Schoolyard bullying, a pervasive and significant problem, tends to lead to anti-social behavior in the adult/parental years as well, perpetuating the pattern of violence in a new generation of students. Bullies, and often their victims, tend to operate at a unilateral, or one-way, attitudinal level instead of a reciprocal or collaborative level.…

Reports on a study of music listening preferences among undergraduate college music majors, high school musicians in performance groups, and sixth-grade students in eight U.S. sites. Finds instrumental biases among high school and college musicians' preferences for relatively unfamiliar classical music. (CFR)

Reports on 2 studies of the perceptions of 51 nonhandicapped children about severe learning difficulties. Finds that the understanding of severe learning difficulties can be interpreted in terms of three conceptual changes. Discusses these changes in the broader context of the development of social cognition. (CFR)

Maintains that efforts to initiate classroom discussions of controversial topics often provoke uncomfortable silence. Describes a classroom exercise that encourages students to analyze from a sociological perspective classroom dynamics that make discussion difficult. (CFR)

Reports the results of a questionnaire given to eighth-grade students in Moscow (Russia). Presents results on student opinions about the school environment, their teachers, their image of schools of the future, and the significance of peer groups in their lives. Includes quotes from students on each topic discussed. (CFR)

Reports on study in which 81 high school students were interviewed about group stratification and its impact on individual adolescents. Finds many students labeled as "nerds" in middle school were able to improve their self-concept and reconstruct themselves as "normal" in high school. Contends expanded range of school activities and more diverse…

Reports on a study of absenteeism and truancy in 36 secondary schools in 4 large Dutch cities. Found that students in vocationally oriented schools had higher rates of truancy. Also found that non-Dutch (ethnic minority) pupils had higher rates of absenteeism and truancy. (CFR)

Reports on a study of the relationships between social categories, defined by ethnicity, gender, and social status, and school-related outcomes among 470 16-year-old Australian adolescents and their parents. Finds that differences in students' learning environments and school outcomes were related strongly to ethnicity. (CFR)

This study sought to identify, prioritize, and generate a thematic understanding of the direction for the next decade of research and study on the culture of students in higher education. Data was collected using a Delphi survey technique of sequential questionnaires from a sample population that included 20 student affairs officers and 20 higher…