A growing body of literature on community gardening, watershed restoration, and similar "civic ecology" practices suggests avenues for integrating social and ecological outcomes in urban natural resources management. In this paper, we argue that an environmental education programme in which learning is situated in civic ecology practices…

According to a study of student religiosity conducted by the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), 80 percent of students express a strong interest in spirituality. They are not only spiritual, but they are also religious. Over half of all students attend religious services at least once per month. Indeed, according to the UCLA study, eight…

Though there has been increasing interest in character education among policy makers and education professionals, many schools hesitate to do anything that might detract from their focus on increasing academic performance. The authors present evidence indicating that this may be misguided. (Contains 13 endnotes.)

In this study, the most visible change from earlier value orientations was found in time, which shifted from traditional emphasis on future to present. (Author/AM)

Based on a paper presented at the 1968 forum of the National Conference on Social Welfare.

People on the road seem to arrange themselves according to three main types: students, street and road people, and runaways. From the perspective of conventional society road people are threatening, for the latter have defined dropping out in a way at least appealing to those who cannot conform to the responsibilities of adulthood. (Author)

This study located significant patterns within the thought systems of sixty-three influential leaders in three southern California school districts and discussed the implications for school policy. (Author/SF)

Education reform based on technical and rational processes often short-circuits reform because it is uncontentious, abstract, and provides educators with no legitimate ways to question the marketplace values and policies that drive much contemporary school reform. The perspective referred to as "betterment" is an alternative reform that…

Conference papers examining recent trends affecting the development of urban life in America are presented. "How People Look at Cities Where They Live and Work," by Anselm L. Strauss, presents sample work and life styles and their effects on perceptions of cities. "Los Angeles as a Changing Community," by Fred E. Chase,…

This paper presents student research from a class project on the Life and Literature of Foreign-Born Women in California. It examines the role of these women in agriculture, the arts, and political and economic life. Specific accounts of women from Russia, Poland, France, and Mexico are given. Others mentioned include those women born in America…

The value systems of faculty at three junior colleges in California (each representing an urban, rural, or suburban character) are compared, and the institutional personality of each college is described in terms of the perceptions held by its instructors. The specific purposes of this study are to: (1) identify the values held by 238 staff…

The ninth recommendation in ACTE's high school reform position statement is to move beyond "seat-time" and narrowly defined knowledge and skills. United States high schools operate on a well-established set of expectations for size, time of day and seasons of the year that programs and classes are offered, how instructional material is…

This paper reports on a study that examined teenagers' modes of reasoning regarding the onset of sexual activity. Study participants, 200 California public high school students (96 males, 104 females, mean age 15.41 years), responded to questions about sexual values and decision-making. Students reported an average of 17.06 years as the age they…

The tax revolt, which began in California with Proposition 13, represents a reversal in values among the middle class toward an 18th-century concept of possessive individualism. Government is no longer viewed as a realm for public action, but as a provider of services to private individuals. (Author/SJL)

The selection of an elementary-level reading series in a small California town caused a divisive backlash from some parents who are claiming their rights to supervise their children's reading material. The controversy is reported through excerpts from interviews with representatives from both sides of the issue. (JD)