Argues that three specific areas of influence contribute to shaping the attitudes and expectations of adolescent reading in Britain: family; friendship groups; and school peer groups. Responses from 255 children reveal marked patterns of gender difference in the reading experience and identify the school curriculum's role in promoting particular…

A study of a junior high school inclusion program that provided four students with disabilities with nondisabled student aids found the students with disabilities experienced growth in levels of independence, social networks, academic skills, and in behavior. Describes beneficial outcomes for the student aids and contributing successful program…

Examines how what is known about academic help seeking can inform an understanding of children's response to peer harassment. Details: (1) What is adaptive help seeking?; (2) Which students are most likely to seek help?; and (3) Under what conditions are students likely to seek help? Presents directions for future research. (Author)

Describes the results of two studies aimed at determining how experienced and inexperienced resident assistants (R.A.) respond to training that is both theoretical and practical in nature. Reports greater overall satisfaction with the practical content than with the theoretical. Contains17 references. (NB)

Concerns of students at risk of dropping out of school in an urban setting were studied using innovative ethnographic methods. Students served as collaborators to tape dialogues between themselves and peers. Results for 77 dialogues among 61 individuals indicate the importance of pressure from outside and boredom within the school. (TJH)

Thirteen-year-olds' interest in writing is alterable in educational settings; and is significantly associated with the educational productivity factors of subjects' (N=28,405) peer group, gender, and quantity and quality of instruction. Essay writing performance appears to be associated significantly with a student's ability, peer group, and a…

Used path analytic techniques to analyze differential social control theory as predictor of drug use among fifth-eighth grade students (N=860). Found that peer non-use expectations had largest effect on drug use and were directly influenced by parental, peer, and school attachments. (Author/CM)

A discussion of practices associated with successful schooling of students in heterogeneous groupings looks at outcomes-based instructional models, instructional models using peer power, effective use of heterogeneous and multi-age grouping, strategies for redefining school organizational structure, and teacher training content. (MSE)

Explored the latent structure of adolescent alcohol use and its construct validity. Using data from 2,096 American Indian high school students, a double cross-validation design uncovered a three-dimensional latent structure of adolescent alcohol use: quantity/frequency, negative consequences, and serious problem drinking. These distinct, yet…

Describes a study of student attitudes in a mixed-age classroom, examining perceptions of student-professor relationships and attitudes toward different-age students. Finds students enjoyed being in a mixed-age classroom. Although many believed professors had different relationships with older students, older students were insecure about…

A common belief is that residential treatment of juvenile delinquents reinforces rather than inhibits their patterns of delinquent behavior. Findings of this study clearly indicate that, at least in Israel, incarceration in a residential treatment facility did not increase the level of delinquency among the inmates in the period following…

Describes a prevention program, the Peer Group Connection (PGC), which uses peer influence to help teenagers cope with the problems associated with becoming adults. Discusses peer leadership training, the goals and objectives of PGC, teacher selection and training, student leader training, and also provides evaluations of the program. (RJM)

Describes social skills training procedures that can be used in group formats. Procedures provide a systematic approach to teaching social skills to children between the ages of 6 and 16 years. Presents a system for classifying social skills deficits based on acquisition/performance deficits and presence/absence of interfering problem behaviors.…

Analyzes the development and implementation of a teen hotline that utilizes skilled student volunteers. A comprehensive and meaningful training program combined with a high level of acceptance among the general youth population resulted in a valuable service for both the client callers and the student volunteers. (RJM)

Studied the evolution of knowledge of the rules of a children's game, and children's capacity for putting them into practice at ages ranging from four to seven. Results showed distinguishable evolutive levels of knowledge and practice through age, with the development of the capacity for putting the rules into practice before being able to…