Evaluators frequently make use of indirect measures of participant learning or skill mastery, with participants either being asked if they have learned material or mastered a skill or being asked to indicate how confident they are that they know the material or can perform the task in question. Unfortunately, myriad research in social psychology…

Describes Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Knut Hamsun as self-educated men who never ceased to warn of the evils of formal education. Quoting from their works, considers their feelings toward education as revealed in Rousseau's "Emile," with its description of ideal education, and in the ill effects of education on Hamsun's characters. (AYC)

Analyzes self-esteem in young people in Jamaica based on the legacy of a negative self-image, an emerging positive self-conception and ambivalence toward themselves, their peers, and their country. Attitudes toward the developed world are based on questioning the benevolence of developed countries. Also notes educational implications. (KC)

Extends earlier conceptualization of the self-attitudes/delinquency causal process (viz, that deviant responses are motivated by earlier development of self-rejecting attitudes in the course of normative group experiences and function to assuage those attitudes) to incorporate situations in which social devaluations likely to diminish self-esteem…

Argues that much disservice has been done to students in the name of developing and encouraging positive self-concepts without recognizing some of the limitations to this approach. Sets forth eight of these limitations. (FL)

As black children are portrayed too often in literature with negative images, it is understandable why they suffer from low self-esteem. In addition to being described as impoverished, black children are shown to be ugly (according to European standards), semiliterate or illiterate, poorly dressed, and malnourished. Northern settings also…

Notes that all individuals experience the aging process and that many associate aging with negative changes and decline. Contends that counselors must develop interventions that have a positive impact on the aging experience. Examines transitions of midlife and late life and proposes empowerment as a counseling strategy to help individuals meet…

Peer relationships play an important role in socialization during childhood and young adolescence. Negative relationships may pose multiple difficulties for children related to their development that can have lifelong influences. Research indicates that the quality of peer relationships is associated with a variety of outcomes, such as social…

Argues that customary presentations of data on Indian alcohol abuse and "related problems" distort the problem, undermine self-esteem of Indian communities, and lower the chances of success for community-based prevention and treatment programs. Suggests community-specific research on drinking patterns and problems and avoidance of…

Intends to turn attention away from the contemporary focus on teacher failure/burnout and back toward the traditional source of teacher success: teacher dignity. Contends that teachers can still build a context of dignity for their work. Defines teacher dignity as the capacity to induce student learning; confidence; and authenticity. (Author/MH)

Teachers' philosophy of education influences classroom atmosphere; their ability to help pupils develop a wholesome climate for effective learning is an important contribution to guidance. A look at curriculum and instructional processes may help teachers with classroom discipline. (MH)

Despite a growing trend toward retention in grade of low-achieving students and apparent public support for the practice, many educators and psychologists disagree with the perception that flunking is an appropriate response to poor academic performance. Research reported in the past two decades indicates that grade-level retention produces little…