Research indicates that middle schools are very successful at meeting the needs and developmental characteristics of young adolescents. Middle schools use a team approach, providing stability and continuity as teachers integrate subject areas into broader themes and units. Parental involvement is encouraged at the middle school level. (SM)

Explains the developmental pathways of the School Development Program: physical, psychoemotional, social-interactive, speech/language, cognitive-intellectual, and moral-ethical. Describes its principles, including identification, imitation, internalization, interpersonal relationships, language mediation, and recognition that all children can…

The School Development Program includes a School Planning and Management Team, a Mental Health Team, and Parents Program. The mental health component involves collaboration of child development and mental health experts and the community in dealing with individual student and global school issues in mental health. (SK)

Until recently, teaching at Virginia Tech meant 1 professor in a room with 20 randomly assembled educational administration students enrolled in an isolated, narrowly defined course. program. Under the NASSP Alliance project, professors have developed a holistic, team-approach to instruction and benefit from a reading program that encourages idea…

Defines literacy to include literacies and examines literacies through the arts with a view of cognition and learning that explicates the differing forms of representation in aesthetic education. An expanded view of literacy learning is presented under the umbrella of problem solving. The article discusses classroom practice. (SM)

Examines why the arts, particularly dance, are significant in education and why art forms should be taught with other disciplines. The article provides examples of integrated arts experiences and describes how to begin with the essence of an idea and make connections in the arts and other curriculum areas. (SM)

Off-campus training called "gasshuku" in Japanese middle and high schools is described. The training, which embodies Japanese cultural themes and values in the three-part curriculum of academic subjects, moral lessons, and special activities, functions as a rite of passage into adulthood in Japan's industrial society. (MMU)

Anecdotes describe how outdoor education provides active-learning experiences by involving students in direct interaction with each other and the real world. Outdoor education reveals the inherent natural connections between different branches of knowledge by accessing and honoring multiple modalities of thinking and expressing, and encouraging…

Examines the O'Banion model of academic advising, used for over 20 years, and presents a variation that is both nonlinear and holistic. Applying O'Banion's five dimensions (exploration of life goals, exploration of vocational goals, program choice, course choice, scheduling options) to two case studies, the authors demonstrate how advisors and…

Designing environmentally friendly challenge courses involves considering factors such as clearing, trees versus poles, soil erosion and compaction, toilet design, waste disposal, and carrying capacity. Strategies used in "green development" such as systems thinking, solution multipliers, and brainstorming with stakeholders could promote…

The Mansfield Outdoor Centre (Ontario) is a privately operated outdoor education center delivering school programs for grades 5-8. The philosophy that humans and the environment are interdependent and all life has inherent value is delivered via residential programs that immerse students in situations where living and learning are inseparable.…

As the phonics/whole-language debate continues, a method called "whole-part-whole" provides a balanced conceptual framework for thinking about and planning skills instruction. It addresses the need for teaching that is grounded in fundamental understandings about whole texts (stories, informational books, and poems), allows for indepth…

Invites counselors to consider integrating spiritual, philosophical, and psychological ideas regarding work and life to encourage client well being. Presents the Vocational Souljourn Paradigm as a model to be used with adult clients who are exploring their work and life choices in a holistic and spiritual context. (Contains 27 references.)…

Describes a case study of a Norwegian deaf boy with severe reading disorder. Initiates a holistic approach to writing instruction based on process-oriented writing, Norwegian sign language, drawings, and word processing augmented with a word prediction system called PAL (Predictive Adaptive Lexicon). Concludes that this approach managed to get…

The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder worldview tacitly promotes a teacher-centered, worksheet- and textbook-driven education model. According to current research, all students benefit from project-based environments allowing them to construct new meanings based on their existing knowledge. This article discusses holistic interventions that…