Intervention research is vital for social work, as it aims to develop practice/program approaches and provide evidence to understand which interventions are effective and for whom. Despite growing attention, little social work research exists that evaluates interventions. Among the reasons for the dearth of intervention research within social work…

Despite our knowledge of poor educational outcomes for youths in foster care, the literature on methods or models for addressing the needs of this vulnerable group of students remains extremely limited. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to describe a school-based educational support model that provides advocacy, tutoring, and…

Girl fighting and its relational context is a problem that is receiving extensive attention in popular and academic circles. This article reports on a project that gathered the opinions from focus groups of seventh- and eighth-grade girls, organized to understand the perspectives of young adolescent girls in middle school on girl fighting. Both…

This article describes a data-informed intervention to close the gap between student and teacher perceptions of school rules and improve student behavior. The student and teacher agreement realignment strategy was pilot tested over 36 weeks with 10 middle school students receiving services for special education in the eligibility category of…

Understanding excessive absenteeism is important to ameliorating the negative outcomes associated with the behavior. The present study examined behavioral reinforcement profiles of school refusal behavior: negative reinforcement (avoidance) and positive reinforcement (gaining parental attention or receiving tangible benefits from not attending…

On the basis of systematic evaluation of three program databases, totaling 246 programs, this article provides a discussion on a best practice program for low-income African American students transitioning from middle school to high school in urban school settings. The main research question was "Of the programs touted as best practice, is there…

Describes a nine-month study conducted in an urban middle school to attempt to reduce the level of aggression of a small group of seventh graders by assigning them a positive role as mediators to fifth- and sixth-grade disputants. Pretest and posttest measures of self-concept and teacher's perception of problem behavior showed dramatic…

Assesses the effects of middle school students' academic risk and out-of-home placement status on the proportion of students indicating that they received each of eight types of social support. Results indicate that students not identified as academically at-risk and in out-of-home placement reported receiving fewer types of support than any other…

Explores the drug use patterns of a sample of Southwestern Mexican American middle school students using language preference as a marker of acculturation status. Spanish monolingual students were found to use significantly less alcohol and other drugs than bilingual or English dominant students. Recommendations for social work practice are framed…

Explores the relevance of gender to social work practice in the middle school by examining three domains of importance to young adolescents: academic achievement, puberty and sexuality, and mental health. Suggests that a systemic perspective on those difficulties that asks serious questions about puberty and gender is vitally important. (Contains…

This study investigated the association between community violent crime rates and middle school students' (N=857) perceptions of school danger. Findings indicate that community crime rates are associated with male middle school students' reports of school danger but not female students' reports. Discusses community- and school-based prevention…

This study examined the relationships among academic achievement, dropout patterns, and welfare reform strategies. Findings suggest that welfare reform has not translated into better educational trajectories for children from poor families. Findings suggest the need for stronger linkages between welfare departments and school systems for adopting…

Formal schooling generally does not include education in interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, although helping children develop socially and emotionally is important in academic progress. Describes the implementation of a social skills training program for elementary and middle school students called Connecting with Others: Lessons for Teaching…