This final report is an evaluation of Project Inspire, a program designed to create within the school setting a positive framework and atmosphere for learning through efforts directed toward students and teachers. Conducted at the Francis Junior High School in North-West Washington, D.C., Project Inspire aimed to improve academic achievement,…

Reviews the educational experiences of 106 children and adolescents who appeared in juvenile court either as status offenders or delinquents. Concludes that poor academic performance, low self-esteem, and low school participation may be connected to antisocial and delinquent behavior. (FMW)

Fifty years after "Brown v Board of Education" inequalities in public education are evident in the disproportionate numbers of Black and Latino students who are held back, often do not graduate from high school, or are removed from school by unforgiving zero tolerance discipline policies. The National Center for Educational Statistics…

The 17 papers in this collection offer innovative pedagogical techniques to improve the learning of African American students with disabilities. Papers are grouped into three sections that address foundations of educational change, managing learning environments, and complementing the school environment. The papers are: (1) "School…

In recent years, preschool and elementary school teachers have noted increases in behavior concerns and developmental delays, possibly caused by prenatal drug or alcohol exposure. This document notes that it is more important to ascertain the children's challenges than the causes. It describes the most promising practices identified for improving…

This book is intended to serve as a freestanding reference for teachers whose classes include students with academic or behavioral difficulties. The recommended best practices were originally developed for students with disabilities but have been found to be effective with all students. Each chapter provides principles, suggestions and specific…

Few would argue against the idea of planning and implementing improvements to the nation's schools. This report contends, school improvement planning processes have frequently not been conceived in ways likely to produce desired learning outcomes for many students. The analyses presented in this report focus on a lack of attention to how schools…

This text examines the characteristics that define autism: impairments in communication; abnormal social development; and clinically significant odd behaviors. Specific chapters include: (1) Neural Mechanisms in Autism (Andrew W. Zimmerman and Barry Gordon); (2) Epidemiology of Autism and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Current…

Noting that parents are as important to children's success as teachers, this book suggests ways busy parents can support their children's learning. Chapter 1, "What's a Time-Starved Parent To Do?" discusses the demands on parents' free time, the child's role in learning, the parent's role in helping children learn, and the importance of parent…

This collection of three issues focuses on competencies for teachers of learners who are deaf-blind, living with deaf-blindness, and resources in Australia for parents and families of students who are deaf-blind. Articles include: (1) "Research-to-Practice Focus: Competencies for Teachers of Learners Who Are Deafblind" (Marianne Riggio),…

This booklet reports on the results of the 1998 Texas School Survey of Substance Use among Students: Grades 4-6. The statewide school survey monitors trends in substance use among public school students, identifies emerging problem areas, and serves as a basis of comparison for local school surveys which are conducted annually by various school…

Discusses the increased use of Peer Mediation (PM) programs to solve interpersonal conflicts in school settings in the past 10 years. Provides three distinctive models of PM programs and discusses the stages generally necessary for developing a PM program. Describes three exemplary PM programs: an elementary school model, a middle school model,…

Reviewed construct of resilience and adaptation by measuring psychosocial functioning, self-esteem, academic performance, absence or low level of drug use, gang involvement, and delinquent activities among 877 at-risk youths. Found adjustment and low level of antisocial behavior as two latent constructs of resilience and adaptation. (Author/DLH)

Describes five disorders (attention deficit disorder, traumatic brain injury, fetal alcohol syndrome, prenatal substance abuse, and fragile X syndrome) that are part of a proliferation of categories of behavioral disorders, examining how special and general education might approach problems potentially inherent in the process of including students…

A survey about inclusion of children with disabilities in early-childhood settings was responded to by 172 parents, practicing professionals in early-childhood programs, university-based trainers, and preservice students. Professional competence and importance of skills were rated for five domains: (1) working with families, (2) performance-based…