Socioscientific issues are ill-structured problems that involve moral, ethical, and financial aspects, and lack clear-cut solutions. Teaching socioscientific issues necessarily puts a demand on teachers to draw on knowledge stemming from other domains, and to also appreciate, and present to the students the societal aspects of science. For new…

Argues for the inclusion of different kinds of writing and thinking in the classroom that ask students to situate their own experiences with writing in larger social contexts of which they are a part. Includes an in-depth analysis of one student's narratives of writing illustrating how she must think through social issues in order to understand…

Presents excerpts from 12 case studies of rural at-risk students. Examines their common characteristics, the high prevalence of at-risk students in rural areas, the relationship of this phenomenon to rural cultures, and prevention and treatment factors in the school and community. Contains 16 references. (SV)

The booklet describes economic handicaps faced by women who become divorced or widowed. The purpose of the document is to increase the general public's understanding of how customs, old laws, and government policies support the framework of the family when things go wrong. The document is presented in four major sections. Section I focuses on…

Natural disasters (droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, floods, wind storms) damage wellbeing, both in their immediate and long-term aftermath, and because the insecurity of exposure to disasters is in itself harmful to risk-averse people. As such, mitigating and coping with the risk of natural disasters is a pressing issue for economic development.…