Prior research has found the transition to high school to be a critical time for ninth-grade students. This mixed-methodology study investigated the experiences of a school-based team that provided programming and various support to ninth-grade students using the teaming model. The study utilized the following methods: 1) interviews, 2) historical…

The ecological perspective holds that community and school activities are a rare product of interaction among adolescents, communities, families, and schools. This study was designed to assess the outcomes of a personal empowerment program. The sample consisted of 25 male and 27 female ninth grade students. Students took a pretest and received a…

Adolescent suicide is the second leading cause of death in the adolescent population and is on the rise. This study used a mass screening concept as a pre-test identifier of at risk clients for suicide ideation and depressions; development of a competency-based prevention group treatment program, and the post-testing of the identified at-risk…

Loneliness is thought to be a relatively common experience among adolescents. Although no studies have specifically examined the relationship between adolescent loneliness and attributional style, research has found that children's attributions do affect interpersonal behaviors. The relationship between adolescent loneliness and perceptions of…

The transfer to a new school or grade has been identified as a typical transition period for students that is usually characterized by declining academic performance and increased absences. At the close of the 1991-92 academic year 26% of 9th-grade students in a large urban high school were failing 50% or more of their courses. A preventive…

The Ninth Grade Houses Program of the New York City public high schools is described, and evaluation outcomes and recommendations are presented. The general goal was to help ninth graders adjust to high school. The purposes were to: (1) generate student engagement; (2) provide opportunity for sustained, meaningful interaction with respected…

This paper identifies and compares the level of career maturity as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI) for students (N=221) in grades 9 and 12 in 1 suburban district in Nebraska. The participating school district was preparing for the implementation of a developmental, comprehensive, and competency-based guidance program. Specific…

Two techniques for detecting differential item functioning (DIF) of test items are compared: (1) item response theory (IRT), using the three-parameter model; and (2) Mantel-Haenszel chi square techniques (MHCS). The steps necessary for identifying differentially functioning items are identified for both approaches. Using data from the 1988…

This study examines the effects of early experiences and behaviors on course failure, grade point average, and educational aspirations, analyzing survey data gathered from 20 high schools participating in a whole-school reform initiative aimed at helping troubled high schools. All of the schools served mainly poor and minority students. Students…

This study evaluated a career education program for 141 ninth grade students at Kemper County High School in rural Mississippi in an effort to reduce the dropout rate and increase career awareness. A mental health counselor gave students monthly instruction on career issues necessary for vocational life after high school graduation. A local…

Previous research has demonstrated an association between locus of control in adolescence and a successful transition to adulthood. Having an external locus of control has been implicated as an important factor in adolescent behaviors such as teenage pregnancy and delinquency, and has been found to be negatively related to school achievement. This…

Causal attribution has been found to have a great effect on future performance. Causal attributions were studied across two academic subjects and two outcomes using an open-ended measure. All 180 ninth-graders in a girls' high school in the Bay Area of San Francisco (California) stated their best and worst subjects and provided their perceived…

An ethnographic study assessed the family constellations of ninth graders in an urban public school through cluster analysis. Survey data were collected from a random sample of 120 high school freshmen and were used to compute 4 variables for each student: (1) presence of the mother in the home; (2) presence of the father in the home; (3) presence…

It was hypothesized that antisocial behavior and deviant peer involvement assessed prior to puberty, at grade four, would predict initiation of sexual intercourse by grade nine. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 201 boys who were at risk for delinquency. The subjects participated in an extensive multiple method/agent assessment for both…

Findings of a 1989 research study on LOGO-based instruction for teaching abstract concepts of geometry are reported in an effort to encourage mathematics teachers to use the LOGO language in computer-assisted instruction. Thirty-three ninth graders (19 males and 14 females) (6 white students and 27 black students) were involved in the controlled…