Background: Considerable attention has been focused on the impact of young people's alcohol use. To address this, schools often implement alcohol and drug education and there are many potential programmes to choose from. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify evidence-based alcohol education programmes for schools. Methods: A systematic…

Americans love ranking systems. Whether we are ranking the hottest celebrities, the top ten singles, the top chef, or the next design star, ranking seems to be built into the American psyche as a symptom of our competitive, aspirational nature, and our desire to quickly understand the value of things. This desire has fueled a veritable ranking…

In attempting to define what constitutes a good children's book, the author looks at attitudes of those who have set standards in the past, such as Caroline Hewins, a Hartford, Connecticut, librarian of the late nineteenth century. Points that must be considered in evaluating children's books are made. (PP)

This report is an overview of recent research on the effects of class size on the academic performance and behavior of students at risk. In several ways it is not a conventional literature review. It emphasizes one recent large-scale investigation, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student-Teacher-Achievement-Ratio), begun in 1985. It is more evaluative…

"Smaller is better" is often the mantra of school leaders with regard to class size, while the benefits of smaller schools are ignored. Benefits of small classes seem obvious--teachers with fewer students could devote more time to each student. Conducted in 1985-89, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) found that…

This report summarizes the findings of some recent pivotal studies of class size, especially as they relate to students at risk. Of particular note is a large-scale study of class size, which was designed to test the conclusions of G. Glass and M. Smith (1978) and G. Robinson (1990) about the advantages of small class size. This study, Project…

Interest in class size is widespread today. Debates often take place about "ideal" class size. Controversial efforts to reduce class size have appeared at both the federal level and in various states around the nation. This paper reviews research on class size and discusses findings, how these findings can be explained, and policy implications.…

This paper reviews current literature about three tools used by teacher education programs and school districts to assess teacher candidate quality. It presents a matrix which aligns the underlying dimensions of teacher knowledge, dispositions, and skills for the STAR Teacher Interview, the Teacher Perceiver Interview, and the Praxis III Teacher…

Class size in elementary grades has taken on added importance recently. Research on the topic is finally getting some attention. Legislative and administrative actions to reduce deficits are pushing for larger class sizes, in addition to eliminating nonessential curricular activities, such as music, drama, and art. In Florida, various institutions…

An examination of how new knowledge is acquired reveals that knowledge is organized in global conceptual constructs called schemata, and that the process of knowledge acquisition can be conceptualized as the articulation and restructuring of these schemata. Assuming that a schema is a generative structure with implications beyond what is…

What is it about cultural diversity that challenges early childhood programs? One factor is that children enter early childhood and early intervention programs from families with a wide range of values and cultural experiences. Sometimes those values and experiences differ from those of the teachers and caregivers in those programs. Another factor…

Despite efforts to improve perceptions about Mexican Americans and other Spanish-speaking people in the United States, Chicanos and other Latinos are not yet seen as typical American citizens. Latinos continue to receive poor educations, and the media continue to represent them in ways unaffected by the emergence of Chicano literature. This book…

The CAG "Communicator" focus is on serving gifted students in California. This document consists of the four issues of "communicator" issued during 1997. Featured articles include: (1) "The Gifted Student At Risk. It Can't Be True" (Judy Roseberry); (2) "Tech Net-Technology and At-Risk Students" (Judy Lieb); (3) "Reviving Ophelia: Saving the…