This book is about the Computer Clubhouse--the idea and the place--that inspires youth to think about themselves as competent, creative, and critical learners. So much of the social life of young people has moved online and participation in the digital public has become an essential part of youth identities. The Computer Clubhouse makes an…

Urban areas are the sites of many smoking prevention strategies targeting special populations. This digest provides an overview of these initiatives. Adolescents smoke for the same reasons that they use alcohol and other drugs. Personal factors that contribute to risk are enhanced by tobacco company advertising that makes smoking seem attractive.…

The Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD) demonstration is an attempt by Public/Private Ventures to create youth programming that can improve young people's present lives and future prospects in a wide range of communities. The core concepts of CCYD are: (1) increasing the number of caring and competent adults in youthUs lives; (2)…

The Current Controversies series explores social, political, and economic controversies that dominate the national and international scenes today from a variety of perspectives. Recent surveys have shown that, after years of decline, drug use among teenagers has increased during the 1990s, and that alcohol and tobacco use have remained…

This report provides a detailed picture of how youth aged 12 to 20 in three American neighborhoods--Austin (Texas), St. Petersburg (Florida), and Savannah (Georgia)--spend their nonschool time and the amount and level of the basic "vitamins" of support from adults and institutions that they receive. The three neighborhoods are the…

Thirty-two chronic truants from a low-income, inner-city area of Philadelphia were given counseling aimed at returning them to regular school attendance. Results show that threat appeal was sufficient to change intention to return to school, but supportive instruction was necessary to change actual school attendance. (Author)

Preschoolers are taken on many field trips during the course of their preschool experience. Yet, little research investigates the effects of such curricular offerings on children's developing social and intellectual skills. Intuitively, educators tend to agree that field trips are beneficial to children. However, findings of relevant studies are…

Two analyses of New York City crime data--one for the entire city, and one for the Bronx--compare the crime rates of Hispanics, Whites, and Blacks. Analysis of crime rates for the city as a whole indicates that Hispanic crime patterns are different from those of Blacks and Whites. Hispanics have lower than expected crime rates, given their…

Seventy-five subjects from rural backgrounds were matched with 75 subjects from urban backgrounds, and their personality development was observed along the Eriksonian continuum of identity diffusion. In a two-year follow-up, a positive developmental shift was observed in subjects from urban backgrounds. (HMV)

Combative activities (boxing, wrestling, kung fu, etc.) are seen as having a positive influence on alienated inner city youth. Potential contributions of such activities in a school curriculum or recreation program include involvement, security, self-concept, and self-realization. Participants may be able to free themselves from such stereotype…

The relationship between locus of control of reinforcement, perceptual style, and personality variables was investigated using a population of 133 white urban college men and women. (Author)

THE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTER, BEGUN IN 1958, CONSISTS OF SCHOLARS WHO ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON THE PROBLEMS FACED BY YOUNG PEOPLE GROWING UP IN A CITY, AND WHO ARE SEEKING WAYS TO ELIMINATE OR REDUCE THOSE PROBLEMS. THE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTER IS A RESEARCH-EDUCATION-DEMONSTRATION ORGANIZATION WHOSE RESEARCH IS DIRECTED AT GAINING A BETTER…

The first section of this final report consists of a discussion of the production and dissemination of parents' kits and manuals, including a list of the number of manuals sent out and the people to whom they were sent. This section is followed by both a report on the pilot phase of the project, in which toys, books, or materials used in this…

A workshop on outdoor education, funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title V, was held to develop guidelines for a residential program for urban disadvantaged youth. Participants came from various educational and other disciplines. Resource speakers and leaders were also involved. Tentative guidelines and objectives were produced…

An evaluation of compositions written by 375 disadvantaged high school sophomores from New York City showed that these students achieved Picture Story Language Test (PSLT) scores which were higher in productivity, lower on syntax quotient, and approximately equivalent on the abstract-concrete dimension, as compared with the population upon which…