Arguing that children's books play a significant part in transmitting a society's culture to children, this Digest discusses how gender roles are portrayed in children's books. It begins by discussing how the genders are portrayed in children's literature, and then addresses the question of why gender-representation in children's literature is…

Recent theory and research suggest that peer conflict contributes to children's development and represents an important form of social interaction. Research has identified structural features of children's conflict as issues, such as control of objects or physical space; strategies, including aggressive and nonaggressive physical and verbal…

Although more than 52 percent of the current college and university student body is comprised of women, institutional leadership is still dominated by males. This digest summarizes the issue from an institutional context and identifies factors that contribute to the gap. It suggests that the organizational and societal concepts of leadership be…

For many years, gender equity has pertained primarily to improving education and career opportunities for females. Recent studies, however, provide evidence that boys no longer hold an advantage. Based on extensive analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study, the High School & Beyond, and the National Education Longitudinal Study, it…

Student attrition is a major problem for American colleges and universities because an increasing number of enrollees fit the demographic and socioeconomic profile of "high-risk" students, who consist in general of minorities, the academically disadvantaged, the disabled, and those of low socioeconomic status. Declining enrollments leave…