Administered Child Depression Inventory to 139 Black urban sixth graders. Results indicated that level of depression was significantly related to current reading level, grade point average, and reading achievement. Discusses two theories that relate depression and learning, the first concerning teaching of problem-solving skills and the second…

Investigated relationship between anxiety and self-esteem of a group of middle school children, many of whom were Black. Findings from 53 sixth and seventh graders support hypothesis that there would be significant inverse relationship between measures of anxiety (state and trait) and measures of self-esteem of preadolescent students. (NB)

The problem of this study was whether there was greater improvement in cognitive abilities and affective behaviors of disadvantaged black students in an open education program as compared with a traditional education program. Two random samples were drawn from the sixth grade population of a middle school. Ninety students were selected from the…

Implemented program to decrease incidence of new smokers among black adolescents. Program combined school-based curriculum with comprehensive media intervention. There were two experimental conditions: one group participated in school-based intervention and was prompted to participate in multimedia intervention; other group had access to…

Effects of sex, ethnicity and their interaction on initial status and year-long change in (1) Language Arts and Social Studies achievement; (2) attitude toward school, and (3) self-rated coping were examined. Subjects included 1657 sixth graders from 51 classes in Austin, Texas. Each class was comprised of a mixture of Anglos, Blacks, and Chicanos…

Compared determinants of physical activity in active and low-active African-American sixth graders, surveying students and making objective assessments of physical activity over seven days. Results indicated that physical activity self-efficacy, beliefs about physical activity outcomes, involvement in community-based physical activity, perception…

This paper presents a description of a northern Florida middle school and of the students enrolled in the school, 92% of whom are African-American. Three quarters of the entire student population is eligible for free or reduced price government assisted lunches. This figure is double the state average. During academic year 1991-92, expenditure per…

Investigated smoking and tobacco-chewing habits of sixth and seventh graders (n=433). Students reported own tobacco use, perceptions of use among peers and friends, parental socioeconomic status, and other variables. Results indicated one-third of respondents had used some form of tobacco at least once. Norm perceptions and best friend's habits…

A practicum was designed to employ multiple intervention techniques in an effort to improve the negative self-concept of sixth-grade black male students who were involved in rampant acts of verbal and physical aggression that disrupted the flow of class activities. Peer facilitator training was provided for the boys. Other components of the…

Reports a study of a gifted and a learning-disabled sixth grader and their constructions of and responses to their physical education teacher's grading practices. Interviews indicated they experienced similar emotional reactions to the physical education environment (frustration and disappointment over their grades and desire to eliminate grades…

This practicum was designed to improve the self-esteem and self-confidence of black, largely lower-class sixth-graders at a middle school in a predominantly white, middle-class neighborhood. Students were exposed to multicultural resources, including works of literature by and about African-Americans. A cultural awareness workshop for teachers was…

This paper reports on the development of a school-based Afrocentric intervention for middle school male adolescents who are at risk for academic failure or underachievement. The intervention combined the principles of the rites of passage movement within African American communities and current thinking on the process of second culture acquisition…

Studies gender differences in the U.S. achievement ideology for 48 gifted and 100 nongifted African-American fifth and sixth graders (59 males and 89 females) in an urban Ohio school district. Results indicate no differential determinants of underachievement by gender but show significant differences by gifted and nongifted academic programs. (SLD)

This study explored how gaps in bilingual students' performance related to their two languages and to particular school tasks. Researchers interviewed teachers of mixed groups of students, and students completed linguistic competence assessments. High scores in one language did not necessarily carry over into the other, and students were…

Examined gender differences in the mathematics performance of high-achieving fourth and sixth graders, noting the effects of ethnicity. Scores from 1996 California Achievement Tests indicated that students in both grades showed significant gender differences. There were no interaction effects of gender by ethnicity. There were inconsistent racial…