement and home environment influenced subsequent achievement most powerfully and that previous attitude had the most powerful influence on subsequent attitude.…

This cognitive-behavioral middle school prevention program includes both parent- and teen-based curricula focusing on precursors to problem behavior such as communication, limit setting, problem solving, goal setting, and dealing with negative peer influences. Results from 158 participating families found the program effective in engaging both…

Objective: The overall aim of the research was to investigate the approaches taken to tobacco education by primary school teachers. Setting: Research was conducted in four diverse areas of Scotland. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with primary 6 and primary 7 teachers. Questions explored the classroom issues…

To date, the focus of sex education research has tended to be on the effect of education on behavioral outcomes. There is little data on the felt needs of young people, how well they are met, and how provision might be improved. Here we report on main source of information about sexual matters, adequacy of knowledge, further needs, and preferred…

Perceptions of social support from family, non-family adults, and peers were examined in relation to the psychopathology reported by 220 suicidal adolescents (152 females) during a psychiatric hospitalization. Results of regression analyses showed that, among females, family support was negatively related to hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and…

This book compiles statements by young people (mostly from the United States) describing the primary issues they face as adolescents and how they cope with them, and incorporates a range of expert information to respond to these concerns. Chapters are: (1) "Body," covering topics of acne, body image, dieting and eating disorders, disabilities,…

This study examined factors affecting academic persistence for Hispanic college students at a private 2-year bilingual junior college (St. Augustine College, Illinois) in terms of the students' integration into the academic and social environment at the college. A sample of 277 Hispanic graduates (78 percent female) participated in the study.…

Supplemental Course Instruction (SCI) at Olivet Nazarene University is described as a program in which a high achieving student retakes a course successfully completed in order to model desired behaviors for other students. The SCI Leader demonstrates good study skills and organizes small group study sessions. This study examines the effectiveness…

An analysis of the performance of minority students in Arizona (Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian) is presented as one working paper in the final report by the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness. Data are included for the White majority for comparison purposes. School districts are grouped…

Using data collected from kindergarten and second grade children in a study of young children's concepts about writing as reflected in their school writing behaviors, this report focuses on information gathered from second grade children. The introductory chapter restates the research questions guiding the study and briefly reviews the major…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of 1972 (designed to provide statistics on a national sample of young adults as they moved out of high school into their early adulthood) were utilized to examine the determinants of college attendance with controlling variables, such as family background and students' ability. The sample from base year…

Social networks are the linkages between social units, both persons and groups, with which an individual has contact. The articles in this special issue address the different types of people and their functions that make up the social networks of females and males from infancy into childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. (BJV)

This study used data from the base year and first followup year of the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 (NELS:88) to investigate determinants of achievement in minority versus nonminority students. In the base year, the NELS:88 collected data on eighth graders. Because there were so few American Indians, that group was eliminated…

Developed in response to requests from a variety of family support professionals, teachers, and parents, this sourcebook offers information on preventing violence in children at different stages of development. The introduction provides a rationale for the development of this sourcebook, discusses parental influence, and describes how parents can…