Although "flaming" (language and behavior considered outrageous in a classroom context) is a rupture of teacher authority, it can be used in the classroom as a viable pedagogical tool. A student in a basic literature course read a long and sexually explicit narrative in rhymed couplets. The rupture in the normal classroom environment…

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…

Higher education and its impact during times of societal changes is addressed within the context of studying student behavior and the institution's adaptation to new social issues. To help do this, an institution of higher education needs an assessment of the socio-psychological makeup of university students, their personalities, their…

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…

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…

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…

Describes a project that addresses the problem of the failure rate of African-American and Hispanic students in calculus. Discusses a solution that offers minority students a combination of workshops with intensified sections of the calculus course that challenge the students. (MDH)

Both Mexican American and Anglo students in four Corpus Christi (Texas) high schools seek membership in various subcultures according to which one recognizes them as being socially competent and respectable human beings. Data consist of life history interviews, observations, and questionnaire responses from over 600 youth. Mexican American…

This paper presents the results of a study that was conducted to determine whether variation in the organizational structure of middle schools would have an impact upon the quality and quantity of interracial contact among students. The study examined the effect of organizational structure upon: (1) number of reported opposite race friends; (2)…

This paper presents selected research findings from Monitoring the Future, an annual series of national surveys focusing on lifestyles and drug use among representative samples of American high school seniors that has been conducted every year since 1975. The presentation focuses on two issues: aspects of lifestyle currently associated with drug…

A study examined patterns of language use, including intonation, in a single social group of high school students, six "nerd girls." The group formed an "anti-club" to celebrate the individuals' disparate interests. Student narratives and group exchanges are analyzed for expressions of nerd group affiliation and identity,…

This paper examines the key differences between elementary school culture and high school culture as experienced by a group of Quebec youngsters making the transition from elementary school to high school. It presents a selective summary of a major research study that focused on the fundamental differences between elementary school student life…

This paper offers an explanation for the rise of radical, social movement activity among youth in the United States in the 1960s and for the decline of such activity in the 1970s. Mannheim's theory on generations is used to explain this phenomenon. Mannheim argued that the major historical events of an era will profoundly shape the political and…

This study sought to identify, prioritize, and generate a thematic understanding of the direction for the next decade of research and study on the culture of students in higher education. Data was collected using a Delphi survey technique of sequential questionnaires from a sample population that included 20 student affairs officers and 20 higher…