Recent research is beginning to shed some light on the nature and extent of violence and crime in American schools, the role that schools themselves play in producing, aggravating, or reducing school crime, and how changes in the schools can remedy social control problems. Data from these studies indicate that: (1) despite public opinion, school…

Discusses the role of teachers in terms of the changing social patterns in which that role occurs. Describes social problems in Canada today and resulting youth alienation and disconnectedness. Suggests that the role of teachers must include initiatives to link schools, students, families, and community agencies. (LP)

The aim of this guide is to help state education agencies (SEAs) find effective ways to improve relations between schools and their communities. Focusing particularly on the Northeast and New England, the document reviews literature on school-community relations and presents numerous examples of school-community interaction. First, the author…

This keynote speech addressed the growing concern among educators, parents, and the community about the instances of extreme aberrant behavior by school children and young adults. Understanding and responding to children or young people who present disturbing behavior is difficult since no two individuals act in the same way, nor are the reasons…

The activities of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) workshop on the development of a systems approach to teacher inservice education in Asian and Oceanic nations are reported. Eighteen participants from twelve countries are listed. Topics addressed by the workshop include: 1) general problems in the…

Reports a cross-sectional investigation of the link between community violence exposure and academic difficulties for 237 urban elementary school children. Analyses indicated that community violence exposure was associated with poor academic performance. These relations appear to be mediated by symptoms of depression and disruptive behavior.…

An overview of conflict management as it relates to the role of the principal is presented. The traditional approach to conflict, which minimizes conflict and emphasizes social control, is contrasted with the perspective that views conflict as inevitable, functional, and manageable. Intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts, functions of conflict,…

Reviews literature on characteristics of rural schools and rural communities and compares these findings with the results of an open-ended survey of rural professionals about their experiences working in rural schools. Both sources identified limited resources as a problem, but quality of life issues were more explicitly identified by survey…

The term "at-risk" has changed significantly in its usage and some of the insights offered by college students studying at-risk youth are presented in this paper. Their observations are grouped under what it means to be an at-risk youth; measurement techniques, such as the status or cohort method, which are used to identify such youth; the…

This paper briefly reviews the literature on violence in rural schools and communities, as well as the causes of rural crime and violence. General demographic and economic characteristics of rural communities are listed, followed by facts on rural school enrollments, achievement, and funding. Recent changes in rural communities that might…

Counselors must be sure their priorities are to serve the needs of the student and not take bandwagon approaches. To provide a sound educational environment counselors must be properly trained and willing to become involved in the educational system. (JAC)

This paper explores the concepts of "community" and "community education," traces the growth of different models of community education in the United Kingdom, and highlights some of the issues, weaknesses, and problems arising from its development. Two separate movements, evolutionary and revolutionary, are…

Focusing on the dramatic increase in the scope, intensity and frequency of censorship protests in the United States, and based on the premise that the censorship crusade is better organized, staffed, and financed than ever before, this journal issue addresses many facets of the censorship problem. In addition to an introduction by Ronald Salomone,…

The survival of many rural communities is threatened by complex interacting economic and social conditions. Schools can play a significant role in revitalizing rural communities. Three approaches to community development involve community as curriculum; school as community center; and school-based economic development. Successful programs…

Student absenteeism has become a major concern of educators, parents, and communities. Accordingly, this paper presents a series of annotations of articles addressing three aspects of this problem: (1) explanations of student absenteeism, including descriptions of the habitual offender, along with school, peer, and community influences; (2)…