A study used children's definitions to explore the culture of the classroom from the perspective of the child. Definitions for school-related terms were elicited from first graders in two classrooms of a public elementary school in the Chicago metropolitan area. After having been acclimated to the presence of the researchers, the students were…

This study sought to examine the potentially corrupting influences of media attention, money, and the accompanying stress on the moral reasoning of student athletes at both Division I and Division III National College Athletics Association (NCAA) schools. Subjects were 718 nonathletes and 277 randomly selected athletes at a Division I school and…

Recently drinking-related deaths on college campuses have received wide media attention, prompting administrators to explore new ways of dealing with this problem. This study, conducted at Manhattan College (New York), focuses on exploring student perceptions about appropriate drinking behavior. Information was collected from a sample population…

This study examined the social networks of college students and how such networks affect student commitment and persistence. The study's theoretical framework was based on application of the social network paradigm to Tinto's Student Integration Model, in which a student's initial commitment is modified over time as a result of the student's…

Few schools provide an equitable environment for female and minority students. This paper examined the culture of a high school as it was perceived and experienced by female, at-risk students in grades 9-12. Interviews were conducted with 11 female at-risk students at a high school in the greater New York metropolitan area, their parents,…

This study examines the relationship between college student alcohol use and the construct of social responsibility. For purposes of the study, alcohol use was defined by average number of drinks a week and frequency of binge drinking; social responsibility was defined by employment, marriage, living with children, living with parents, and hours…

Two questions serve as the focus in this study on factors affecting perception of femininity among pre-adolescent girls: (1) What are the meanings that girls themselves invested in gender and feminity? and (2) Through what social processes do girls negotiate meanings of gender and femininity? Researchers used a participant-observation study in…

Crocker and Major (1989) hypothesized three mechanisms by which members of stigmatized groups may protect self-esteem. The mechanisms are: (1) in-group social comparisons; (2) valuing/devaluing performance selectively; and (3) racial prejudice. A test of Crocker and Major's hypothesized mechanisms was produced with the development of the…

The purpose of this research was to describe and better understand the experiences of first- and second-year college students (18-21 years old) attending a university catering to a rural population in a mid-Eastern state. A 31-question survey addressed 6 areas of development: building friendships, community, exclusive relationships, self…

Seniors (N=150) from five private colleges completed and returned a survey consisting of five sections: (1) the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure; (2) demographic information and questions about the extent of the respondent's interaction with other racial/ethnic groups; (3) questions about comfort level when interacting with Asian, White, Black,…

A participant observation study was conducted to address socialization, cultural, and values questions related to high school students' interactions with microcomputers. Specific issues addressed included: (1) student social patterns in microcomputer interactions; (2) cultural and sex differences in microcomputer interactions; and (3) student…

This study examined whether religious education courses in the basic studies curriculum affected moral reasoning about competition among athletes and nonathletes in four small colleges. Participants (N=285) completed the Hahm-Beller Values Choice Inventory. Nonathletes (NA) scored significantly higher than did athletes in team sports (TS), but not…

High schools organized into schools-within-schools (SWS) have the capacity to create social capital, a sense of trust and connection among teachers and students that can be used in the service of teaching and learning. These differentiated social groupings, or subunits, can influence members' sense of identity during the transition to high school,…

This study examined how race and ethnicity inform college friendships of women of color and sought to determine how these two variables altered the learning characteristics of such relationships. The study, at a predominantly white college campus, found these relationships consistent with the sociological definition of intentional communities and…

With the dwindling of the traditional college applicant pool, retention has become one of higher educational institutions' top priorities. This study addresses the effectiveness of Western Psychological Services'"Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire" (SACQ) for providing early evidence of poor adjustment and potential attrition…