Racial socialization and ethnic identity are emerging, albeit atheoretical, constructs that have been argued to promote prosocial outcomes among ethnic minority youths. Using structural equation modeling, the author explored the influence of racial socialization and ethnic identity on school engagement in a sample of 131 African American youths.…

Group-randomized trials (GRTs)--studies that evaluate the efficacy or effectiveness of interventions occurring at the group level--are increasingly used to assess the effects of school-based prevention programs on behavioral outcomes of children and adolescents. These designs pose many implementation and design challenges for school…

School disciplinary policies and practices are essential features of life in U.S. schools. Conventional approaches to school discipline--including conduct codes and security methods, suspension, corporal punishment, and teachers' methods of managing student behaviors--rely primarily on deterrence, control, and punishment to maintain order.…

This study reports findings from a content analysis of the activities and tasks of a school-based problem-solving team. Analyses of observational data collected over the course of five months found that team tasks and activities fell into the following five clusters: (1) needs identification, program development, and planning; (2) intrateam…

The author provides a preliminary assessment of the extent to which a sample of 264 school social workers are aware of the Internet-related problems children are experiencing and proposes ways in which Internet-related problems could affect youths' social and academic competence and performance in a school setting. The findings have implications…

As we celebrate the centennial of school social work, the field faces many of the same professional and social situations first encountered at the turn of the past century. Immigrant populations are growing rapidly, social worker-student ratios continue to be high, and schools remain bureaucratic, inflexible, and slow to change. The "Roaring…

Children and youths are at risk of some negative outcomes because of hazards in their environment. A review of the literature on resilience provides guidelines for minimizing risks and promoting positive outcomes for children and youths. This article provides a rationale for incorporating resilience-building efforts in schools and explores ways in…

This article reports on the lessons learned from a five-year, evidence-based substance abuse prevention initiative conducted in three school districts. Traditional outcome measures yielded no significant program effects, despite the use of an evidence-based curriculum. The failure to find significant statistical results is discussed in terms of…

Violence exposure among rural youths is a significant public health problem, yet little research has been conducted on violence in this setting. This study explored rural youths' direct and indirect experience of violence in the neighborhood, school, and home. The author used hierarchical regression analyses to explore youth violence exposure,…

This study examined the perceptions of school social workers' (SSWers') graduate education training on contemporary issues facing students in schools as well as issues related to this host practice setting. SSWers who completed a specific school social work program were compared with those who did not on perceived graduate education preparation…

The Kansas City LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) National Education Service Center's (LNESC) Young Reader's Program combines social work principles and philosophies with a grounded educational curriculum in an after-school supplemental reading program for Hispanic/Latino, low-English-proficient, low-income, first- through…

Social support and positive activity involvement are considered protective factors that can help offset the risks for youths living in impoverished areas. This study investigated whether insufficient social support and activity involvement are related to internalizing difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, and low self-esteem.…

Poor school attendance is a problem in many schools throughout the United States. A study was conducted on students in an elementary school who were all paired with adult volunteer reading partners to assess whether attendance improved the year the reading program was implemented. The study involved a pre- and posttest exploratory research design…

This article discusses the results of two studies exploring the status of partnerships between schools and community organizations. In the first study, 90 teachers, administrators, and support service staff reported that the most common type of partnership involved youth development organizations, mental health providers, parents and residents,…

Many children in the foster care system are at great risk of academic difficulties and school failure. The purpose of this study was to bring together individuals within the foster care system to discuss the challenges to obtaining an appropriate education for foster youths and how best to provide the supports and structures needed for educational…