Examined Israeli students' concerns and expectations about their transition to junior high school. Survey data indicated that students in the city where the junior high school system was new, expressed significantly more negative feelings and concerns regarding their anticipated adjustment than did students from the city with a veteran junior high…

This study identified issues in school--and in life outside school--that caused significant worry for 120 Chinese adolescents (72 males, 48 females) attending a secondary school in Hong Kong. The study explored relationships existing among 3 variables comprising degree of worry, students' general self-efficacy, and their academic achievement.…

Native education has often been perceived as a low status cousin of the "regular" (that is, middle class, suburban, white) education system, and the achievement levels of Indian students have historically been low. This situation is often attributed to the past policies of many different federal governments and to a succession of poorly…

Research identifies that a percentage of students are less successful than others in transitioning from Year 8 to Year 9. A positive support programme was developed to target some of these students and help them ease from the nurturing climate within the primary system into the multi-faceted secondary environment. (Contains 1 table.)

Discusses how the one-sided pursuit of a higher rate of promotion through examinations in China has brought about such negative effects as decreasing attention to ordinary middle schools; placing undue concentration on a small minority of superior students; slackening of political, ideological, and physical education; and concentrating exclusively…

Describes a collaborative project between Canadian elementary and junior high school counselors designed to ease the transition between elementary and junior high school. The orientation program included school visits and tours, counseling sessions, a buddy system, and a concentrated effort to combat rumors. (JAC)

This study uses rich empirical data from Brazil to assess how a government program (PDE) that decentralizes school management decisions changes what goes on in schools and how these changes affect student outcomes. It appears that the PDE resulted in some improvements in management and learning materials, but little change in other areas including…

Part of the Eleventh Annual Report to the Ontario Ministry of Education, this report describes the grade and program location of students who entered kindergarten in Ottawa and Carleton, Ontario in 1974, known as the K-74 cohort. The first section of the report deals with the K-74 cohort; later sections deal with students who joined either early…

This booklet discusses strategies for reducing repetition of grades by students at primary, secondary, and higher education levels. Large numbers of pupils repeat their grades every year, and these repetition rates are considered good indicators of an educational system's effectiveness. A high repetition rate indicates that a large number of…

Examines the rise and demise of schools devoted to the instruction of young children in the British Colony of South Australia from 1836-1901 particularly focusing on the age-graded school system. Discusses the development of the "junior scholar" and the problems encountered with the transition to senior grades in elementary schools. (CMK)

Proposes guidelines for a student promotion/retention policy including clear academic goals and expectations, the use of multidisciplinary teams to make decisions about grade repetition and monitor student progress, opportunities for the students to "catch-up" with their age peers, and program alternatives to retention and social…

This study used a double method approach to examine Quebec kindergarten and elementary school teachers' beliefs about grade retention. The research combined a quantitative approach, in which 227 teachers responded to a questionnaire, with a qualitative study of a selected sub-sample of 12 teachers holding opposite beliefs about grade retention.…

Investigated relations between certain antecedent variables in Lebanese students' academic history and home environment and frequency of grade repetition. Information from 1,633 retainees representing all grade levels indicated that most entered school early, experienced frequent repetitions, and changed schools. Most were male, over-age for their…

Study showed that levels of repetition and dropping out in the primary schools of 121 countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and the USSR from 1970 to 1980 remain very high. This educational wastage is costing a great deal of money. (RM)

This issue discusses talent development in gifted children and youth. Articles include: (1) "Good and Goodness" (Roman Herzog), which addresses the need to provide gifted youth with financial aid to enable them to attend one of ten higher education institutions sponsoring gifted persons; (2) "It Is Essential To Start at an Early…