This document critically reviews the empirical evidence and theories that have emerged to document and explain ethnic, racial, and class differences in the rate of adolescent involvement in interpersonal violence. In the first section, recent data are presented on the incidence of violence among adolescents in the United States as documented in…

Describes personal experiences teaching English in a ghetto high school. Suggests that the college teacher of English should know how little preparation these students have in the way of thinking and working by themselves and how little relevance college education may have for them. (MKM)

Interviewed 38 inner-city Black and Latino adolescents in a precollege tutorial program. Findings show students' difficulties in leaving their old peer groups and embracing the idea that they could achieve in school. Addresses implications of the findings for policy, assets, and problems. (SLD)

This study of six urban children ages 8-12 years challenges the prevailing misconception that poor city children are troubled, passive, and unintelligent. The research involved interviewing children about how and what they played and having them discuss drawings that they made about play. Guided by these children, who live in New York's East…

The "Totally Cool, Totally Art Program" (TCTA) was initiated by the Austin (Texas) Parks and Recreation Department in the fall of 1996. Through the TCTA program, visual arts classes were offered to teens twice a week at each of nine recreation centers. At eight of the nine sites, six separate 4-week sessions were held, with three…

African American and Latin American elementary school students from low-income urban neighborhoods (n=102) were interviewed about the fairness of four teaching practices. Overall, findings support a sociocultural approach to the study of moral reasoning that is respectful of individual as well as group variability. (SLD)

This digest discusses how race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and area of residence, whether urban, suburban, or rural, impact girls' sports experiences. The social context of girls' lives shapes their sports choices and opportunities, with financial restraints often restricting African American girls' opportunities. When access to sports is…

The extent to which adolescents are exposed to various types of violence, as victims or witnesses, and the association of such exposure with trauma symptoms and violent behavior were studied in samples of students from central city, suburban, and small city high schools. An anonymous self-report questionnaire was completed by 3,735 students in 6…

The dropout problem in the nation, in the Council of the Great City Schools (GCS) school districts, and in the central cities is reviewed. Annual, single-year, four-year, and status dropout rates are examined. During the decade from 1982 to 1992, the gap in dropout rate between Whites and other ethnic groups has narrowed. The majority of the GCS…

Describes Public School 146, a public elementary school in New York City where the principal has created a school community that builds on the strengths of the parents and makes the school an extended family for each child. Describes special services, a student leadership program, and student achievement gains. (JB)

Selected papers are presented from a national conference on urban issues. They are: (1) "Collaboration as a Social Process: Inter-Institutional Cooperation and Educational Change" (Charles F. Underwood and Hardy T. Frye); (2) "Mobilizing the Village To Educate the Child" (Valerie Maholmes); (3) "Pathways to Teaching: An Urban Teacher Licensure…

A study was done to explore student perceptions of school environments in multiethnic, New York State middle schools and the impact of those perceptions on teacher efforts to develop social interaction within the schools. Using a survey questionnaire, 804 students from 5 middle schools selected for their multiethnic characteristics participated.…

A study was done of the association between the psychological sense of school membership (PSSM) and measures of motivation and achievement among urban adolescents. The study was conducted among 301 students in 2 multi-ethnic urban junior high schools. African American, White, and Hispanic American students each comprised roughly one-third of the…

The New York Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is a grass-roots community organization representing 20,000 mostly low-income residents of New York City. This report presents evidence uncovered by ACORN of institutional racism in the New York City public schools that prevents parents of color from making informed…

The focus of this book is a study of voice through writing among poor, urban preadolescent fifth-grade girls. Voice became a central focus when the researcher, engaged in observations of peer writing conferences for students who were not native speakers, noted that the girls appeared to lose their voices as the year went on. The loss of voice was…