This article describes critical events that have shaped gifted education, including: deployment of Sputnik, Lewis Terman's giftedness definition, the Marland Report, Joseph Renzulli's inclusion of creativity, Talents Unlimited, Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory, David Feldman's use of developmental psychology in assessment, Sandra…

Describes a lesson for secondary students where they identify the most positive and negative features of current law governing the status of minors and the relationship of adults to children. Provides a sample of court cases and a list of issues affecting teen-age rights and protections. (CMK)

Examined age, gender, ethnicity, self-esteem, physical activity, parental smoking, and socioeconomic status as predictors of smokeless tobacco use among middle-school students. Student surveys indicated that males, Hispanics, and older students were more likely to be current smokeless-tobacco users. Other influential factors were low self-esteem…

A study explored how six childcare providers who have included children with special needs are able to provide care on a daily basis. Factors included the providers' commitment, finding the balance between resources and needs, problem-solving with parents, access to emotional support and technical assistance, and access to other supports.…

Argues that literacy is not a stand-alone mental ability but is inextricably connected to "identity work." Discusses the new kinds of workers and workplaces arising in the new capitalism. Examines discourse practices of middle school teenagers from different socioeconomic classes. Argues that the ways they use distinctive social languages have…

Self concept is deeply intertwined with one's racial socialization. Two incidents are recounted as turning points in this counselor educator's self-perception as a person having a racial identity and to her career development. Coping mechanisms are described. A safe atmosphere is essential to the exploration of feelings about race. (EMK)

Kogan, who has headed the Samara (Russia) Education Department since 1992, believes education reforms cannot succeed without overarching objectives and desirable outcomes. Communities are struggling with cooperatively choosing and implementing curricular and other reforms because they have no "civil society" or democratic traditions on which to…

Investigates the relationship between transfer rates and conditions that are beyond an institution's control. Finds that the percentage of students under age 25 and the percent of adults with a high school degree are positively associated with transfer, while expenditures per FTE, the percentage of males enrolled, and population density are…

Explores socio-institutional dimensions of German-American telecollaboration and ways they may shape foreign language learning and use. Intertwines socially and institutionally contingent features of language valuation, computer know-how, Internet access, and learning accreditation, and the micro features of situated classroom interaction.…

Evaluated an at-home planned play concept used to improve the quality of parental involvement at a preschool. Found children's learning was contextual, that teachers must be aware of the importance of culture and context in children's learning. Findings emphasize the crucial influence parents have on their children's culture and context which must…

Examined how attachment relationships and cognitive attributes and sociodemographic characteristics functioned as protective and risk factors across a range of violent behaviors. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health highlighted the importance of attachment to family and school as protective factors. While an intact family…

Examined the effect of culturally relevant narratives and strategically constructed questions on the reading enjoyment and comprehension of minority students. Data from a study of urban middle school students indicated that weak readers were not necessarily weak thinkers. When afforded the opportunity through culturally congruent literature and…

Provides an annotated bibliography on teaching family history, organized by eight approaches to the topic: (1) chronological; (2) multicultural families (comparative); (3) the life-cycle (4) gender; (5) impact of major historical events on families; (6) family and public policy; (7) family rituals; and (8) genealogical. (CMK)

Baby boomers are epitomised by the phrase "wanting it now". This large group of the population is better educated, more technologically literate, generally wealthier than any previous generation and has high expectations of quality services and products. Just as they have led other social revolutions, baby boomers are expected to revolutionise the…

Given the prevalence of domestic violence and the likelihood that many victims will not receive services from specialized domestic violence providers, this article provides a framework for contextualized assessment that can be used by generalist practitioners. Drawing from stress and coping theory, the authors discuss the relevance of assessing…