The youth smoking problem is discussed and assistance is provided for teachers in developing smoking prevention and cessation programs. Four chapters serve as guides to understanding and working with the youth smoking problem. "Teenage Smoking in America" reviews trends in teenage smoking behavior and the factors that influence the initiation of…

Results of research investigations on sex differences suggest that: (1) those few differences which exist are average group differences; (2) biological and sociocultural factors are possible influences on observed sex differences; and (3) research on sex differences is basically inconclusive. Research examining these differences is inextricably…

Achievement assessment has recently become an issue of major public concern. Concurrent with demands which have placed increased reliance on measurement and assessment have been criticisms of present testing practices. The effects of sociocultural and motivation variables on achievement patterns of 7,000 Illinois school children were investigated.…

The paper suggests that new values created by modern forms of leisure have intersected with critical changes in the work structure to form a new social pattern. The new pattern emerges from a crisis in industrial societies. Factors which have created this crisis include the rupture of the time frames of society (how work and non-work are…

Causes for optimism in attitudes about education include the growing maturity of educators about the inter-connectedness of things, the increasing realization of the revolution in fairness that presently permeates the society, and a growing impatience with laxity in education. Schools are striving for educational equity, improved inservice teacher…

The paper presents an overview of an ethological approach to the study of abnormal human behavior and a review of research using ethological approaches (with an emphasis on autism research). Ethology is defined as the study of behavior as it occurs in its natural habitat. The four types of questions ethologists ask about behavior, such as what is…

The socio-economic, cultural and political situation in Europe necessitates a systematic and pedagogically sound promotion of bilingual education. Two prerequisites to this promotion are seen: (1) a political framework and support, and (2) a substructure for linguistic and pedagogical information and coordination. A proposal is presented to…

Japanese Americans experience acculturative change while retaining some elements of cultural identity. Differences in the patterning of personality needs among Japanese American women over time illustrate the balance of these two elements. Japanese American female undergraduates completed the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) in 1971…

Attempts by the faculty at Baker University to introduce American undergraduates to the history of the Western tradition as part of their general education are described. The strengths and weaknesses of the Western civilization course and of the core curriculum formerly offered by the college are analyzed. The rationale for the interdisciplinary…

A critical issue at the turn of the century was the women's role in urban America. According to numerous "experts" of that time, the very future of the nation depended upon the successful resolution of this "woman problem." The family was in a state of decline and the falling white Anglo-Saxon Protestant birth rate was considered tantamount to…

Two issues which are addressed in children's cross-race relationships are assessment and intervention. Results from two different types of sociometric studies are reviewed: those using measures of cross-race "best-friendship" and those using measures of "acceptance." Comparisons suggest that using a criterion of best-friendship rather than…

This paper summarizes findings of a baseline study of Canadian child welfare services and provides a critique of current social policy in Canada. Presently, Canadians have the largest number ever of 15 to 19 year olds (n = 2,369,000). This record number of children born in the late 1950s and early 1960s is likely to affect the number of births in…

The organization of amateur sports around the school and university system is a uniquely American administrative structure. This paper traces the developmental patterns leading to the emergence of sports-governing bodies such as the Amateur Athletic Union, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the National Association for Girls and…

Three questionnaires are offered as language planning aids. These instruments measure variables in language background, language behavior, and language policy, particularly in situations where two or more dialects of languages are used. The first questionnaire asks 60 questions designed to form a language background profile of an individual. The…

AN ATTEMPT TO SEPARATE THE PROBLEMS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCE FROM THE MORE GENERAL PROBLEMS OF UNDERACHIEVMENT IS MADE IN THIS OVERVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH. THE CULTURALLY DIFFERENT STUDENT COMES PRIMARILY FROM THE LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY. HE IS DIFFERENT FROM THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE MENTALLY RETARDED, PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED,…