Getting ahead and getting an education are inseparable in the minds of most Americans. Social mobility lies at the core of the American dream, and educational opportunity is the primary avenue by which to realize this dream. This book suggests that it is time to consider whether the connection between schooling and social mobility is doing more…

Analyzes the activities and attitudes of a clique of junior high school girls that were both mean and popular. Defines meanness as an undifferentiated characterization for acts whose intent or result was to hurt someone emotionally. Examines the connections between female competition, conflict, and popularity in this context. (MJP)

Discussion of a Canadian high-speed communications network, influenced by the National Research and Education Network (NREN) initiative, focuses on the genesis of the system; expected benefits to Canada's economy, competitiveness, and social welfare; and specific applications such as library resource sharing, free-nets, distance education, and…

A study examined the socialization experiences of 25 majority and 37 minority women doctoral students using 4 indices of social opportunity: recruitment of student by department; participation in apprenticeship and mentoring experiences; perceptions of department as either competitive or cooperative and offering support networks; and experience of…

Business should participate in school reform but has too narrow a perspective to guide it. Nationalizing education through comparative testing is a move to cut spending for social services, to increase accountability and efficiency without increasing financial responsibility or equity. Imposing private-sector rules on public education undermines…

Suggest ways that elementary school media specialists can encourage reading. Highlights include personal attention; students reading aloud; book bibliographies; a comfortable reading corner; competition; student suggestions for titles; contests and games; teacher recommendations; booktalks; displays; and author visits. (LRW)

Presents four articles about children's power struggles: (1) "The Personal Side of Power" (Bonnie Neugebauer); (2) "Learning To Harness Human Power" (Roslyn Duffy); (3) "Power Struggles: Early Experiences Matter" (James Garbarino); and (4) "Personal Power: Creating New Realities" (Janet Gonzalez-Mena). (DLH)

Many colleges address complex problems with a single "silver bullet" strategy. Because value shifts according to the consumer's situation or goal, private colleges should become more aware of their "situational value" and exploit it. This requires an understanding of how students choose colleges. In contrast, popular silver bullets target…

It is clear that for many young people the balance between learning, work and leisure has shifted considerably over recent decades. Many students now work throughout the whole of their post-compulsory education, entering the labour market well before any higher education applications have been made, and continue to work throughout their time at…

2024 Re-release of the 2002 first edition of this book. The author and copyright holder has released this work under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. This book provides 101 ideas and strategies to empower overall marketing efforts: (1) "Put On Your Thinking Cap" (e.g., define the problem before marketing it, set reasonable…

North Carolina has a dropout crisis--only two thirds of North Carolina high school students graduate. One reason this crisis has not received the attention it deserves is because the state was reporting badly inflated graduation rates (supposedly as high as 97 percent) until it finally adopted a more realistic reporting method earlier this year.…

Research has documented a crisis in South Carolina's high school graduation rate. While state officials report a graduation rate above 70 percent, researchers from South Carolina and elsewhere place the rate just above 50 percent, with rates among minority students lower than 50 percent. South Carolina's graduation rate is the worst of all 50…

Changing employer-based training represents one strategy that U.S. firms are adopting to confront recent transformations in the global economy. The new competitive conditions place new and different demands on workers, more of whom are being called upon to use technical, conceptual, and communications skills. Approaches to training in particular…

This document comprises reviews of recent studies on the influence of classroom environment; curriculum tracking; child, parent and teacher beliefs; and middle school environment on the achievement of high risk students. Chapter 1, "Competitive, Cooperative, and Individualistic Structures of Classroom Learning," reports on the negative effect of…

The training needs of Connecticut's small businesses and their employees are not being adequately met. Small businesses face an economy placing increasing demands on them: a worsening labor shortage, an aging work force, and changing skills in the workplace. Gaps in private and public sector training programs impede small businesses from meeting…