By analyzing an unsuccessfully implemented project (a federally funded reading initiative), staff at a Michigan elementary school gained understanding about the countless dilemmas accompanying the change process. Real and lasting changes must be related to positive existing practices and require adequate time, support, and collaboration. (MLH)

Interviewed 18 students from six middle schools to determine causes of resiliency in students. Found no significant differences in responses by race or gender, or by urban, rural, or suburban settings. Found that significant relationships with adults and positive use of time contribute to academic success of students from high-risk circumstances.…

Identifies factors contributing to urban schools' failure, including bureaucratic decision-making processes; outmoded, poorly maintained, and improperly designed facilities; responsibility overload; a new student population comprising immigrants, African-Americans, and the poor; rising security costs; inadequate staffing; and lack of political…

Concerned about working-class failure, argues that recent (British) government policies have insufficiently considered sociological studies on how social class affects educational success or failure. Social-inclusion policies must address forms of middle-class self-exclusion from mainstream public education as well as working-class social…

The purpose of this study was to contribute to and strengthen previous work that examined the long-lasting effects of Reading Recovery in statewide efforts aimed at bolstering early literacy achievement and reducing early learning difficulties. Specifically, the study explored the literacy achievement of Reading Recovery participants whose series…

This study examined the role of adaptation in the first year of middle school (Grade 6, age 11) to affiliation with gangs by the last year of middle school (Grade 8, age 13). The sample consisted of 714 European American (EA) and African American (AA) boys and girls. Specifically, academic grades, reports of antisocial behavior, and peer relations…

This article presents evidence that maths diagnostic assessments, consequent individualized learning programmes and face-to-face maths study support can combine to significantly increase maths related module pass rates and scores for undergraduate engineering students. It is argued that simply having a quiet, relaxed, supported study area,…

The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the new racist discourse within an urban charter school. The authors focus upon how the new racist discourse relieves Whites, "of any semblance of social responsibility and commitment" (Giroux, 1999). As multiculturalism and political correctness are being taught and encouraged in the society to work…

This review examines the impact of future goals on motivation and learning in multicultural classrooms. Across cultures, schooling is a future-oriented investment. Studies of minority students' school achievement have advanced future goals as a crucial protective factor in the face of frequent school failure. At the same time, cultural…

This article describes the history of the failed New York City Teacher Selection Project (TSP; 1947-1953), a collaborative effort to replace the city's teacher licensing tests, which emphasized subject matter knowledge with personality tests. The TSP was a partnership between the Board of Examiners and the Citizens Committee for Children, and its…

Reading Recovery is a short-term intervention for first-grade children with reading and writing difficulties. This longitudinal study investigated the performance of a cohort of 1998 Reading Recovery students on later literacy achievement as measured by the 2001 Grade 4 Maine Educational Assessment (MEA). The results showed that the average MEA…

This study examined the co-occurrence of depression and delinquency in early adolescents, focusing on longitudinal associations with failure expectations and manipulativeness, and on perceptions of relationships with parents, school and teachers, and peers. Data were used from 1,059 Swedish adolescents aged 13 to 15, who participated in 2 waves…

This article presents the results of a recent investigation at the University of South Africa that attempted to identify the post-enrolment factors that lecturers and students see as having important influences on students' success in undergraduate Business Studies courses. Data were gathered from students enrolled in all years of the BCom degree…

Academic failure and drinking are both problematic aspects of the adolescent stage of the life course, and the connection between these two behaviors can disrupt the basic functioning of individuals and schools. Drawing on theories of problem behavior from multiple disciplines, this study attempted to determine whether academic failure was a risk…

The transition from high school to adult life is an exciting time for many young people. Youth from high poverty backgrounds, however, are considered at-risk for a host of unfavorable outcomes including academic failure, school dropout, drug abuse, unemployment and incarceration. These adolescents are more likely than their more affluent peers to…