Experts tell us that 4-year-olds have much to gain from a stimulating and nurturing preschool experience, and mounting evidence suggests that these benefits accrue to society on a much larger scale as well. Although numerous proposals acknowledge the benefits of and need for improved early childhood education, few contain specific recommendations…

The educational accountability movement has demanded that educators implement and also monitor students' responses to positive behavioral accommodations in schools as well as communicate this information to others. This new responsibility has left many educators struggling with ways to monitor students effectively. This article provides a brief…

Objective: This evaluative study assessed the effect of a creative expression program designed to prevent emotional and behavioral problems and to enhance self-esteem in immigrant and refugee children attending multiethnic schools. Method: The 12-week program involved 138 children, aged 7 to 13, registered in both integration classes designed for…

Background: This study investigated associations among adolescents' self-esteem in 6 domains (peers, school, family, sports/athletics, body image and global self-worth) and risk behaviours related to substance use, bullying, suicidality and sexuality. Method: A multistage stratified sampling strategy was used to select a representative sample of…

Many young children in immigrant families do not have good access to health and education services. To the extent that their life prospects are compromised as a result, these children--and the entire society--suffer. This article discusses the needs of children from birth to age eight, with a particular focus on the education needs of young…

Purpose: Few empirical studies have compared the efficacy between psychoeducational (skill-building) approaches for reducing caregivers' psychological distress and interventions modeled after typical community-based support groups. We compare the impact of two distinct interventions on Anglo and Latino caregivers of elderly relatives with…

The purpose of "Focus" is to provide coverage of poverty-related research, events, and issues, and to acquaint a large audience with the work of the Institute for Research on Poverty by means of short essays on selected pieces of research. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Changing poverty and changing antipoverty policies…

The research topics addressed in this study include the following: (1) reasons dropouts who immediately pursued a General Educational Development (GED) did not complete high school; (2) characteristics of the schools those GED examinees last attended; (3) differences in the reasons for not completing school by school characteristics; and (4)…

This report summarizes the 2004-2005 program evaluation results of AISD's GEAR UP program, a program that encourages and supports students' rates of high school graduation and post-secondary enrollment.

In the Infant Development, Environment and Lifestyle (IDEAL) Study of methamphetamine (MA) effects on children, the authors screened approximately 27,000 newborn infants for MA exposure, and from that pool derived a sample of in utero MA-exposed children as well as a comparison group matched for other drug use and other factors. IDEAL measures…

This training program participants' manual is designed to assist K-12 school counselors, nurses, and psychologists in offering aid to youths at risk for substance abuse. The training objectives for participants in the workshop are to be able to demonstrate: (1) competence in knowledge of basic substance abuse information to include age-appropriate…

This training program instructor's manual is designed to assist K-12 school counselors, nurses, and psychologists in offering aid to youths at risk for substance abuse. The training objectives for participants in the workshop are to be able to demonstrate: (1) competence in knowledge of basic substance abuse information to include age-appropriate…

This final report presents the outcomes of Project INSITE, a family-centered home intervention model designed to provide training to early intervention/childhood professionals working with infants and young children with multidisability sensory impairments and their families. In the INSITE model, an early intervention professional visits the home…

Taken from findings of federally financed ABC dropout prevention programs--ALAS (Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success), the Belief Academy, and Check & Connect--this report discusses the barriers and supports to effectively intervening and achieving school completion among high-risk students. The first section presents information…

The sixth in a series of federally supported modules for training paraprofessional school personnel who work with students with disabilities, this module presents information on working with individuals who are medically fragile or have physical disabilities. Both a facilitator's edition and a student's edition are provided. Chapter 1 examines the…