There is considerable evidence of impending teacher shortages throughout Australia and indeed most nations. Research so far has generally concentrated on how to improve the satisfaction of the current teachers and reduce the resignation rate, especially of early career teachers. This paper looks at the factors that influence the decisions of…

This study investigated the relation of peer interactions, family social environment and personality to prosocial orientation in Chinese adolescents. The results indicated no sex differences in general prosocial orientation and inclination to help others, but sex differences in inclination to maintain an affective relationship and inclination to…

Collaborative learning methods which emphasize peer interaction have been widely applied to increase the intensity and effectiveness of EFL reading programs. However, simply grouping students heterogeneously and assigning them group goals does not guarantee that effective collaborative learning will ensue. The present research includes two…

The effectiveness of an existing peer mediation program in a diverse, suburban elementary school was examined. Peer mediation was available to all students (N = 825). Three-year longitudinal data showed significant reductions in the school's out-of-school suspensions after implementation of the peer mediation program. Mediation training also…

This article examines the poetry, prose, and rap lyrics written by nine low-income, African American and Latino urban youths. The study is based on a 3-year research project using ethnographic methods including field observations, informal interviews, and collection of written artifacts. Part of a larger study of these youths' writing practices,…

In this paper we analyze the impact of classroom peers on individual student performance with a unique longitudinal data set covering all Florida public school students in grades 3-10 over a five-year period. Unlike many previous data sets used to study peer effects in education, our data set allow us to identify each member of a given student's…

Violence among adolescent boys in impoverished urban areas is a major public health problem. We assessed violence-related attitudes and beliefs and exposures among 29 delinquent, 22 truant and 12 dependent of the state adolescent boys who attended an urban publicly funded extended day program. One purpose of this study was to assess violence…

This 17-year longitudinal study tested whether low peer-perceived acceptance and association with aggressive-disruptive friends during preadolescence predicted students' failure to graduate from secondary school. Participants were 997 Caucasian, French-speaking boys from low-socioeconomic status, urban neighborhoods. The boys were recruited in…

Monitoring the Future (MTF), which is now in its 36th year, is a research program conducted at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research under a series of investigator-initiated research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study is comprised of several ongoing series of annual surveys of nationally representative…

This bulletin provides suggestions for the components of a comprehensive approach to reducing student vandalism on college and university campuses. Numerous facets of the problem are addressed, including: the association of binge drinking with vandalism and school policies that tolerate or even facilitate binge drinking; a school's drinking…

Three mothers whose children were connected to Dallas (Texas) gangs told their stories at the Fourth Joint National Conference on Gangs, Schools, and Community. It is said that gang members come from dysfunctional families, usually from homes where fathers are not present or involved in children's upbringing. In spite of a great deal of research…

The impact of four influences--family, peers, part-time employment, and school-sponsored extracurricular activities--on the achievement patterns of high school students is examined in this research study. The main purpose of the study was to identify the specific processes in each of the four areas by which students' academic engagement and school…

This paper discusses the reliability of college faculty peer evaluations. Three evaluation methods are compared: observation; impressionistic; and documentation review. The quality of information provided by each method is examined based on five areas: the purpose of the data being collected; what is being measured; who is responsible for doing…

Educational organizations, particularly elementary and secondary schools are deeply institutionalized and notoriously resistant to change. British Columbia's "Program for Quality Teaching" (PQT), an innovative professional development program based on peer consultation, is described and analyzed in this paper. A portrait of PQT's 5-year…

Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) is a preventive drug education program intended to stop drug use before it begins. DARE teaches techniques aimed at resisting peer pressure and helps children and adolescents refuse to use drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. DARE instructors are trained law enforcement officers on full-time duty with the project.…