Study examines the ethnic identity development of 252 adolescents. Analyses reveal that being a member of an ethnic minority group and interracial climate accounted for the greatest variance in ethnic identity development. Discusses implications for how these findings support multicultural efforts in public schools. (Contains 26 references and 3…

Reports on a survey of coordinators in the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program in Ohio. The completed instrument identifies factors that help and hinder the interprofessional practice of the coordinators in a school-based program. Coordinators' responses are classified into four emergent themes: time; money; community building; and school politics.…

Interagency information sharing is a critical feature of social work efficacy on schools, but legal, policy, and ethical issues are often poorly understood. Article outlines regulatory development of confidentiality in five public service arenas and proposes a means of planning effective information-sharing procedures in an interagency project.…

Addresses the issue of absenteeism and reviews how two facilitated elementary school groups proved successful in achieving improved attendance while the groups were in session. Discusses the general benefits of attendance groups and describes how a supportive, goal-focused group format suggests added potential for therapeutic and scholastic…

Discusses the ecological conceptualization of the person-in-environment as a basis of social work practice. Presents a case illustration of a solution-focused model used in an ecological practice perspective. The case shows how a solution-focused model can be used not only with the client, but also with the client's environment. (Contains 20…

Examines the effects of school size on 945 middle school students' perception of school satisfaction, teacher support, and school safety using data from a national probability sample. Findings suggest that the negative relationship between school size and student outcomes may be from the effect of high enrollments on the school environment.…

Investigates possible reasons for the underrepresentation of school social workers in Nevada. Surveys special educators about their attitudes toward social work as a pupil support service. Significant differences were found among educators and the value they placed on social workers. Educators with more knowledge about the role of social work in…

Adolescents faced with frequent school transitions may be vulnerable to a decline in academic achievement and poor participation in school activities, yet these difficulties are not always predictive with children of military personnel. School experiences and transition of 6,382 children of military personnel were reviewed. Findings suggest that…

Examines how the city of Phoenix's school-based collaborative model to link students and families to services provides an effective way to deliver services. The partnership assists the schools in addressing multiple barriers that prevent children from achieving, while at the same time offers the setting in which to provide child-centered services…

Article discusses the After-School Girl's Leadership Program in Seattle designed to foster positive development in girls. Their ideas and concerns are at the center of the curriculum, and they are able to experience the power of positive peer support. The program empowers them to address the environmental concerns that impede development.…

Presents five guidelines for school social workers to be used for planning interventions with children and adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorders. These guidelines are based on a synthesis of child development research and suggest that attention to the biological makeup of students as well as the design of multimodal and multisystemic…

Fifty-five schools implemented substance abuse prevention programs, some received additional support from an outside innovator. Findings are interpreted from an ecological systems approach and in relationship to development and environment factors. Theoretical and programmatic implications are discussed, and recommendations for school social…

Describes the efforts of a broad-based, nonprofit community development organization to engage local youth as resources in revitalizing a mill town's main street. Model and approaches to strengths-based practice with youth are discussed. The roles of local schools as well as education and social services professionals are explored. (Author/MKA)

Discusses the Home, Education, Readiness, and Opportunity (HERO) program developed in 1993 to address the educational needs faced by homeless school-age children. This article argues that educational services must be accompanied by psychological supports and that these are best served by school social workers. (Author/MKA)

This editorial serves to introduce an issue of Social Work in Education that explores gender within the domain of school social work practice. Some topics discussed in this issue include gender issues in schools during adolescence, and the concurrence of aggressive and oppressive behaviors in unsupervised or unmonitored areas in schools.…