Reviews study findings showing that, in comparison to public school students, Catholic school students have higher achievement in mathematics and verbal skills, take more math and English classes, and have lower dropout-rates. Relates high achievement to the "social capital" available to Catholic school children, school staff, and the…

The first National Drug Control Strategy set ambitious two and five-year performance based goals: (1) to lower the rate of drug use by 10 percent over 2 years among both youth and adults; and (2) to lower the rate by 25 percent over 5 years. The chapters in this updated version are keyed to the strategies three priorities: (1) Stopping Use Before…

This volume consists of 10 chapters which emphasize the latest research and theories about family, school, and community prevention programs and health promotion programs to improve the health status of children during the next decade. The goal of the volume is to influence the nation's policies and practices regarding children's health by raising…

This opening chapter provides an overview of the book. Chapter 2 of the book summarizes current data for problem behaviors among adolescents across five areas including: (1) substance abuse; (2) sexual behavior; (3) delinquency and violence; (4) depression and suicidal ideation; and (5) school failure. Next, chapter 3 addresses the efforts to stem…

Current school improvement tools are largely piecemeal and often lack credible supportive evidence. Knowledge Work Supervision (KWS) is built on the premise that schools must develop the capacity for sustaining districtwide improvements. Chapter 1, "The Past Before Us Is Not the Future," summarizes the key elements of the four phases of…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed description of the Monitoring the Future research design, including sampling, data collection procedures, measurement content, and questionnaire format. Monitoring the Future is designed to assess the changing lifestyles, values, and preferences of American youth on a continuing basis. Since the…

Considers the twin legal questions of, constitutional support for, and challenges against, character education in public schools. Discovers a number of court cases establishing precedence for character education. Appraises the legal efficacy of constitutional challenges and finds them wanting. (MJP)

Universities and prefectual and local boards of education share responsibility for Japanese inservice teacher education. Results from teacher surveys and analysis of some 2,300 dissertations from the first university (established in 1983) to offer master's degrees for inservice education indicate teachers' preferences in research topics and types…

The School Health Policies and Programs Study assessed school health services and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection policies at state, district, and school levels. Questionnaires indicated that many states required schools to offer health services and maintain immunization and health records. A majority of states required policies for…

Examined the situations in which a random sample of African-American middle school students are violent, the students' interpretations of these situations, the goals of their violent behavior, and how they justify the use of threats or force against others. Created recommendations for violence prevention implied by these research findings. (TJQ)

Presents a collection of articles that offer information on such issues as the progress of black student matriculations at the highest-ranking U.S. colleges; black historians teaching black history; Blacks in academic accounting; banishing the stereotype that African Americans cannot do mathematics; campus crime rates at black colleges; and the…

This anthology focuses on rural education improvement that will prepare students for the 21st century. Articles address issues related to school funding, educational technology, curriculum offerings, state and federal policies, the role of rural teachers and administrators in school reform, cultural diversity, and changing socioeconomic factors in…

Written in 1910, this book was intended to enlighten rural school teachers, superintendents, and school board members as to the changing role of schools in meeting the needs of rural society and the demands of modern life. The contention was that rural schools should not prepare students for life in town, but rather prepare students for rural…

This study describes the first-year implementation of a professional development school (PDS) program in an elementary school and reports the extent to which participation in the PDS program influenced teachers' (N=32) perceptions regarding teacher empowerment along four dimensions (mentoring self-efficacy, teaching self-efficacy, professional…

This book examines schools' legal responsibility for providing equal educational opportunities for children with disabilities. It analyzes the six principles of special education law: (1) zero reject, or the right of every child to be included in a free appropriate publicly supported educational system; (2) nondiscriminatory classification; (3)…