Technology has been viewed as a means to improve the quality of education for children globally, particularly in remote and marginal communities. This study examines the comparative advantages of the use of appropriate technology (off-line servers with digital libraries connected to a classroom set of laptops) in ten intervention schools in…

Written pre- and posttests were used to assess the smoking-related knowledge of 1,068 seventh graders in three comparable communities. Students in two communities participated in interventions designed to enhance knowledge acquisition, social activism, and non-use of tobacco. The interventions influenced respondents' health concerns, but not…

As violence becomes one of society's greatest concerns, schools are faced with decisions on implementing violence prevention strategies. One such program was implemented into the health education curriculum for middle-level students in the seventh grade (n=130) in rural Mississippi. An adaptation of the Prothrow-Stith "Violence Prevention:…

Conducted a psychologically-oriented intervention program in addition to a conventional curriculum for adolescents (N=9) with behavior problems. Adolescents completing the program manifested less disruptive classroom behavior, increased their classroom participation, and displayed a more positive attitude toward school following participation.…

Groups of adolescent, math-anxious girls were either tutored in mathematics, tutored with self-instruction to reduce anxiety, or received no treatment. Tutoring and self-instruction resulted in increased ranked preferences for math, while math achievement increased more for the self-instruction group. (Author/GK)

This educational program on drugs and alcohol provides a "No-Use" message to students. The curriculum maintains that alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs are unhealthy and harmful, and that society's laws and values are to be respected. The lessons build students' resistance to influences that encourage drug abuse and they promote safe, healthy,…

This study examined the effects of a particular model of direct instruction, focused instruction (FI), and two alternative student evaluation structures, individual learning expectations (ILE) and relative standing (RS), on students' mathematics achievement and attitudes. Results indicated that focused instruction and certificates of recognition…

The effects of school policy on cigarette smoking among seventh graders were investigated in this study. All of the schools involved had restrictive smoking policies and many had smoking prevention education plans. Although punitive measures were found to have no effect, smoking policy generally was found to decrease adolescent smoking. (AF)

Examined effects of multimodal counseling program Succeeding in School with potential dropouts (N=98) in grades six to eight. Found Succeeding in School program seemed to have positive influence on middle school students' attitudes toward school. (ABL)

Reports on the effectiveness of a drug abuse prevention intervention with a predominantly minority sample of seventh-grade students (N=721). Results indicate that this approach was effective on several behavioral measures of current drug use, including measures of polydrug use and on intention measures relevant to future drug use. (RJM)

A metacognition instructional strategy was employed to increase class participation and motivation in 21 seventh grade "at-risk" students at 2 schools in the context of the national problem of meeting the needs of "at-risk" students. A survey of the students' content area teachers and of the students themselves found evidence…

The 1990s are being labeled as the era of juvenile crime and violence. This program was developed, implemented, and targeted for adolescent minority males (n=25), in order to: (1) help identify at-risk students; (2) provide guidance; (3) provide strategies for academic success; (4) provide mentors; and (5) reduce the number of suspensions. Faculty…

Describes a form of brief strategic intervention for seventh graders with a history of excessive absenteeism. Presents intervention goals, the necessity of getting the parent(s) involved, identifying the barriers, and removing the barriers. Provides three case samples and discusses preconditions for success. (RJM)

This study examined a smoking intervention program, which employed group competitions with rewards, to determine its effects on adolescents' smoking-relevant beliefs, their subjective norms, and peer influence. Initially, 1,187 seventh graders in Burlington, Clinton, and Muscatine, Iowa were surveyed in 1984. Data were gathered from a re-survey…

The study reported here is an analysis of 100 seventh graders who were part of a 1989 and 1991 follow-up Phi Delta Kappa study on high risk students enrolled in general education. In 1989, 26 of the 100 students were identified as at risk. Approximately 39% of the at-risk students were identified as eligible for special education, the vast…