Examines the values and assumptions that underpin school effectiveness research and the problems of applying its findings to schools in light of critiques. Argues that the issues at stake between school effectiveness researchers and critics are understandable as disagreements about the nature and purposes of schooling rather than about facts. (DSK)

Describes two programs from "Blueprints for Violence Prevention," a publication of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (University of Colorado): Bullying Prevention and Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies. These programs help school-age children understand and deal with their feelings. Includes resources for dealing with…

Provides information that middle level educators can use to develop dynamic school cultures that emphasize literacy and actively engage students in this effort. Discusses how cultures are created and sustained, and examines middle school practices for the cultural messages they communicate to students. Describes how literacy may be made a core…

Education has long been the focal point for the debate over black claims to a special relationship with American society. Some recent works dealing with the situation of blacks in American society and education are reviewed in the context of current concerns with multiculturalism. Among the issues considered is that of affirmative action in higher…

Discusses how schools are seen as powerful sources of health promotion in South Africa and how organization development is a potent strategy for managing change and enhancing the school's growth towards becoming a healthy learning environment. Addresses the implications for the role of school psychologists in contributing towards the development…

Interviews with 30 extremely overweight nine to ten year old children in the United Kingdom offer perspectives on the challenges they face. Schools can make positive contributions by fostering climates of mutual respect and helping these children develop a positive outlook and sense of self-worth. (Author/MKA)

Asserts that schools can be academically excellent as well as authentically Catholic by employing both academic and faith-based methods of teaching. Cites three main areas responsible for student achievement: student ability, family background, and effective organization. Describes research supporting higher achievement in Catholic schools than in…

Asserts that it is time to formalize the practices involved in integrating values into Catholic education. Presents the six-step Educational Community Opportunity for Stewardship (ECOS) system and the Catholic Education Community manual as vital components in preparing teachers for values integration. Presents conceptual and organizational…

Discusses assessment within the realm of Catholic education. States that assessment should not be limited to testing, and that there are other methods of student evaluation that are intrinsic to the classroom environment. Asserts that opportunities to exhibit excellence need to be given by teachers, and that assessment is a celebration of this…

Explains that service learning began as a way to help provide students with a better sense of civic and social responsibility, and has developed into a process enabling students to feel more connected with their communities. Lists benefits from enrollment in service-learning programs, including enhanced self-esteem, leadership abilities, spiritual…

States that schools should be a safe haven for children and urges society to return schools to the safe, secure places they once were. Discusses the need to keep media far away from children in the event of a campus emergency and perform full background checks on all potential school employees. Reports that Catholic schools are providing…

Examines what values and virtues schools should cultivate in students as part of a program of moral or citizenship education, noting how these values and virtues differ based on historical and political contexts. The article focuses on four recent volumes on moral and citizenship education. (SM)

Outlines moves to preserve and protect America's native languages. Discusses the positive and negative roles that schools can play. (Author/VWL)

In this paper, I first examine the three justifications most often provided for differentiating, discounting, or even disclaiming the present generation's moral responsibility to future generations. I then discuss ideological critiques of, and educational solutions to, the complicity of formal educational institutions in propagating these…

It all started as a rather ran-of-the-mill campus controversy over race and slavery: an anti-reparations ad ran in The Brown Daily Herald; students cried foul, formed human chains and demanded "reparations" in the form of free advertising for the opposing side; still others responded with shouts of "political correctness." But then something…