This digest addresses the topic of increasing violence among and against youth in society. The opening section "What Personal Qualities Are Associated with Reduction of Violence," identifies: (1) problem-solving and reasoning skills; (2) social capacities; and (3) a productive sense of purpose, independence, and power. The section…

This study examined the effects of public service advertising from two theoretical backgrounds: social learning theory and social control theory. Traditional social learning theory assumes that learning occurs by subjects performing responses and experiencing their effects, with reinforcement as the main determinant. Social control theory, as…

This book points to the need to attend to ever-present inequalities of education in the light of new political correctness, technology, and curricula. Following the introduction, chapter 1 offers a review of neoconservative, liberal humanist, and radical theories of education. Chapter 2 suggests that one way to rethink and restructure the nature…

Although the current educational restructuring movement in the United States may be designed to improve schooling, it is also a political reform designed to shift the locus of authority over allocation of this service. This political theme is developed in the context of the historical shift from decentralized to centralized delivery of urban…

Most school administrations rely on one of two main forms of social control to ensure teacher conformity with organizational goals. The first, feedback and socialization, depends on teachers' attitudinal and behavioral conformity, commitment, and personal involvement in maintaining high standards. The second, programming and sanctions, depends on…

A case study was made of the implementation of an innovative measurement program. In this instance, curriculum implementation was seen as a process in pedagogical, occupational, and sociocultural contexts in which social groups with unequal power, and in contradictory ways, contended for control. "Beyond academic achievement" emerged as…

The United States Supreme Court case, Meese v. Keene, in which the justices narrowly defined the meaning of the term "political propaganda," failed to address adequately the complexities of the issue. In this case it is necessary to bring together divergent views about communications in the analysis of the legal problem, including…

This paper addresses the social context of curriculum construction and development to show the relationship between school curricula and patterns of social organization control. The first section traces the history of the concept of curriculum based on sequence, prescription, and differentiation and links this concept to the prevailing ideology of…

Designed as a guide to teaching an introductory course in creative conflict resolution for adults and teenagers in school and community settings, this resource manual describes active, experiential learning activities. The alternatives to violence course is structured into twenty 45-minute units (a total of 15 hours). Sessions 1-3 examine kinds of…

This treatise on Ivan Illich, historian, philosopher, educator, and social critic, has less to do with the details of Illich's life than with his thought over the past three decades. The first section of each chapter (1-3) provides a brief biographical sketch of Illich during the decades 1968-1978, 1978-1988 and 1988-1998 and a discussion…

Educators and the public are divided over the value of implementing school-uniform policies in the public schools. This digest examines arguments for and against school-uniform policies, identifies legal considerations, and offers guidelines for implementing policies on student dress. Most parents have responded favorably to uniform policies,…

Both the adolescent novel "The Giver" (Lois Lowry) and the classic work "Animal Farm" (George Orwell) deal with the idea of a controlling society. "The Giver" gives the reader an understanding of what it is like to live in a society where every move and every decision is basically made for you, but the people living…

Argues that textbooks legitimate selective forms of knowledge underlying supposedly democratic reforms heavily influenced by conservative economic/political forces and eclipsing the historical experiences and cultural expression of the less powerful. Views textbooks as part of social construction of reality. Calls for politicized, multiple…

Reports on a study of the effects of a peer-mediation training program among 92 elementary school students. Finds that the training program was successful in teaching negotiation and mediation procedures and skills. Reports that the training dramatically reduced the number of conflicts referred to teachers and principal. (CFR)

In this paper, the author argues for a more humanistic approach to children and young people who face difficulties in their personal and social lives. Increasingly, young people in the developed world who are troubled or troublesome in school or in their neighbourhoods are categorised and labelled in terms of psychiatric disorder. The number of…