Introduces this special journal issue on adolescent transition to university. Notes that increased attention to this transition stems from influences of extending schooling on traditional adolescent experiences. Describes the articles as focusing on particular aspects of a risk and protective resources framework. Expresses hope that articles will…

In this article, the author responds to a teacher's request for advice on how to handle one 4-year-old child in class who is having difficulty adjusting to changes. According to the parents, maybe that is because they have been so careful to keep promises and be predictable at home. The author provides some suggestions on how to work with the…

Schools, with the assistance of parents and teachers, frequently gang up on children in the service of what they believe is a neutral, objective idea of how a child ought to behave, look, dress, learn, and be. Children, in turn, learn how to live within these supposedly neutral norms, and may grow up to enforce these same rules upon their…

Genuine intellectual and other pre-academic skills and abilities are as important as social skills for children's smooth transition into kindergarten and continued school success. Head Start was originally conceived to prepare preschoolers from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in elementary school. Now that the program has earned renewed…

Student transfers from school to school at the elementary and secondary levels have been increasing for many decades. A proposed typology of major school transfer flows distinguishes between "systemic" transfers, caused by changes in school structures, and "individualistic" transfers, caused by family or individual changes. Within this typology,…

Learning disabled students need assistance in mastering self-organizing behaviors that will allow them to focus more time and energy on the learning process. The "get-it-together" (GIT) curriculum is described as a practical approach to helping these students master routines, get started on assignments, and move from one activity to the next. (JW)

Defining environment as both the physical space and the people who are in it, this paper explored the effects of environment on a first-grade child. Urie Bronfenbrenner's theories on the effects of physical environment on children provided a conceptual foundation during the observation of Christy, a student at Lawrence School in Brookline,…

Yielding to financial and community pressures almost all preschools have added day-care programs to serve working mothers. A preschool program is fundamentally for children. A day-care program is for parents and that makes all the difference. (Author)

Four areas of concern to older students who commute are examined: mobility, integrating support systems, multiple life roles, and involvement in campus life. Implications for advising are discussed, and four roles for advisors are proposed. Three illustrative case studies based on interviews are provided. (Author/MSE)

Describes three case vignettes of college freshmen who are unhappy with their choice of schools early in their freshman years. Considers problems in dormitory living, academic pressures, and interpersonal problems. Discusses change in the campus environment in recent decades and the need for adult involvement in campus life. (NB)

Describes common problems faced by international students studying in the United States, including language and cultural difficulties both in and out of the classroom. Suggests that institutions of higher learning should assist in fostering mutual understanding between international and native students. (MAB)

The director of a high school gifted education program discusses the transition from high school to college and reports on a survey of 97 gifted students four years after high school graduation. The survey addressed challenges and adjustments in the transition to college, whether students' high abilities were perceived as assets or liabilities,…

The problems associated with integrating limited-English-speaking students into English-speaking college classrooms are difficult to resolve. Beginning in fall 1998, the American College Testing Programs' new computer-adaptive English-as-a-Second-Language Assessment Battery, designed for use in postsecondary education programs, will help identify…

A model based on the immigrant's experience is proposed to explain the social and psychological dimensions of the student's transition from high school to college. The freshman-year experience is viewed as a process of resocialization to a new cultural environment involving culture shock, new language learning, and internalization of academic,…

Discusses findings from this special issue on adolescent transition to university. Focuses primarily on how findings highlight the importance of context in youth development. Concludes that articles point to the importance of studying developmental processes in college-bound students while they are in secondary school. (Author/KB)