This study of youths and high-risk behavior was designed to explore four issues: (1) the status of substance use and other at-risk behaviors among Iowa youth; (2) important trends in youth substance use and non-use behaviors; (3) major factors involved in encouraging non-use and health-promoting behaviors among Iowa youth; and (4) what the…

The current debate about education seems centered in concerns about scores on local, state, and national tests as preludes to entering the workforce fully prepared. In this exploration, stories about leadership, control of learning, civic life, and literacy are used to help refocus the educational debate. Our concerns should be how to create…

For thousands of years the craft of reading and writing was the closely guarded monopoly of small elites. Only relatively recently has literacy become available to most people in developed nations. Historical surveys of literacy have used a wide range of definitions of the skills involved, one of the more important of which views reading as a…

The 1983 report "A Nation at Risk" exposed an alleged crisis in the United States educational system. This book argues that the American school system is not really in as bad a shape as reported by the media and other government and industry sources. The book admits the existence of problems in the educational system, but insists that many of the…

Teaching drama gave one instructor a chance to renew herself, and drama became an important part of a personal teaching renaissance. An elective class for grade 12 entitled "Humanities and the Arts" offered opportunity for collaborative teaching with colleagues in their areas of expertise. In a class on "Modern Drama" designed…

This quarterly publication presents scholarly developmental research results pertaining to social and public policies which affect children. The first issue in the 1994 volume examines "Children's Changing Access to Resources: A Historical Perspective" (Donald Hernandez). This report focuses on changes in the American family's finances,…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints series challenge readers to question their own opinions and assumptions. By reading carefully balanced views, readers confront new ideas on the topic of interest. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited job discrimination based on age, race, religion, gender, or national origin, provided the groundwork for…

This paper reviews "Slim Hopes: Advertising & The Obsession with Thinness," a 30-minute video produced by the University of Massachusetts' Media Education Foundation, which discusses America's compulsion with thinness. Although the format of the video is the traditional "talking head," over 120 print and television…

This book examines the nature of moral issues in education while attempting to provide both a clarification of the issues and suggestions as to what might be done in the social context. The job of the school is not to teach morals but provide students with appropriate ways to respond to moral issues and dilemmas. Suggestions are given for teaching…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series present debates about current issues that can be used to teach critical reading and thinking skills. The varied opinions in each collection explore aspects of a social, cultural, or political issue. A great deal of money has been spent in this country to eradicate poverty, but the problem remains. Some…

What is known about gangs is reviewed and the information is brought up to date. The book covers reported changes in the structure and crime patterns of gangs, their age, ethnic, and gender characteristics, and their spread into almost all corners of the United States. The early chapters consider four issues that are major concerns in…

Statistics paint a startling and frightening picture of school violence in America. Understanding the real problem is essential to focus national attention and to bring about awareness that energy must be committed to preventing violence. The 27 items in this collection are organized into 4 comprehensive sections. Section 1, "Attention: Guns,…

Schools increasingly are ineffective institutions for a growing number of children and youth. Problems of the schools are connected with other institutional problems within the family and the health care system. As a society, Americans have tended to wait until children's needs and problems have reached epidemic proportions and then have provided…

This monograph synthesizes information presented at a July 10, 1991, Congressional staff briefing on many dimensions of the child welfare service system and its reform. Summaries of the participants' statements at the briefing are presented and a reproduction of a background paper on child welfare: "Child Welfare: The Context for Reform"…

This essay contends that the goals of the Civil Rights movement, desegregation and integration of schools and public facilities, were misplaced, and that what blacks needed then, and need today, was equalization of resources and facilities, and equal representation on boards of education. Continued efforts at reliance of those outside the black…