This guide is written from the perspective of school-based efforts to help address social problems and drug use among children. Although schools are not solely responsible for the nation's drug problems, the solution will require collaborative efforts among schools, families, communities, and social institutions. No longer are schools just a…

This book asserts that bullying is the basis of many life problems for children, particularly low self-esteem, abuse, and violence. This book's program aims to provide an understanding of the dynamics of bullying and to empower children to recognize and deal with bullies at a young age in order to alleviate the possible development of problems…

Self-efficacy is mediated by individuals' beliefs or expectations about their capacity to accomplish certain tasks successfully or demonstrate certain behaviors. When individuals have low self-efficacy expectations regarding their behavior, they limit the extent to which they participate in an endeavor and are more apt to give up at the first sign…

Argues that involving children in curriculum planning develops communication, literacy, and social study skills. Describes four areas to address in the joint planning process: (1) what interests the children; (2) how to get the information; (3) what materials are needed; and (4) what materials the children and teacher will bring. (SD)

Presents a study of World Wide Web use in the classroom among graduates and undergraduates at the University of Wolverhampton (England). The study found that the Web gave students better access to more update information than a university library; greater input into their own learning process, making it more proactive; and more individualized…

Deplores the current drive toward cost efficiency, restructuring, and vocationalization of colleges of education. Cultural studies offer an opportunity to redefine educational theory and practice and educate teachers and administrators to play a vital role in renewing civic life. Concerned with empowerment and the democratic process, cultural…

Examined final-year undergraduate responses to innovations to determine whether positive learning outcomes in large classes are possible by increasing the range of work in which students are involved. Straightforward adjustments to approach and style produced both positive learning outcomes and an increase in transferable skills. (RJM)

Discusses a college course that employs the basic principles of constructivist education and promotes active learning through social interaction and personal reflection. The course assists students in developing a greater degree of autonomy that will help them in their personal and professional lives. (SM)

Discusses student empowerment and the importance of including students in planning and implementing conflict resolution programs. The paper describes the "Winning Against Violent Environments" (WAVE) program which trains students to be peer mediators who train other students and adults to be mediators and conflict managers. (SM)

Discusses the tenets of critical pedagogy, describing research on the presence of those tenets within discourse patterns and pedagogical practices in urban, community-based classrooms. Discourses and pedagogies of three female, African American teachers are highlighted, examining how teachers challenge students to consider alternate life…

This article discusses how the "Piirto Pyramid" of talent development was used with gifted elementary students and students with disabilities in an inclusionary classroom to motivate students to work harder. Students clipped and posted articles from newspapers and magazines that typified an aspect of the pyramid. (Contains three references.) (CR)

Students in a Winnipeg (Manitoba) alternative high school participated in a project designed to increase student voice in their own learning and in school direction. Studying emotional intelligence, helping plan a provincial student conference, and conducting research on student priorities developed real-world skills, increased appreciation of…

This article argues that the need for and right to communication and language is fundamental to the human condition. It contends that given the historic difficulties children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing face, a constitutional right to communication is both necessary and legally sound. Relevant case law is reviewed. (Contains references.) (CR)

Having ownership of a dream is a core element for school improvement and effectiveness. Believing in the effectiveness of a programme is the beginning of reviving a school's internal capacities for improvement. Any improvement and development programme needs to be inviting and non-threatening, a holistic process involving all stakeholders. In this…

The idea that children are not objects nor subjects but participants constitutes children as social actors with a part to play in their own educational processes and research connected to these processes. As a consequence, there is growing awareness that knowledge about children should be constituted on the basis of listening and hearing them.…