Although NAFTA has proven profitable for U.S. growers who have relocated agricultural production to Mexico, it has helped create an economic crisis that has forced thousands of Mexican children to leave school in order to work and supplement their parents' shrinking income. In Mexicali Valley (Baja California), approximately a fourth of the…

This report describes an art-based intervention program with at-risk youth that was inspired by the Project Self-Discovery model (Milkman, Wanberg, & Robinson, 1996). Twelve middle-school students from a small city in a mid-Atlantic state participated in the program. The program goals included making art in order to empower the participants…

Administrators have many methods at their disposal to use in the struggle to control truancy. This paper describes the kinds of truancy-reduction efforts most commonly used: stringent laws and regulations (such as parental sanctions, zero credit, suspensions, and police intervention), inschool programs (the school-climate-improvement and the…

Cases related to school policies that mandate or lead to automatic grade and/or credit reduction are reviewed in this study. Standard legal research methods were used to analyze 14 appellate and state court cases, which were categorized according to the type of sanction invoked: student suspension for violation of a disciplinary rule; automatic…

The courts have come to play an increasingly important role in educational policy making and the administrative management of our public schools. This is especially apparent in the context of school discipline where numerous and varied controversies have been translated into legal disputes over the past three decades, many of which have ultimately…

The role of the legal community in ensuring school safety is discussed, and effective antischool-crime programs involving attorneys and judges are described. Introductory passages comment on the overall role of courts and lawyers in education, the current national concern over crime and violence in schools, and national and California initiatives…

This report is the second part of a study which sought to determine whether there is a set of in-school factors which might help explain the differences in dropout rates among schools with very similar student bodies. The study was designed as an in-depth ethnographic examination of four pairs of Chicago (Illinois) public high schools. One school…

This publication is designed to accompany the "Dropout Prevention" manual (1984) and to serve as a guide for the staff development training of administrators, faculty, and staff in the initiation of a dropout prevention program. The staff development program contains materials to assist staff in becoming aware of the scope of the dropout…

The purpose of this study was to: (1) investigate some of the causes of lack of discipline in secondary schools in the Congo Republic according to teachers, students, and parents; (2) look into the effects that discipline problems have on the students' performances and their development as responsible citizens and (3) suggest or recommend measures…

Family and demographic factors, such as parental deviance, disturbed homes, delinquent siblings, and poverty, are useful predictors that some form of childhood deviance will occur. They are not sufficiently specific, however, in predicting its quantity, variety or type. In this paper evidence is sought which would explain deviance in children as…

Presents results of attendance norm violations survey at a Native Canadian adult education school. Examines whether school administrators' perception of violations as deviance is shared by students and Native community representatives. Discusses ambivalence of formal academic expectations versus encouragement for students to retain cultural…

This report analyzes data provided by the Chicago Public School System, Illinois on Latino majority schools, noting implications for the Latino community. Data come primarily from school year 2000-2001 and include 140 elementary schools and 16 high schools. Findings describe the composition of the Latino majority according to student enrollment,…

Examined the effectiveness of the Wisconsin Learnfare experiment that requires teens to attend school regularly as a condition of receiving family financial aid. Findings from state social services data reveal that, despite a $1.5 million "savings" attributed to the program between September 1988 and December 1989, tremendous family…

Examines relationships between academic achievement and general self-esteem in light of variables of deviance, motivation, psychological distress, illness, and school absence using data from 242 high achieving students in grades 7 through 12 in a private, independent coeducational preparatory school. General self-esteem influences and is…

It is estimated that between 3.3 million and 10 million children in the U.S. witness physical violence between their parents each year. This type of violence ranges from overhearing some form of violent behavior from their bedrooms, to seeing severe acts of violence such as beatings or assaults with guns and knives. In many cases, these youth…