The present "factory" model of schooling is over 100 years old and continues many practices unsupported by research. School districts could implement research and development centers that investigate optional learning environments and lifestyles, implement unused research results, and offer a climate for developing new approaches and materials…

Discusses the centers of language in the brain and the critical period for language acquisition. Explains developmental milestones of language development--receptive language, babbling, short phrases, full sentences--in the context of brain development. Emphasizes parents' role in language development, including talking to the child, dialogic…

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, this report examines eighth grade school variables that might predict college attendance for students whose parents have no college education (n = 2,521). The selected school variables are amenable to public policy and/or skilled leadership, and they include "school structure" (e.g.,…

Substantial research and theory suggests that smoking initiation is socially mediated, with both peers and parents playing important roles. To learn more about how parenting behaviors influence smoking initiation, students (n = 1002) from four middle schools were surveyed at the beginning of the sixth grade (T1), and the end of the sixth (T2) and…

The present study assesses the impact of attending colleges with higher black enrollment on African Americans' self-esteem and self-efficacy. It tests Rosenberg's proposition that racially "consonant" environments enhance self-appraisals. The LISREL models control for various pre-college attributes and for institutional selectivity.…

Reporting on a PT[superscript 3] grant-funded technology initiative involving social studies preservice students at Teachers College, Columbia University, this article seeks to illumine the many-faceted "digital divide." Data collected between 2000 and 2003 from preservice students and first-year alumni teaching in metropolitan New York…

In response to societal shifts, K-12 teachers are struggling to design effective learning environments. The advent of increased access to world-linking technology has extended the use of distance education to enrich and expand the learning landscape for students. A number of individuals have suggested that a body of learning theory,…

One need not look hard to find evidence of concern related to the nature of student behavior in our schools. School violence, aggression, bullying, and harassment (e.g., racial or sexual) are often cited as challenging behaviors confronting educators and community leaders. Unfortunately, most schools address these concerns with aversive…

This article is based on the Keynote Address to the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Dublin, Ireland, 7-10 September 2005. It argues that we are facing the simultaneous renegotiation of the major post-war social contract (concerning the welfare state) in Europe and the renegotiation of a smaller-scale modern social pact: the…

Both socioeconomic and school factors contribute to the underachievement of poor children and children of color. This article explores factors that contribute to the underachievement of students of color and offers practices that culturally proficient school leaders can use to build a school culture that may positively impact the academic…

Since September 11, 2001, ethnic tensions involving persons of Middle Eastern descent have increased in the United States. This study examined the peer relationships of 748 fifth-grade students of different ethnic groups both at one month and eight months post-9-11. Results indicated that only Middle Eastern children showed a large drop in…

Students, faculty, administration, and community members of three Iowa rural school districts were interviewed to identify educational issues in their communities. The results of the Iowa investigation are compared with the results of the Claremont Graduate School investigation published in "Voices from the inside: A report on schooling from…

African American women hold a unique position as members of two groups that have been treated in a peripheral manner by postsecondary education (Moses, 1989). Membership in both marginalized groups often makes African American women invisible in colleges and universities. Given the complex intersection of race and gender, more attention should be…

Objective: To evaluate a school-based early intervention program for the reduction of anxious symptoms in at-risk children from low socioeconomic status neighborhoods. Method: A total of 425 children (8-11 years old) from nine schools in low socioeconomic status areas were screened to identify children with high-level anxious symptoms. Ninety-one…

This PowerPoint report summarizes AISD student demographic and performance results at middle schools as of the end of the 2007-2008 school year.