Evaluates the "expanding environments" approach to social studies education. Argues that the sequence fails to portray the political environment realistically. Suggests an alternative approach that would bring all political organization levels together at each grade level. Concludes that such an approach would give students a more…

Analysis of 28 studies of characters on television and in children's books, magazines, and basal readers reveals that elderly people, especially women, were underrepresented, generally depicted in a negative light, and rarely cast in major or fully developed roles. (SK)

Two theories of children's household labor participation (child socialization or the need for household labor) involving 1,352 families from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households find support for both, with more confirmation for the pragmatic (labor needed) aspects. Children's efforts represent about 12 percent of all household…

Two strands of feminist pedagogy are (1) the liberatory model, which examines structured power relations and systems of oppression, and (2) the gender model, dealing with women's socialization as nurturers. Adult education teaching strategies and learning environments may be based on aspects of these two models. (SK)

For a middle school, family involvement in school life begins with the orientation program for incoming students. An effective transition program can help parents and prospective students anticipate a new school's academic and social expectations. This article describes a Vermont middle school's transition program, highlighting planning and…

A mother of a hearing-impaired two year old offers examples of utilizing siblings (who have learned sign language) to foster the language development and socialization of the younger child. (DB)

Young adults were asked about their political attitudes in three interviews over a seven-year period. Case studies of three of these young adults describe the interplay between the personal and social contexts of their lives and their interpretations of national and international issues. (BC)

Surveys of 21 chief executive officers and 1,565 business communication students found strong agreement in both groups' opinions of the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication skills. They disagreed in two areas related to oral communication and social sensitivity. (SK)

The predictive validity of several theoretical factors drawn from control, social learning, and differential association theories for explaining adolescent sexual behavior was studied with 1,478 adolescents. The single factor of differential association with peers accounted for most of the respective variances on frequency of sexual intercourse…

Notes that parents and family play important role in how adolescents' drinking behavior develops. Presents two case examples, one of problem drinker and one of sensible drinker. Discusses differences in socialization and structure between these families. Contends that optimal family influences are important factors in protecting against…

Traditionally conceived, mentoring has a male orientation that ignores women's experience as "same" and "other" in academia and the problems of men mentoring women and of women mentors socializing mentees into acceptance of the patriarchal system. An alternative view values women's unique position and critiques existing power structures. (SK)

Reviews book addressing parenting and socialization of boys. Describes text as "provocative" by challenging male attitudes toward parenting. Suggests that readers typically will not agree with author's contentions and that males may become uncomfortable, angry, and defensive. (CRR)

Examined the evidence for the reciprocity of negative affect between mothers and young children in disciplinary encounters. Although children responded contingently and reciprocally to maternal negativity, they also reacted negatively to maternal positive affect. (SH)

Carnegie reports have long envisioned U.S. schools as socially efficient mechanisms for sorting and socializing students for future positions in the existing social and economic structure. Although "Turning Points" proposes bottom-up reforms, it uses top-down methods--an elite panel, a glitzy report, and a big press conference aimed at…

Comments on the monograph reported in this issue. Stresses that the monograph illustrates the difficulty of measuring gender stereotypes; provides insight on activity preferences in middle childhood; considers the role of affect in sex typing by distinguishing affective from cognitive influences; encourages broad-based theories to account for sex…