Johnson C. Smith University, one of the nation's oldest historically Black colleges and universities, has a peer education program known as Students with a Realistic Mission (SWARM). SWARM's primary focus is on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted disease prevention, alcohol education, and other drug awareness. During the spring 2000 semester, we…

Explores issues related to state support for cultural identity schools, schools with educational practices and aims designed to reinforce a particular cultural identity. Drawing a distinction between "strong" and "moderate" cultural identity schools, the article considers contextual factors a liberal state may consider in the legitimate support of…

Data from the Current Population Survey of the U.S. Census show that black educational attainment, net of family background, became higher than that of whites in the 1950s, too early to be attributable to affirmative action. Other possible explanations, including a favorable orientation toward education in the African-American community are…

Examines the responses of 24 highly restructured schools' responses to balancing the competing aims of providing students with common experiences and addressing differences among individual students. Data show that the elimination of tracking is a goal idealized more than it is attained. Conditions supporting quality instruction for diverse…

Studies the determinants of track placement in Israel, using approximately 4,500 ninth graders. Findings suggest that although ability and academic performance are strong predictors of track placement, it is also significantly affected by student's socioeconomic status (SES), ethnic origin, and gender. Students of higher SES, those of Western…

The two studies reviewed attest to the distance southern educational history has traveled since the legal underpinnings of "separate but equal"809 schooling were demolished in 1954. Careful study of the learning atmosphere prior to desegregation should yield insights useful in today's schools. (SLD)

Discusses the problem of a democratic state facing multiple educational reform movements and establishes an outer boundary for what forms of school initiatives ought to be permissible. Included are claims of certain fundamentalist parents and the racialist "Christian Identity" religion that undergirds much of the militia movement. (GR)

Presents a case study involving the University of Texas (San Antonio) revealing the role of geography in aggravating race and class inequities among university students. It shows that the spatial location of the school on the urban periphery contributes to various disparities in auxiliary educational costs for the very groups of students that the…

Explores the concepts of risk and resilience applied to eighth graders and suggests advantages in considering a definition of risk grounded in actual school performance and behavior rather than to various group-level probabilities of failure. Evidence shows the importance of family supports, school responsiveness to students, and student…

The overriding assumption of Lillian Weber's work as revealed in this collection of her speeches and writings is that the interface between teacher and child is the center of educational effectiveness, and that the success of education depends on the teacher's ability to draw the child's own meaning-making into classroom life. (SLD)

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, analyzes how educational aspirations are formed and maintained from 8th to 12th grades. Results suggest that family socioeconomic status contributes to ambitious aspirations in grade eight and to the maintenance of high aspirations for minorities and low-income students. (SLD)

Quantitative and qualitative analyses show that in 24 selected restructuring elementary, middle, and high schools, professional community is strongly associated with technical (measured as authentic pedagogy) and social (measured as social support for achievement) dimensions of classroom organization. The relationships between authentic pedagogy…

Examined the incidence of student mobility between the 8th and 12th grades and its effect on high school completion using the National Educational Longitudinal Survey third follow-up. Findings suggest that student mobility is both a symptom of disengagement and an important risk factor for high school dropout. (SLD)

To help with the problem of nonresponse bias in mail survey research, this paper provides health education researchers with effective inducement strategies based on a comprehensive review of the professional literature, examining five areas of consideration regarding mail survey research: return envelopes and postage, cover letter, incentives,…

Surveyed 267 health educators to measure job satisfaction in the profession and investigate whether individual credentialing affected overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with work, pay, opportunity for promotion, coworkers, and supervision. Results indicated satisfaction with coworkers, work, supervision, and pay, but dissatisfaction with…