Discusses the need of young adolescents to belong to their own culture wherein they can attain peer status and achievement. Presents a project in Castle Hill School (Pittsburgh) as an example of helping urban young adolescents to build a culture of achievement. Emphasizes the importance of this culture for young adolescents who cannot separate…

This study examined whether students with learning disabilities (LD) differed from general education (NLD) students in terms of depressive symptomatology, causal attributions for success and failure, self-concept, and locus of control. Eighty-two students in grades 4, 5, and 6 participated in the study. Subjects were given the Intellectual…

Documents the social and educational aspirations of a growing number of Russian youth. While the children of the former Soviet intelligentsia continue to view education as a prerequisite for success, many young people are willing to leave school for early work experience. Summarizes several surveys concerning social attitudes. (MJP)

A GUIDANCE UNIT ON ATTITUDES WAS DEVELOPED FOR USE AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL. THE OBJECTIVES WERE TO STUDY COMMON ATTITUDES, POSITIVE OUTLOOKS, PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT, THE RELATIONSHIPS OF PERSONALITY TO VOCATIONAL CHOICE AND JOB SUCCESS, AND EGOCENTRIC AND ALTRUISTIC BEHAVIOR PATTERNS. AN INDIVIDUAL'S LIFE IS SEEN TO BE MOLDED BY HIS OUTLOOK AND…

In this investigation, the authors examined the perceptions children had of their relationships with parents, peers, and teachers; their bonds with schools and neighborhoods; and their social, behavioral, and emotional adjustment. Participants were 96 students in the fifth and sixth grades who were receiving special education services for learning…

This research sought to determine the particular teacher interventions that six aggressive adolescents (ages 14.09-17.07 years) perceived as most effective in helping them to develop their academic and social skills in mainstreamed classrooms. Student interviews and classroom observations provided the data for analysis. Student characteristics and…

This study investigated 394 participants in the 1987 Arkansas Governor's School (AGS) and a comparison group of 60 AGS alternates on selected measures of cognitive development and personal/social acceptance. The AGS is a 6-week intensive residential program for talented high school students who had finished their junior year. Information was…

This journal of educational research contains five papers written by international authors. The initial paper presents the evaluation of a French immersion program for students from the second through the fourth grade in Toronto. The aim of the second paper, written in French with an English summary, was to find the attitude dimensions of French…

A case study of one female middle school student examined her tendency toward learned helplessness. Observations and interviews with the student and her teachers indicated that she lacked confidence; her belief that she could not change her intellectual and social situation was pervasive. Approaches to intervention are discussed. (SM)

At the March 6, 1991 meeting of the Instruction Committee of the Atlanta (Georgia) Board of Education, feedback was requested from principals and students concerning the Peer Leadership Connection program. Interview questions were prepared for the principals of the three schools participating, and a questionnaire was developed for students.…

Background: Optimism and pessimism are positive and negative expectations linked with well-being in adults. Research on the importance of optimism and pessimism in children is limited by the lack of a developmentally appropriate measure of children's expectations. Method: Based upon the Life Orientation Test-Revised (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges,…

This report examines the role of schools and "outside" social and economic influences in young people's lives, focusing particularly on the impact that participation in extracurricular activities has on racial tensions and students' self-images. It is based on data collected from a national sample of tenth graders in the 1980 "High…

Twenty-five graduates of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf were interviewed concerning their mainstream and residential school experiences. Respondents had an average age of 27 at the time of the interviews. Topics of discussion included classroom experiences, social interactions with other students, and participation in…

Project activities involved: (1) examination of exploratory measures of social incompetency of junior high school adolescents, (2) development and trial of educational units designed in response to problems in black urban schools, and (3) a compilation and review of cross-sectional Test of Social Inference (TSI) data. Extensive test data was…

Starting school raises concerns for children, parents and teachers. Each has a range of issues to consider. Over the past eight years, The Starting School Research Project has examined eight categories which various stakeholders see as important in children's transition to school. This paper focuses on a particular group, gifted children starting…