Most social scientists assert that Whites and African Americans exist in different economic, political, and social environments and that these contextual differences contribute substantially to group differences in violence and other antisocial outcomes. This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and structural…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning for individuals with substance abuse problems. The intent is to provide information to professional counselors in school, rehabilitation, school psychology, social work, public mental health, and private treatment settings. Information to be…

One of the most pressing issues that high school counselors encounter is the use of alcohol and other substance abuse among adolescents. This paper explores five major reasons that adolescents give for using alcohol and other drugs. It includes discussions on how peer interactions and the adolescent's search for identity influence the decision to…

In 1998, the Keystone Research Center published a comprehensive review of research on two high-profile ideas for raising educational achievement: lowering class size in the early grades and instituting private school vouchers. This report presents a research update, emphasizing results since early 1998. Over the past 2 years, the evidence on the…

Higher education is seen as having replaced religion as the system of redemption in mass society, socializing students in the secular religion of production/consumption. Rather than educating and enriching students' lives, higher education is viewed as thwarting needs for autonomy and identity formation, leaving students only with career…

Student Team Learning is a teaching technique to encourage students to work in a structured setting to achieve goals and to get along with classmates through small learning teams competing against each other in studies designed in game form. The Washington County, Maryland, schools program is described. (MF)

Regression analysis indicates that approximately two-thirds of the variance in boys' vocational aspirations and half the variance in girls' vocational aspirations are accounted for by a model that uses as predictors social class, mental ability, home environment, teacher and parent expectation, and peer aspirations. (Author/IRT)

Traces the shifting sentiments of Germans towards U.S. education from the end of the 19th century through the Weimar period. Most German educators admired the U.S. school system because it combined a devotion to freedom and local responsibility with a strong homogenizing and nationalizing power. (MJP)

Tested the basic hypothesis that failure experiences at school increase the likelihood of aversive parent-child interaction after school. Subjects were 254 elementary school students. Found that children who rated more academic failure events at school described parents as more disapproving after school, but this effect was only partially mediated…

Examines nine school-based peer mediation and conflict resolution projects supported by state health departments in Florida, Maryland, Missouri, and North Carolina, noting project differences regarding targeted students, project consultants, teacher and student training, mediation format, teaching methods/curriculum content, complementary…

Highlights the importance of the dynamics of the learner group in shaping the second language (L2) learning process, and overviews the most relevant aspects of classroom dynamics. Argues that group characteristics and processes affect any success or failure in the L2 classroom and that teachers could benefit from an awareness of the principles of…

A study examined Spanish-speaking children's attitudes about being and staying bilingual. Classroom observations and interviews with 15 fifth-grade students, 12 parents, and 2 teachers at a Texas elementary school indicated that despite being in a supportive bilingual environment, students believed they would have to struggle to maintain their…

Analyzed data from 2,814 15- and 16-year-old secondary school students to investigate the collective influence of family, school, and peers on behavioral problems in adolescence. Adolescents with behavioral problems had a more negative perception of the environment, indicating that behavioral problems are associated with problems in multiple…

Replicates the Asch conformity experiment (two participants pretend to misjudge a shorter line for a longer one in an attempt to influence a third participant) and applies it to 110 school children ages 3 to 17. Indicates that conformity decreases with age in perceptually ambiguous tasks. (MJP)

Describes an encounter session at a School for Peace Workshop designed to teach peace and conflict resolution to Jewish and Palestinian adolescents in Israel. The workshop illustrates the importance of listening sensitively to the voices in conflict in order to develop valued modes of peace education and conflict resolution. (SM)