Discusses the social studies requirements of Sidney High School (Ohio) and the place of geography in the curriculum. Maintains the importance of geography. Outlines several world geography activities used at the school including supermarket geography that teaches students the origin of their food. (RW)

Examines cognitive-affective sources of sport enjoyment among male high school freshmen (n=231), all of whom had participated in organized youth sport. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that significant sources of sport enjoyment included task orientation, perceived competence, learned helpless affect, and years of participation in…

Data from a large school district in the southwestern United States were analyzed to investigate relations between student and school characteristics and high school freshman dropout patterns. Application of a multilevel logistic regression model to student dropout data revealed evidence of school-to-school differences in student dropout rates and…

Urban African American first-year high school students' absenteeism was found to be negatively related to grade point average (GPA) and avoidance as a means of coping (use of substances as a way to escape--food, alcohol, smoking, caffeine, etc.) and positively related to use of social support as a means of coping (efforts to stay emotionally…

This study assessed the attitudes of three groups that participated in Upward Bound, a newly instituted academic advisory program at Tomball High School in Texas. It also provided a baseline of data to measure students' academic performance. The three groups, 300 high school freshmen, 115 of their parents, and 33 full time faculty, responded to…

The report reviews the accomplishments of the Indiana College Placement and Assessment Center during its second year (1988-89) of statewide service. The report reviews the background of the Center since its inception in 1986 at which time it was charged with the responsibility of developing a data base involving, and the capacity for communicating…

This research studies differential aspects within school social systems and the mediating effect of social groupings. It studies the social and social-psychological environments both between schools and within school socioeconomic, ethnic, and curricular environments and relates these to such student adjustment behaviors as: achievement,…

Suggests freshman performance and school climate may dramatically improve if high school principals capitalize on freshmen enthusiasm by establishing a theme for the school year, developing a friendly orientation day, reevaluating the homeroom, and communicating with parents. (DCS)

The Social Studies Department at Argo Community High School felt a need to provide its students with a viable alternative to the traditional course offerings in the social studies curriculum. A one semester trial course entitled Individual and Society was described. (Author/RK)

This document discusses an action research project undertaken to decrease inappropriate social behavior that was found to impede normal school day functions during the Freshman Seminar program. The targeted population consisted of ninth grade students in a suburb of a midwestern metropolitan area. A student survey was used to document incidents of…

The primary objective of this paper is to present the outcome of an evaluation of the effect of the implementation of a learning community on the academic performance and academic involvement (attendance) of 50 urban African American freshmen who had been identified as at highest risk for academic failure. The learning community, the…

Describes Freshmen Awareness Groups, discussion groups designed to unite students, teachers and counselors in sharing ideas and feelings and becoming more aware of themselves and each other. Activities and goals for the five weekly sessions are outlined. (JAC)

Boys and girls in Grade 9 are expected to master the same developmental tasks, yet the literature suggests that by this age, boys are experiencing precareer anxiety, while girls experience premature closure of opportunities. Such interpretations call for sex-based norms on the Career Maturity Inventory. (Author)

Describes a study of gifted freshmen in a magnet high school that investigated whether learning style would change after a year in a technology-rich educational environment using constructivist learning techniques. Conclusions regarding learning style were inconclusive, but results showing effects on the curriculum and the social context are…

Compared adolescent cigarette smoking rates determined by traditional questionnaire, random response questionnaire, and carbon monoxide test. Results from 1,160 ninth graders in 40 classrooms in 7 schools indicated that random response questionnaire elicited statistically larger proportion of smokers than did traditional questionnaire. Neither…