Refutes Alfie Kohn's criticisms of modern character education programs in the February 1997 "Kappan." The basic structure of true "for character" education relies on an approach relevant for students of all ages, has been time-tested over 2,500 years, has broad public support, and has a valid research base. Kohn advocates…

This article explores the politics surrounding the education of pregnant/mothering students. Utilizing Title IX, which guarantees the rights of pregnant/mothering students to an education equal to her peers, as an analytical lens, the author specifically identifies how absences in knowledge, research, and practice about the education of…

Stricter child support enforcement may reduce unwed childbearing by raising the costs of fatherhood. The authors investigate this hypothesis using a sample of young women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, to which they add information on state child support enforcement. Models of the probability of a teenage premarital birth and of…

Infant mortality is a complex issue linked to societal problems such as teen pregnancy, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and violence. This report chronicles the accomplishments of the Southern Regional Project on Infant Mortality in seeking solutions, sharing strategies, and building coalitions to reduce infant mortality in the south. Phase 1…

Researchers in many fields agree. The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society as a whole are strongly influenced by the early experiences of children, when the foundation for effective cognitive and social skills and abilities are developed. Children who have developmental delays or disabilities require and often…

For the past several decades, the teenage birth rate in the United States has exceeded that of other industrialized nations. To explore the factors behind this high birth rate, this volume summarizes recent research conducted in the United States on the perceived causes of teenage childbearing. This review is organized around the events leading to…

Daniel Patrick Moynihan looks back on the Moynihan Report of 30 years ago and describes the transformation of American society it heralded. As the number of nonmarital births rises among persons of all races, a change from social organization derived from the family is increasingly apparent. (SLD)

Argues that unwed mothers should receive their primary assistance from their own families when possible and from private group homes subsidized with public funds when family assistance is unavailable. The current system of cash entitlements for unwed mothers has been a colossal failure. (SLD)

The Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Project (TAPP) of San Francisco is a city-wide interagency service system coordinated by the city's Family Service Agency and Unified School District. Clients participate in pre- or post-natal service systems that provide free, personal, and continuous counseling for up to three years. Case managers identify and…

In the United States about one million teenagers become pregnant each year and, of these, almost one-half will give birth and become mothers. Maternal factors that have been linked with better overall outcomes for adolescent mothers include social and family support, completion of high school, and limiting subsequent childbearing during…

The Family Support Act of 1988 presented states with a unique opportunity to address the needs of pregnant and parenting teens. The Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare have seized this opportunity and are leading the nation in combining their programmatic and fiscal resources to expand the state's teen parent initiative. The…

The work of Joseph Gusfield provides the framework for analyzing the two different perspectives taken by the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) to combat teen pregnancy. Gusfield first analyzed how the problem emerged and then identified "ownership" of the problem. According to Gusfield, the…

Adolescent pregnancy (AP) is explored from historical and policy perspectives. The "epidemic" of AP, with 4 out of every 10 teenage girls becoming pregnant, is typically portrayed as a recent and unprecedented problem that requires massive federal intervention, but the problem is not new. Chapter 1 analyzes adolescent sexuality, AP, and…

This report describes and evaluates the second year (1982-83) of the Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Project (TAPP) of San Francisco. The goals of this project, described in an introductory summary, are to improve maternal and child health, increase school enrollment for pregnant teenagers, increase the involvement of young fathers with their…

This study evaluates how grantees of the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) implemented their teen pregnancy and parenting programs and how program participation affected the lives of clients. Chapter I outlines the structure and history of the evaluation project. Chapter II highlights the major client outcomes of OAPP-funded projects…