Presents the results from a cross-cultural research project that explored adolescents' interpretation of the social contract (obligations, rights, and responsibilities between individuals and society) in seven countries, including Australia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. Includes appendices and…

Examined 171 female alcoholic inpatients, including subjects' own childhood, offspring, and family environment. Found that female alcoholics resemble males alcoholics and have disturbed childhoods with a drug- or alcohol-abusing, suicidal parent. In particular, boys of female alcoholics are extremely vulnerable during adolescence and have a more…

Presents an overview of communication patterns between Swedish students during ordinary lessons. Reveals that they are filled with internal communication that is not random, even if it is out of the teacher's conscious control. Identifies contextual factors that contribute to the intensity of communication that teachers can turn to educational…

Study assesses 703 adolescents and their parents concerning adolescent involvement in community-based leisure activities, peer and adult social relations, and antisocial behavior. Results reveal that participation in highly structured leisure activities was linked to low levels of antisocial behavior, while participation in activities with low…

Examined experience of 150 persons related to the phenomenon "being at home." Common aspects identified entailed cognitive, emotional, and conative dimensions. The sense of being related was a common experience, that is, related to significant others, things, places, and activities. A progression in the experience throughout the life…

This paper investigates students' initial encounters with the seminar as a working form in higher education. The main interest was to explore how the communication pattern, the aim of the seminar and meaning were negotiated. The results originate from an ethnographic field study where we followed a group of students in a Masters program in Social…

This paper addresses student-teachers' ability to "read nature" in a woodland habitat before and after a 10-week ecology course. "Reading nature" is our definition of the ability to observe, describe and explain basic ecology in the field. Data consists of field-based pre-course and post-course interviews followed up by…

In each of the countries studied in this report, colleges and universities have been adapted to national conditions, customs, social structures, and political systems; but familiar trends are visible. Among the most important trends are rapid enrollment growth and a movement toward universal access; rising expenditures; increasing public support;…

Swedish preschool programs evidence respect for the ability of the child and a sense that every aspect of daily life has its learning as well as esthetic value. (NH)

Provides research dealing with the school as an organization and offers an alternative development strategy based on the studies. Shows previous research was either functionalist or structuralist in approach. Research describes the school as an organization in terms of professionalism or bureaucracy. Additionally, it is described as a coercive…

This study assessed how corporate culture affects men's involvement with their families. Found Swedish companies to be "father friendly," but few companies had systematically revamped their policies to support fatherhood; most men made moderate use of family-leave benefits. Implications are drawn for policymaking in Sweden and the United…

Study utilizes a longitudinal data set from Sweden to test hypotheses on the inheritance of welfare benefit recipiency as indicated by reliance on means-tested social assistance. A clear intergenerational effect was observed. Effect reflects a combination of social assistance in the family of origin, children's school adjustment, and parental…

Aims to describe how the concept of sustainable development, with a focus on the ecological dimension, can be applied practically in an institution for higher education and research. The institution used as an example is Malardalen University in Vasteras, Sweden. Encompasses literature studies and conclusions from practical experience in…

This study involves a two-year longitudinal investigation of adolescent participation in unstructured youth recreation centres and the development of antisocial behaviour. Participants were 1163 adolescents who represented 92% of all eighth-grade students in the town of Orebro, Sweden, during the fall of 1999. Antisocial young people and those…

Student support consists not only of direct financial support, but also of educational provisions that are free of charge or subsidized by the state and local authorities. These provisions include formal education, as schools for young people and adults as well as higher education, and non-formal education, such as study circles and folk high…