Discusses the many problems that youth-at-risk face and what can be done to help them succeed. Focuses on insights gleaned from former childcare clients and factors that they identify as contributing to their resilience and subsequent success. Looks at principles that may predict outcomes of childcare. (RJM)

Having members write in a log about their feelings and observations of group sessions can be a powerful adjunctive tool. Uses of the log with suggestions for leaders are explored. (Author)

Presents a former teacher's personal reflective narrative that highlights how the acceptance and application of the theory of invitational education empowers both personal and professional change. Discusses author's transition from second grade teacher to doctoral student to college professor. (MKA)

Reviews the important pedagogical, clinical, and ethical issues involved in the design and use of case studies in the study of aging. Reviews literature in narrative and clinical ethics on case studies as stories, including consideration of facts and values, debate on generalization versus specificity, and the need for interpreters. Considers the…

What is racism? A thematic analysis of seventeen narrative accounts in this issue of personal experiences with racism is reported. Specific themes are discussed within conceptual categories of systematic oppression, grieving, awakening of critical consciousness, coping mechanisms, and power. Racism is deconstructed through these stories; new paths…

Building on the research of Crites in theology and Clandinin and Connelly in education, the authors map out three variations of cover stories lived and told by preservice and in-service teachers in order to clarify their scholarship and inform the research of others. We examine how these narratives are formed around canonical stories that teachers…

Framed within recent developments in genre theory, this paper examines personal storytelling as practiced by working-class children and their families. Although both working-class and middle-class children encounter versions of oral storytelling that embody a personal perspective, these versions privilege different slants on experience. Drawing on…

Research is reviewed on using dialog journals to enhance the writing and motivation of learning-disabled students. Dialog journals allow students to choose their topics and promote fluency by emphasizing meaning over mechanics. Guidelines for teachers are provided, and the impact of the experience on a classroom of eight- to 13-year-olds is…

Reviews the case against and for verbal self-reports, then attempts a balanced assessment. Also critiques recent argumentation studies. (Examples of self-reports include disclosures under psychoanalysis, thinking aloud protocols of undergraduates reading a message, oral choices made in perceptual judgment tasks, marks on a Likert scale.) (PD)

Analyzes children's own descriptions and interpretations of what family life is like or could be like. The research was designed to determine the children's perspective on childhood and parenthood. The article focuses on four girls and discusses their narratives using concepts from literary theory. The woman in control of family life is the…

Outlines the function of the "signifying monkey" in African American oral traditions. Focuses on vernacular discourse and African American personal narratives to discover linguistic and cultural features of African American students. Argues that these identity features be placed at the center of writing instruction for African Americans.…

Synthesizes social construction theory and the Satir approach to family therapy as a process of cocreation of reality, the use of language and narrative, and the therapist's role as a participant-facilitator. Presents a theory-building process of the Satir approach to family therapy. (Author/MKA)

A former mental health counselor and managed-care case manager provides insights on dealing with managed care organizations. Offers suggestions on how mental health counselors can develop working relationships with case managers, do treatment planning, submit claims forms, and resolve disputes. (Author/JDM)

Who are we as teachers and what constitutes a desirable educational experience? Two teachers, one Chinese and the other a white Canadian, tell "a single story [of teaching], integrated by our sense of ourselves" (Crites, 1971, p. 303). Our storytelling is enabled by metaphors and images that serve as tools for reflecting on our actions…

Oral history provides unusually rewarding opportunities for teaching writing. It teaches students to listen to the language of others and to understand the value of the "ordinary life." One method of teaching oral history in writing classes involves students' writing the story of any person who interests them. A variety of sources,…