This report provides an analysis of recent findings on drug and alcohol use trends among girls. Data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. Also, more girls than boys are new users of substances. Marijuana is the illicit drug most widely…

Recent research has identified several long-term negative life outcomes associated with teenage childbearing for parents and their children. To better understand teen births, data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 were used to examine factors associated with a second teen birth or a closely spaced second teen birth within 24…

Findings in this report summarize the first phase of a larger, multi-year study that is combining qualitative and quantitative methods to outline a conceptual framework to guide future demographic/fertility research, pregnancy prevention programs and policies. Twelve focus groups--involving a multiculturally representative group of male and female…

Recent studies have shown that school self-esteem is one of the greatest contributors to overall self-esteem among adolescents in grades 7-12. Research suggests that middle schools play a significant role in the development and socialization of early adolescents. The first purpose of this study was to examine the relations between school…

Analyzes patterns of polarized socialization among Black and White students in an urban high school in a northeastern industrial area. Finds that polarized socialization occurs under educational and social conditions such as sectioning in schools and residential segregation in the community. (AOS)

The efficacy of training learning disabled (LD) adolescents in social and problem-solving skills was evaluated. While all three groups of adolescents showed increased skill levels following training, LD adolescents demonstrated only a slight gain when compared to non-LD and court adjudicated youths on the cognitive problem-solving skill.…

Examined the parent-peer orientation of 236 high school seniors. Results showed race was the strongest predictor of parent-peer orientation: Blacks tended to be more parent oriented. Respondents with high self-esteem were more parent oriented, while respondents who had an internal locus of control tended to be more peer oriented. (JAC)

Steps being taken by institutions to develop policy on sexual harassment on campus are discussed, including the issues of legal liability toward students, definitions of harassment, policy statements, grievance procedures, sanctions imposed, recordkeeping and reporting, students harassing other students or faculty, and sensitizing seminars for…

A critical review of research on school effectiveness is presented. The research findings are applied in a discussion of the issues of quality of education, resource allocation, and public policies. (JN)

Analysis of self-report data from middle class adolescents shows that both peer relationships and elements of adult-child conflict affect the probability of vandalism. The strongest factors are peer-related, possibly because vandalism may be seen as a way of establishing positions within peer hierarchies. (Author/MC)

Discussed are major developmental characteristics of 10 to 15-year olds. These characteristics are organized around the developmental, social, behavioral processes within early adolescents. It is suggested they are taking on the characteristics of older adolescents of the 1970s, involved in their own lives and in the decisions affecting them.…

This review examines aspects of schooling most significant to academic performance. Part I considers sociological aspects of the school: school selection, grouping practices, peer group formation and influence, and teacher expectation. Part II looks at pedagogical/policy aspects: teacher characteristics, expenditures, and class size. Further…

Beginning teachers experience an initial, marked socialization adjustment, then enter a plateau phase during which they internalize the values of the teaching subculture. Among beginning teachers, males appear to be more custodial in their approach than females, and teachers of science and practical subjects more custodial than teachers of…

Discusses the Queensland Languages and Cultures Initial Teacher Education Program (LACITEP), in which 50% to 80% of the subjects taken are delivered through Japanese immersion. Notes that the promotion of second-language learning is a common aim of all immersion classrooms and provides insight into how the LACITEP Health and Physical Education…

Classroom research projects are encouraged as a form of college faculty development. In these projects, participants examine and seek to improve selected aspects of their own teaching. Regular meetings of peers allow for discussion and transformation of perspective. Gathering interpretive data provides evidence to convince uncommitted departmental…