Examined the interaction of social class and racial identity in urban school reform. Presents a case study of reform at one urban California high school which used an Afrocentric curriculum to help improve academic performance, arguing that the effort was ineffective because it failed to consider ways in which poverty influenced the identities of…

A team of university and school personnel applied layers of interventions across 2 years to 34 students who fell below their class averages in reading skills in kindergarten and first grade. Although reading failure rates declined, the interventions did not significantly decrease the proportion of children identified for special education.…

A qualitative review of the seventeen narrative accounts in this issue of personal experiences with racism is reported. Discussion includes the "indelible marks" of racism, counselors as social change agents, and counselor training programs. A critical thinking model is presented to help professionals and students to deconstruct racism.…

A comparison between performance-based DISCOVER (Discovering Intellectual Strengths and Capabilities through Observation while allowing for Varied Ethnic Responses) assessment reports and two independent ratings in appraising 24 kindergartners' multiple intelligences through specific activities found that when intelligences were assessed through…

Gifted elementary students from four rural school districts in northwest Wisconsin meet weekly in combined classes for instruction. Nontraditional methods are used to identify participants, local artists teach the sessions, expenses and expertise are shared by the districts, and students can interact with like-minded peers from other districts.…

Reviews evidence of the effectiveness of traditional alcohol, tobacco, and drug use prevention approaches with girls and with boys, as well as available evidence from gender-specific or gender-informed interventions focused specifically on girls. Recommends needed research and prevention strategies that take gender into account. (Author/DLH)

A study investigated the efficacy of specific interventions (mentoring, parental involvement, and multicultural curricula) on academic achievement of 273 elementary students from low-socioeconomic environments. The interventions had no statistically significant effect on student achievement in any grade. However, by the end of the program,…

Despite the many hours students spend studying science, only a few relate to these subjects in such a manner that it becomes a part of their essential worldview and advances their education in a larger sense--one in which they make a connection to the subject matter so that it becomes a source of inspiration and occupies a formative position in…

This article presents the results of a study that was conducted as an effort to identify the needs of sex workers as potential beneficiaries of future HIV prevention and empowerment activities. The purpose of this study was to assess the situation and needs of sex workers in the context of HIV/AIDS. Data were collected from one of the small…

This chapter discusses the importance of enhancing the diversity awareness and multicultural competence of undergraduate and graduate students through the use of popular media for classes and training workshops, and it presents two models that explain behaviors associated with racial identity development and understanding diversity issues.…

There is no shortage of important research findings describing how educators may improve the academic and social achievement of adolescents (Ames and Archer 1988; Anderman 2002; Goodenow 1993; Committee on Increasing High School Student Engagement and Motivation to Learn 2003; Turner et al. 2003). Despite the soundness of this research and the…

Elementary and middle school children (n=105) completed measures of reading achievement and cognitive abilities. Factor analysis produced three empirically and theoretically derived factors, auditory processing, visual processing/speed, and memory. Together the three factors combined predicted 61 to 85% of the variance associated with different…

A survey of 171 individuals, including individuals from government, university, school division/districts, parent, and community groups, found that teachers are the primary agents for identifying youth at risk; formal assessments of youth at-risk are conducted by school psychologists or other psychologists; and early identification of students…

Discusses the idea that black students underperform in school because of cultural opposition to "acting white." Reassesses "acting white" and directs researchers to examine variations found in students' peer groups. Highlights ability of students to sustain their black identity and achieve academically by managing their…

Objective: To study the rate of, and factors associated with, recognition of psychiatric disorders and self-perceived problems among 18-year-old adolescent boys. Method: The study population consisted of 2347 Finnish boys born during 1981 attending military call-up (79.7% of the original sample). At age 8, the boys were evaluated by parental and…