This study obtained a tentative assessment of the impact on college students of being involved in a decision-making process. Tentative findings indicate a positive relationship between involvement in the decision making process and opportunities to participate and knowledge of the decision-making process. (Author)

An experiment with student supervisors and workers in a residential system has resulted in fiscal savings, student retention, and student development. (Author)

Surveys 2735 American and Canadian colleges/universities about whether they had a writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) program, asking for a list of WAC courses, what respondents thought about the influence of such courses on student learning and writing abilities, and about linking WAC and journalism/mass communication courses. Finds strong…

Examines spirituality as a facet of positive youth development and considers how religious training can either enhance or stifle adolescent spiritual growth. Discusses adolescence and the spiritual impulse, adolescents' well being, and spirituality in developmental and social contexts. Presents spirituality as a universal human capacity. (RJM)

Explores whether involvement in Greek organizations enhances student development. Discusses areas of student development, such as academic, social, and moral and ethical development, and reviews studies examining the correlation between Greek organizations and student development. Studies show no conclusive evidence of Greek involvement leading to…

Using trained counselors and students, compares the effectiveness of a Brief Counseling Model (BCM) versus traditional counseling approaches during a four-week time span. Results indicate that BCM can maximize elements of the student developmental level. Specific action within the capabilities and control of the student yield rapid results. (RJM)

Analyzes strategies that successful minority students employ to overcome barriers to academic success. Uses an expertise model of successful college students on one campus so as to identify specific knowledge and actions that effective minority students employ. Describes various barriers students face and describes implications. (RJM)

Describes the importance of four essential elements in a community's efforts to create positive youth development: connectedness, continuity, dignity, and opportunity. Identifies children who are in need and discusses what communities can do to care for and love them. Lists strategies that each community member can take to foster change. (RJM)

Describes a life space crisis intervention (LSCI) with a seriously disturbed adolescent. The LSCI showed how the youth unwittingly provoked peer rejection by making outrageous and inappropriate comments. Discusses the New Tools Salesmanship Intervention which taught the student prosocial skills and the student's reintegration into a regular…

Describes the multiple dimensions of identity development and difference among 10 diverse women college students. Data analysis using grounded theory methodology yielded 10 key categories and a core category, which described contextual influences on the construction of identity. Findings reveal the deep complexities of identity development when…

Describes problems associated with student-promotion systems and practices and specifies the situations in which grade retention works best. Offers recommendations for rethinking the policy and practice of retention. (LMI)

Responds to A. L. Brown's 1994 assertion that behaviorism and most learning and developmental research impede theoretical progress and negatively affect educational practice. The author first discusses how Brown inappropriately uses the most outlandish research and practice in the behaviorist tradition as an excuse to reject behaviorism outright,…

Defines total community coverage as the presentation of divisive issues through such media as electronic town meetings and public debates. Suggests ways to improve these media formats, including a 4-level model. Describes in depth each level--Foundations, Conceptual Awareness, Investigation and Evaluation, and Action Skills. Presents a case study…

Provides an overview of this special issue that examines the implementation of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative in seven local communities. An overview of the SS/HS Initiative is provided. Critical lessons learned from the seven sites are discussed with a focus on the special role that school psychologists can play in…

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative in Pinellas County, FL, emerged as a part of a broader local effort to implement creative educational and mental health programs to support children and families. Describes Pinellas County's plan, and highlights the instrumental roles played by school psychologists, which included grant writing, program…