A field experiment tested effects of "Channel One" commercials on impulsive preadolescent students' purchasing preferences, such as product liking and likelihood of buying regularly advertised products. A total of 67 sixth-grade middle school students participated in the field experiment. Students who viewed "Channel One' daily were…

This study reports the self-reported out-of-school physical activity of 229 male and 593 female adolescents in three rural middle schools. Over one-third reported participation in vigorous physical activity less than twice a week, and almost half of females reported levels of activity below nationally recommended guidelines. (SLD)

A questionnaire was distributed to 81 sixth-grade students in an effort to find out the reasons why they chose one book over other books. The 2-item questionnaire was also used to compare reasons given by male and female students to see if there were differences in their responses. Subjects were from 4 classrooms chosen at random from 7 classrooms…

In 1991, Ohio received National Science Foundation (NSF) funding through its Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI) program. One aspect of the reform effort involved evaluating the performance of middle school students with a test item bank of items from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This paper presents the results of…

Examined extent to which sixth and seventh grade students' (n=133) preference for outdoor activity changed during middle school. Found that boys', compared to girls', preference to play outdoors existed only in sixth grade. Factor analyses indicated three factors describing students: Teachers' Choice, Active Female Oriented, and Outdoor Male…

This literature review pays particular attention to research that: (1) focuses on gender differences in mathematics and science achievement; and (2) offers implications for middle school educators addressing young adolescents' gender-specific needs. The review offers a list of recommendations for middle school educators based on the research. (EV)

In a secondary analysis of a study involving 619 middle school students, a path model was tested to examine the effects of family and peer variables on adolescent drug use. Results suggest that peer drug use is a salient issue in adolescent drug use, and that family variables influence male and female adolescent drug use differently. (SLD)

The rates of both teacher responsiveness and student participation were examined in the classroom question-asking context with six science teachers and 165 fifth through eighth graders. Findings suggest the need to focus on the roles of both teachers and students in creating and maintaining sex differences in student-teacher interaction. (SLD)

This qualitative study examined the attitudes and interests of 284 gifted readers in grades 6, 7, and 8. Students were from a high socioeconomic status, suburban school district in the midwestern United States and were either identified as gifted or had a history of involvement in a program for the gifted. Data collection instruments included a…

The transition from elementary school to middle school or junior high school can be exciting, stressful, scary, and fun all at once for young adolescents. The stress of this transition can either be diffused or augmented by school procedures for introducing these students to the school. In this study, a needs survey was given to a heterogeneous…

The attitudes and beliefs regarding gender, achievement and self-concept of sixth-grade students from a rural Kansas elementary school were assessed. Research consistently demonstrates females' superior verbal ability over males and males' stronger quantitative skills when compared to females. Explores the development of these differences in rural…

Ethnographic field research done with a group of working class girls in upstate New York examined the structures of schools that maintain gender and class distinctions and the culture of the girls themselves. Most of the field work was participant-observation at after-school and summer programs at a Girls Incorporated site in a mid-sized…

This research summary focuses on learning preferences of early adolescents and their relationships with academic achievement and gender. The classroom structures under study were cooperative (working with peers in accomplishing academic material), competitive (competing with peers in academic endeavors), and individualistic (having no involvement…

Two studies were conducted in an effort to better understand the role of digitized speech as feedback in computer assisted instruction (CAI). The first study examined the use of familiar and unfamiliar voice feedback in two CAI lessons designed to teach advertising techniques to fifth graders. Subjects were 100 fifth graders from suburban…

Alcohol has been and continues to be the drug of choice of youth. More than 75% of adolescents have used alcohol by the age of 16 and over 60% of high school seniors nationwide have used some form of alcohol on the average of once a month. This study investigated factors affecting attitudes toward use of alcohol of 6th-grade students (N=68) and…