This study analyses the impact of democratic decentralisation on the chances of socially excluded groups to participate in newly created local governance institutions--Panchayati Raj Institutions--in three Indian states. This institutional reform included a quota for the disadvantaged--women and lower castes--to ensure their effective…

Any voucher program that is going to have a major impact on a public education system is likely to require an expansion of private schools in order to accommodate increased demand; however, little is known about where private schools open and therefore how a major voucher program might affect private school availability in various communities.…

Logistic and Cox regression methods are practical tools used to model the relationships between certain student learning outcomes and their relevant explanatory variables. The logistic regression model fits an S-shaped curve into a binary outcome with data points of zero and one. The Cox regression model allows investigators to study the duration…

This study examined the role that stress in school and the family plays in early adolescents' adjustment during the transition from elementary to middle school. A total of 773 students (388 boys and 385 girls) from suburban communities in the northeastern United States were assessed at 3 time points: spring of Grade 5, fall of Grade 6, and spring…

This study examined the effects of caregiver stability on children's behavior in day care centers during a period of caregiver turnover. A total of 25 children, ages 2-5 years, in 7 day care centers who encountered caregiver turnover participated in the study. Baseline and turnover observations were conducted and scored, and correlated with…

This paper describes several tools that the regular and special education teacher can use to ensure that modifications for students with hearing impairments in the regular classroom are both available and of sufficient quality. First, the Mainstream Success Index, an aid to interpreting test scores for the purpose of making educational decisions,…

Adolescent drug use in the United States remains higher than that of any other industrialized country. To explore this problem, demographic and psychosocial variables from a survey of 346 pre- and early adolescents were used to predict membership in clusters of students with varying substance use attitudes and expectancies. Cluster analysis…

This book is a compendium of papers presented March 18-20, 1996, at the eighteenth annual Spectrum of Developmental Disabilities course. Research findings are presented that address identification, diagnosis, management, and prognosis of specific reading disability. Individual chapters include: (1) "Dyslexia: The Evolution of a Concept" (John…

In an effort to improve retention and accountability at Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC), in Virginia, a study was undertaken to track first-time student cohorts entering in fall 1988 through fall 1992 and gather data on student demographics and outcomes. The study examined data for 721 students entering in fall 1988, 761 in fall 1989, 824…

This longitudinal study examined quality indicators in child care centers in three California communities in 1994, 1996, and 2000. Data were collected by means of interviews with teachers and directors and from classroom observations. Data collection in 1994 and 1996 focused on centers seeking NAEYC accreditation; the 2000 sample of 75 centers…

Noting that during adolescence the importance of feeling intimate or close to a relationship partner (mothers, fathers, or friends) increases and that closeness to parents is associated with positive adolescent outcomes, this study examined how features of adolescent relationships are related to adolescents' experience of subjective closeness in…

This study attempted to evaluate H. J. Eysenck's antisocial behavior (ASB) hypothesis that proposes there is an antisocial temperament which, in interaction with socialization, intelligence, and achievement, puts an individual at significant risk for developing antisocial behavior. Evaluation of Eysenck's ASB hypothesis was conducted with 107…

Using data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study that included 11,512 students (ages 6-12), this study explored the activities that students with disabilities engage in for the 80% of waking hours that they are not in school. The study focuses on three aspects of their nonschool experiences: family supports for education at…

This summary presents data from seven papers based on six different data sets (three national and three local). Data were collected for different purposes, in different years and places, using different interview techniques. Overall, nearly one in five adolescents has had sex before his/her 15th birthday. In early adolescence, being sexually…

A study compared the rates of somatic symptoms associated with anxiety disorder in African Americans, Hispanics residing in Puerto Rico, and European American children. A total of 1,285 children were interviewed, along with their primary caretakers. Headaches were the most frequently endorsed somatic symptom, with half of the total sample…