Using a questionnaire of 60 cognitive items, the general knowledge of Canadian students in grades 7, 10, and 12 about the Canadian political process was assessed. Results from the test's administration to 14,051 French and English students indicate that the subjects possess an adequate level of knowledge about Canada. (TJH)

Reports a research project which studied the institutionalization of a secondary school syllabus in New South Wales. Key variables in the process of accepting an innovation as a part of the school curriculum were identified and discussed. Suggests means by which institutionalization of innovations might be facilitated. (KO)

College Now is a collaborative high school-college program in New York to promote college for moderately achieving high school seniors whose grade averages are in the 65-85 range, who are not chronically absent, are not discipline problems, have limited occupational and educational vision, and need to strengthen basic skills. (MSE)

Discusses results of 2 examinations taken by 12th-grade students (n=13,522 for calculus; n=18,031 for statistics) in New Zealand. Males outscored females, significantly in statistics, and private school students outscored state school students. Some differences moderated when mathematics coursework was factored in. (Contains 32 references.)…

Presents data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) to demonstrate the widespread participation of high school seniors in voluntary community service. Suggests that teachers should build on this interest in community service, and offers hints to help make community and service learning more effective learning…

Data from the Second International Mathematics Study were examined using the course, rather than the country, as the unit of analysis. Findings from Grade 8 and Grade 12 did not support the conclusion that centralized control of curriculum is associated with more consistent and more equitable delivery of curricula. (SLD)

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…

Poor dietary habits, rising rates of overweight students, and lack of oversight of vending contracts prompted the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to develop and implement 2 of the most comprehensive nutrition policies in the country. The Healthy Beverage Resolution and Obesity Prevention Motion limit the types of and access to…

The literature suggests that administering drug surveys to public school students is best done by persons outside of the school system (or at least unfamiliar to the students). This is the approach used by the long-time "Monitoring the Future" project. Because of the increased costs that administration by outside research associates requires (both…

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes toward the use of telephone crisis services (hotlines) among 519 adolescents in 9th through 12th grade mandatory health courses in six high schools in New York State. Few adolescents (2.1%) used hotlines and negative attitudes were stronger toward hotlines than they were toward other formal…

A national commission formed to review the future of the 12th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has recommended that the nation's primary barometer of student performance should expand dramatically to provide mandatory state results on the achievement of 12th graders and to measure their readiness for college, employment,…

This study reports on the teaching of life sciences (biology) to blind and visually impaired learners in South Africa at 11 special schools with specific reference to the development of science process skills in outcomes-based classrooms. Individual structured interviews were conducted with nine science educators teaching at the different special…

Increasing research findings are pointing out that using positive psychology and wellness strategies in counseling and therapy are helpful in fostering healthy human development (Snyder & Lopez, 2001). Positive psychology is addressing the importance of positive emotions, character traits, and features of enabling institutions such as the 'good…

How is historical knowledge transmitted across generations? What is the role of schooling in that transmission? The authors address these questions by reporting on a thirty-month longitudinal study into how home, school, and larger society served as contexts for the development of historical consciousness among adolescents. Fifteen families drawn…

This study examined the impact of conversations with mothers and peers on adolescents' beliefs about gender roles, their career plans, and their plans for managing work and family responsibilities. Approximately 1,000 twelfth grade students, evenly divided by gender, were interviewed. Results concerning children's beliefs about gender roles…