Studies adjustments facing international college students who use dialog journals to counteract their feelings of isolation. Using the informal writing assignments connected with the journals, the students and teacher wrote back and forth weekly about ideas usually initiated by the students. (25 references) (CK)

This article addresses theoretical and practical issues in the provision of mental health services to address psychosocial problems of secondary and postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Examples are offered of case studies and interventions from two federally funded research/demonstration projects at the University of Minnesota: the…

Studies ethnic differences in parent involvement and ways to increase involvement of low-income parents. Interviews with 83 parents (51 identified as Latino) of 83 students indicated parent attitudes. An intervention with 58 families of 119 kindergarten and first grade students resulted in greater participation than for 61 control families. (SLD)

Thirteen teachers rated elementary students (n=30) with learning disabilities and low achievement as having significantly lower social competence and school adjustment than their achieving peers, but teacher ratings of junior high students did not discriminate among groups. Results support use of teacher ratings for initial screening of elementary…

A study of 141 first-year science students at York University (Ontario) shows that integration/involvement variables are important in explaining a number of desired outcomes, including satisfaction with grades and program, social values, educational attitudes, achievement gains, and intent to continue in the program and/or institution. (MSE)

Ethnographically examines factors impacting academic performance of 23 Sioux Indian high school students in Canada during the transition from reservation elementary school to public high school. Factors affecting responses to environments without consideration of Indian culture are discussed in light of the withdrawal of 18 students from school.…

Provides a historical unfolding and account of cultural pluralism as an approach to student acculturation in the education of diverse urban populations. Traces the origins of a shift away from the "melting pot" notions and the emergence of multicultural ideas. (JB)

A study examined four features of African-American college students' social adjustment to predominantly White campuses: sense of underrepresentedness; direct perceptions of racism; hurdle of approaching faculty; and effects of faculty familiarity. The model described African-Americans' experiences in adjusting to institutional climate and relating…

Investigated seventh- and ninth-graders' school context, motivation, and behavior during transition to high school. Found more positive motivational contexts in ninth than seventh grade. Found that seventh-grade discipline referrals, doubts about the economic value of education, and negative expectations of peers and teachers discriminated between…

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)

Examines formal classroom encounters among Laotian refugee and at-risk American students and their teacher in a lower-track literature course and the influences of community context and school culture. Highlights linkages between student perceptions of self-competence and peer worth, the teacher's role in the social organization of work-related…

This study examined linkages between divorce, depressive/withdrawn parenting, and child adjustment problems at home and school. Middle class divorced single mother families (n=35) and 2-parent families (n=174) with a child in the fourth grade participated. Mothers and teachers completed yearly questionnaires and children were interviewed when they…

The study presented in this article was conducted to determine psychometric features of scales for Turkish students by adapting the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS) developed by Midgley and others (2000) to the Turkish language in order to measure personal and classroom goal orientations. The scales were developed to test…

Change in middle school students' sense of school belonging was examined in relation to grade point average, motivation variables, and teachers' promotion of mutual respect in classes. Survey data from 618 students collected in three waves during the sixth and seventh grades were submitted to growth curve analysis. On average, students' sense of…

The concurrent and longitudinal risk of enemy relationships, using both nominations- and ratings-based methods of assessing enmity, were examined among elementary school children. After controlling for peer rejection, only ratings-based enemies were found to have negative developmental impact. (Contains 4 tables.)