Three studies were conducted in New Zealand with preschool children and high school students which examined computer attitudes and the effect of particular gender views on exploratory behavior. Results suggest that high school affirmative action programs are working, more female role models are needed, and efforts need to include young children.…

Provides an historical overview of affirmative action in higher education, with a special emphasis on gender issues. Examines past successes, along with some of the obstacles still faced by women. Discusses the character of the debate on affirmative action in higher education and the need for campus diversity. (RJM)

Describes a study conducted at Seattle Pacific University that developed an attitude scale to measure student perceptions about online courses; explored relationships between student perceptions and demographic and other variables, including age, gender, online course experience, Internet experience, and computer skills; and investigated…

Suggests that children's books can socialize children to cultural norms, including gender roles. Maintains that male images are more dominant in children's literature than are female images. Provides guidelines for analyzing children's books for sexism. Includes an annotated bibliography of books for 4- to 6-year-olds that break gender role…

Two books acknowledge the importance of education in empowering African women and girls, both socially and economically, but differ from the dominant discourse by delving into locally grounded investigations of the dynamics that influence girls' access to education, outcomes, and the nature of the empowerment that education accords them. The scope…

Presents a study conducted at the Hellenic Open University that focused on higher education offered by methods of distance learning, including the use of computers and other technology, and investigated causes of student dropouts and dropout rates. Highlights include student characteristics, including age and gender; and correlations between…

Interviewed adolescents in grades 9 through 12 to examine family closeness as either mediator or moderator of relationships between intense work and academic engagement. Found that for boys, the family closeness mediational model provided best fit for data; for girls, the moderator model fit best. Found girls were especially vulnerable to negative…

An ethnographic analysis of the schooling experiences of Muslim youth in Canada who are committed to maintaining Islamic lifestyles despite pressures to conform to the dominant culture, this article discusses how religious identity intersects with other forms of social difference (e.g., race and gender) in school experiences. Presents a case study…

Analyzed data from research on Japanese high school students' attitudes toward learning English to investigate female students' more positive attitudes toward English learning. Girls' attitudes toward English were affected by a composite of Japanese social and educational elements (e.g., characterization of English as a woman-dominant choice at…

Special issue explores the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered (LGBT) public-school administrators. Provides an analysis of ways sexuality has been a central force in shaping school administration. Administrative work paralleled the roles in traditional married households; administrators have been required to demonstrate notably…

Describes a program that teaches about women and issues of gender in the context of a broader human rights education program. Identifies key principles of the program that focus on building teacher awareness, the classroom process, and the importance of being aware of the interplay of various forms of discrimination. (KO)

Examines the issue of diversity and cable television from a content analysis of 1,035 randomly chosen moments from four channels: network, cable, independent, and public. Results demonstrate that there has been little movement towards more accurate proportional representation of historically underrepresented demographic groups across the 32…

Describes the Virtual Reality Roving Vehicle project developed at the University of Washington to teach students in grades 4 through 12 about virtual reality. Topics include teacher workshops; virtual worlds created by students; learning outcomes compared with traditional instruction; and the effect of student characteristics, including gender, on…

Provides suggestions for developing school library services and collections that encourage awareness of famous women in the fields of math and science. Suggestions include examining the collection; ensuring information access; creating awareness activities for teachers and administrators; encouraging student projects; keeping teachers, guidance…

Discusses students' equitable access to technology and considers whether the quality of access is comparable. Highlights include home computers and socioeconomic differences, computers in schools, how computers are used in school, gender issues, students with special needs, and examples of elementary and secondary schools that have overcome…