Reports on 2 studies of the perceptions of 51 nonhandicapped children about severe learning difficulties. Finds that the understanding of severe learning difficulties can be interpreted in terms of three conceptual changes. Discusses these changes in the broader context of the development of social cognition. (CFR)

Explores the issue of reading positions from the perspective of one aspect of appraisal in English. The analysis focuses on the realization of judgment in history texts, taking note of explicit and implied realizations, and the range of reading positions (compliant, resistant, or tactical) that might be taken up. (nine references) (Author)

Analysis of data from 797 high school seniors planning to delay further education reveal that socioeconomic factors significantly influence the types of school activities pursued and that these activities influence educational plans. Pragmatic attitudes, inaccurate assessment of educational levels necessary for desired professions, and new…

Social identity theory (SIT) was used to investigate effects of social categorization on adolescents' intergroup behaviour. Participants displayed consistent ingroup-favouring behaviour in their ratings: the ingroup was associated to a greater extent than the outgroup with positively valued dimensions, and to a lesser extent with negatively valued…

Asserts that during periods of rapid social change, the political consciousness of the population also changes dramatically. Reports on a survey of 1,800 students and 1,270 instructors in Russian higher education institutions. Finds that changes in social consciousness are not proceeding along lines of rational interpretation of facts and ideas.…

Reports on a study of school subcultures and their impact on 16 ex-public school British students, age 18-21. Finds that subcultures are genuine interactive units grounded in shared ideological positions. States that the subcultures fit within a hierarchical pattern and the higher the subculture the greater the level of exclusion. (CFR)

Presents quantitative data emerging from a study of Inuit classroom interactions and discourse patterns. The research focuses on the transformational effects of the incorporation of culturally congruous social interaction patterns and the promotion of traditional values on these two aspects of Inuit classroom conversations. (19 references)…

Assessed Canadian young adolescents' peer relationships as students moved from grade 6 in small elementary schools to middle-level schools offering grades 7 to 12. Found that girls experienced greater instability in reciprocated friendships than boys. Found that girls, more so than boys, lost old friendships and formed new friendships with…

Reports on a study of the factors upon which teachers base student evaluations among 77 Italian students and 5 teachers. Presents a two-level model illustrating seven major topics used by teachers for their evaluations. Includes two tables, two figures, and two appendixes illustrating the model. (CFR)

Reports on a survey of 1,077 German students and 233 teachers about different forms of student violence. Finds that the perpetrators were nearly all male, while victims were both male and female. Observes that, in comparison with previous studies, the rate of school violence does not appear to be on the increase. (CFR)

Maintains that college students have been the object of repeated sociological research in countries formerly in the Soviet Union (USSR). Reports on a study of more than 3,000 Russian students and professors. Includes five tables indicating student attitudes toward religion, student behavior, and participation in outside-of-class cultural…

Reports the results of a questionnaire given to eighth-grade students in Moscow (Russia). Presents results on student opinions about the school environment, their teachers, their image of schools of the future, and the significance of peer groups in their lives. Includes quotes from students on each topic discussed. (CFR)

Reports on a study of absenteeism and truancy in 36 secondary schools in 4 large Dutch cities. Found that students in vocationally oriented schools had higher rates of truancy. Also found that non-Dutch (ethnic minority) pupils had higher rates of absenteeism and truancy. (CFR)

This annual compilation presents four papers on different aspects of the history of higher education in Europe and the United States. The first paper is "The Rights of Man and the Rites of Youth: Fraternity and Riot at Eighteenth Century Harvard" by Leon Jackson. This paper argues that the lines of division in the student body at…

This book is an ethnographic case study of the school experience of West Indian children in a high school in Toronto (Ontario, Canada), which focuses on how minorities fail to achieve upward social mobility through education. Chapter 1, "Black Cultural Forms in Schools," reviews theories of resistance and cultural inversion in the…