Offering a research-oriented perspective on the interdependence of children and their environments and the role of caregivers in children's development, the theoretical system discussed in this paper consists of four main ideas. These ideas concern (1) independent dependence; (2) zones of free movement, proximal development, and promoted action;…

This paper focuses on the problems of youth at risk of not successfully making the transition to adulthood. It examines the concept of mentoring and discusses several existing and successful mentoring programs. It looks at mentoring as it relates to young people--teenagers, young adults, and also some "pre-teens." Chapter 1 presents an overview of…

This paper reviews trends in political education in China and examines implications of the new market emphasis on political education in institutions of higher education. Trends toward increased academic openness and cross fertilization among academic fields after the Cultural Revolution are identified. Reforms during this period are seen to have…

Social feminists insist on the relevance of personal experience and believe that, for changes to occur, it is essential to understand the dynamics of how and why gender roles are perpetuated. Social feminists view the career course of second-career teachers as vulnerable to the covert structures and curriculum of the schools. The social feminist…

An ongoing empirical study is being conducted of the professional socialization of Kentucky's state public administrators. The study proposes two measurable attitudinal latent traits: orientation to public service professionalism and political acuity. Relationships among independent, intervening, and dependent variables include education/training,…

Education is far more than the transmission of information. The importance of teachers as both authority figures and role models has often been overlooked in the educational and professional development of graduate students, as has been the importance of peer relationships. A study of 27 candidates for the Master's in Business Administration…

The Teacher Assistance Through Mentorship Program currently being implemented in Minnesota schools provides grant funding to 11 districts/coalitions willing to explore a variety of mentoring models. Legislative initiatives for expanding the program include grant funding, regional/statewide training, and technical services. This publication is…

Early socialization within the family and its differential effects on the development of verbal intelligence skills were the subjects of this longitudinal study. Fifteen families with one child between one and three years old and a second child born at the beginning of the investigation took part in a longitudinal study covering a seven-year…

This paper reports selected findings from a study undertaken to investigate the formation and development of preservice teachers' perspectives and the relative roles of institutional constraints and individual actions in that process. Preservice social studies teachers' (N=21) responses to the institutional contexts in which they practice taught…

To investigate how values influence parenting beliefs and practices, a test was made of Kohn's hypothesis that parents valuing self-direction emphasize the supportive function of parenting, while parents valuing conformity emphasize control of unsanctioned behaviors. Participating in the study were 65 mother-infant dyads. Infants ranged in age…

This multiple case study describes a socialization intervention program for three multiply handicapped 8-13 year-old children that was designed to teach prosocial behavior and promote generalization to non-teaching situations. Behavioral instruction procedures (such as role-play and role-play rehearsal) were used to teach peer social skills and…

Different theories have been offered about why some men rape. The interactive theory of rape describes coercive elements in heterosexual relations resulting from faulty socialization or abuse in childhood. Prevention according to this theory would involve mental health specialists incorporating preventive strategies into parent training, guidance,…

Previous studies have shown that both economic and familial factors affect the status of the elderly across cultures. The objective of this study was to identify other antecedents of the status of the elderly, especially those involving the familial and religious domains. The presence or absence of ancestor worship was used as an indicator of the…

Preschoolers' expression of various emotions and overall social-emotional competency may be related to mothers' emotional responsivemness to children's emotions. This research investigated, through extended naturalistic observation, (1) how maternal emotion displays differ according to antecedent child emotion (happy, sad, angry, or afraid) and…

The way that the concept of culture has been used in the higher education literature to account for certain aspects of faculty life is examined. Culture is defined as the collective, mutually shaping patterns of norms, values, practices, beliefs, and assumptions that guide the behavior of individual faculty and groups and provide a frame of…