The Education Department of Alberta, Canada has developed guidelines for practice in cooperation with guidance and counseling specialists throughout the province. The guidelines are designed to help schools implement a comprehensive school guidance and counseling program, thus improving the quality of education. The comprehensive school guidance…

Exposure to racism, prejudice, and stereotypes is common in a student's first experiences in a university setting. Language can be a tool to dispel this lack of knowledge about differences in cultures. Awareness of the negative effects of certain words in the English language is one of the first steps to breaking down barriers of discrimination.…

Scholars in the communications field rarely have discussed speech composition, and this conversation is long overdue. Reconceptualizing the basic course as advanced composition can enhance the integrity and reputation of the course. Several noteworthy implications emerge that suggest the desirability of operationalizing such a conception,…

This study examined communication apprehension (CA) as a potential barrier to student academic success. Prior research implicated CA as a primary predictor of both interpersonal and academic success. Based on the past research of J. McCroskey and others, it was hypothesized that high CA students would maintain lower grade point averages (GPA) and…

This qualitative research study examined the impact of student leadership experiences on the personal and professional lives of alumni three to five years after graduation. Twenty-six former student members of two student alumni leadership groups at the University of Wisconsin-Madison were interviewed by telephone. Interviews focused on…

This paper presents an exercise which serves as an addition to public speaking courses. Showing students how to uncover the speech patterns that shape their lives allows them to appreciate the importance of speech communication in their lives. In the exercise, groups analyze speeches and report their findings to the class. The exercise improves…

This action research project examined the impact of a character education program to enhance the learning environment in schools. The targeted population consisted of students in grades 1, 2, 3, and 6 and in a self-contained second, third, and fourth grade special education class. Students exhibited behaviors that reflected a lack of positive…

The objectives of this paper are: to briefly describe how teaching portfolios, in tandem with the Teaching/Learning Framework (Sprinthall & Thies-Sprinthall, 1983) can be employed as a developmental intervention to promote stage growth in teacher candidates; to report developmental stage change (moral judgment/principled thinking) results from…

Service-learning gives school administrators a powerful tool to achieve some of their most important goals: educating students to high levels, connecting with the community, and preparing students to be active participants in the world around them. This issue paper examines why administrators support service-learning as a key element in school…

This Texas education resource guide is provided for teachers to plan a character education program which incorporates "Building Good Citizens for Texas" into the classroom curriculum and schoolwide activities. The guide points out that, to be effective, instruction in character education must be appropriate to the developmental level of…

Teachers often spend much time attending to the needs of children who are unable to focus attention, get along with other children, control their emotions and behavior, and lack persistence and motivation. During the last few years, many schools and families have begun to move beyond the finger-pointing stage and are developing partnerships to…

This study examined how campus peer culture influences the ways in which multiracial students make meaning of their racial identity, and applies Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of cognitive development to analyze elements in the college environment that stimulate or inhibit identity development. Discussion of the situation of multiracial…

This paper reports findings from a study of Finnish academic Olympians of different ages who participated in Olympiad Studies in mathematics, physics, or chemistry during the years 1965-1997. The study focused special interest on the influences of home and school in contributing to the development of academic talent. The results of the Finnish…

This qualitative study examined experiences of 139 individuals with doctoral degrees to identify factors that inhibit and/or facilitate students' success in doctoral programs. The study used an e-mail survey which asked about personal background, entry/structure of degree, university/other support, supervision of program, the process, and overall…

This book is a detailed account of the effects of parental involvement in a literacy project on Latino children's academic performance, addressing methods of parent participation, home literacy uses by children, and the nature of school experiences. The first two chapters provide family literacy and Intergenerational Literacy Project background…