Investigates the informal curriculum of a state-funded after-school dropout prevention program for adolescents. The program's goal is to resocialize them into their schools and enable them to achieve academic success. The paper proposes that the program fails to achieve its goal because of its ideology, and it recommends an alternative perspective…

Examines the need for teacher reflection as schools involve teachers in management and governance, describing efforts at social self-reflection in preservice and inservice education. Includes a case study where social self-reflection highlights a successful match between a new teacher's personal integrity and her professional setting. Considers…

An ethnographic case study of teacher collaboration and decision making in restructuring a junior high school (750 students, 49 teachers) is presented, and implications for low-achieving African American students are discussed. The study suggests that school, community, and national contexts influence educators involved in restructuring efforts.…

Critiques the Kahn and Gelso (1997) and Kahn and Scott (1997) articles (both in this issue) based on the author's experience as an advisor to graduate students in counseling psychology. Discusses factors that influence the career choices of counseling psychology doctoral students. Presents alternative criteria for evaluating research productivity…

Describes the development of an organizational culture that helped create a climate for innovation and led to the emergence of Colorado's Community College and Occupational Education System. Argues that culture and leadership are interrelated. Discusses future prospects in telecommunications, continuing and vocational education, disabled student…

Examines the ways in which African Americans link personal stories with biblical and heritage stories to decide future life directions. Maintains that these activities help people develop a spirituality of hope and restore relational contexts for storytelling and story listening in an age where these contexts have disappeared. (MJP)

Observes the pitfalls and possibilities of using feature films as educational tools for religious exploration. Praises film for its ability to synthesize a number of cultural, moral, and narrative elements. Lists several simplistic and reductionist approaches to be avoided. (MJP)

Presents the results of a case study of 9- to 11-year-olds' understanding of nationalism and collective identity in Scotland. Compares the responses of mostly-white Edinburgh students with those drawn from a multiethnic cohort from English schools. Examines the policy implications of these results. (MJP)

Examines the relationships between students and families in Russia as they adapt to a new society. Contrasts traditional and current roles of socialization among various social classes. Includes seven tables of statistical data revealing the dichotomy between the new business class and those employed in the public sector. (MJP)

Argues for a greater and more explicit use of evolutionary theory in psychology courses. Provides examples of ways that this strategy can help students think critically about classic psychological theories, understand the importance of narrower domain-specific theories, and comprehend the rationales behind cross-species comparison in psychology.…

This study investigated how gender-related perceptions and actions influenced junior and senior high school students' constructions of reality in curriculum-in-action physical education. Observations and interviews indicated that most students both reproduced and resisted gender-patterned life configurations in physical education classes…

Evaluated contributions of birth status (gestational age and birthweight) and family adversity at birth and at age 7 to explain behavior problems at age 7. Found significant relationships between birth status and isolation, social withdrawal problems, social immaturity, and inattention. Family adversity at birth contributed to aggression reported…

This study used a national sample of Mexican Americans to develop structural equation models of the effects of 4 eighth- grade latent variables on educational expectations 6 years later. Findings indicated that parents' influences had a strong positive effect on educational expectations at late adolescence. Parents' influence dominated effects of…

Compared Comorian and Algerian 10- and 11-year-old immigrants' attitudes toward school, friendship nominations, and friendship quality. Found that ethnic origin was a factor in choosing friends; positive friendship quality associated with better attitudes toward school; and in-group friendships were more common and of higher quality than those…

A study of 489 African American first-, fourth-, and seventh-grade students examined children's knowledge of gangs. Findings indicated that students are well aware of gang activities in their neighborhoods and can readily name the groups present in their inner-city environment. Students' awareness of gangs increases with age and may represent a…