Education reform has been at the forefront of educational research for decades, depicted by government initiatives and policy, research, and pedagogical changes and recommendations. When considering elements of educational change, policy, best practices, and individual merit and retention have also been heavily in the spotlight, such as "A…

This study assesses the impact of five years of community level activities in the Pomona Youth and Family Master Plan (PYFMP) on four school-related risk and protective factors including academic failure, low school commitment, school opportunities for prosocial involvement, and school rewards for prosocial involvement. The intervention and…

Purpose: This program evaluation aimed to investigate the benefits and challenges of an international, intercultural, e-community-engagement experience involving youth and higher education students. The authors sought to understand the meaning that participants would make of an international, intercultural, e-community-engagement experience.…

Background: The Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) is administered biennially to adolescents; it covers knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about risk and protective factors. Purpose: This study explored 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students' attitudes and beliefs about current trends regarding drugs, alcohol, and mental health. Methods: We asked…

The debut in alcohol consumption among young people is becoming a reality with ascending precocity. The Portuguese society has been traditionally tolerant in this area. This study sought to understand the role of personal and social involvement in alcohol consumption, among young students of the municipality of Estremoz (Portugal) who share work…

Communities are critical arenas for adolescent development. This study uses mixed methods to assess contextual correlates to community connectedness in 8th, 10th, and 12th grade youth. The survey examined the relationship between community connectedness and four developmental supports: safety, community monitoring, creative outlets, and meaningful…

The Minnesota Zoo's School of Environmental Studies is an optional, interdisciplinary program open to juniors and seniors from four comprehensive high schools. The problems posed, like those in the world, require students to think across disciplines. Students measure, analyze, map, photograph, display, and present findings to the local community…

This Scrapbook is a description of how eight 12th grade students, with help from the professional staff of the Social Science Education Consortium, planned and put on a community environmental fair in Boulder, Colorado. The Boulder Experiments Fair grew out of an environmental education project conducted by SSEC and funded by the Office of…

BRIDGE (Business Relating to Industry to Develop Gifted Education) was designed to bridge the gap between business, industry, and education via an internship program that would expose gifted and talented secondary school students to actual experiences which would increase their career awareness and knowledge of career opportunities. In addition,…

A group of Boulder, Colorado, high school students and townspeople conducted a two-day community environmental fair in the downtown street of Boulder. The fair, providing various instructive experiments depicting alternatives for Boulder's future social and physical environment, grew out of the Student Assisted Development of Materials for…

In June, 1971, the Social Science Education Consortium (SSEC) received a grant for a project--namely, Student Assisted Development of Materials for Environmental and Social Studies (SADMESS)--which employed high school students to develop curriculum materials emphasizing the social science aspects of environmental education. SADMESS personnel…

The Community Involvement Program (CIP) carried out in a grade 12 class in each of three Etobicoke secondary schools in the Province of Ontario was evaluated. The data analyses at the end of the first year of the program indicated that the CIP had achieved its major objectives of: (1) increased knowledge of community and social agencies; (2)…

The contribution of nonfamily adults to young people's well-being was explored using both a cross-sectional national sample of 614 12- to 17-year-olds and a longitudinal sample of 370 students followed from 6th-8th grades through 10th-12th grades. Both variable- and person-centered analyses were employed. Young people's involvement in…

The relationship between community involvement and academic excellence is discussed. The hypothesis was that performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test is best predicted by the extent to which students extend their education beyond the classroom to become involved in the businesses, organizations, and other institutions in the community. Senior…

The Community Laboratory in Political Science (CLIPS) is a unique combination of American government and exploratory work experience. Each semester 16 seniors from four high schools in Salinas work in community agencies and receive credit for both government and work experience. The major objective of the program is to provide students with…