This dissertation study focused on the potential effect that various violence prevention program strategies implemented within the k-12 school setting have on the frequency of school based violent behaviors. The 2005-06 and 2003-04 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2006 & SSOCS:2004) was utilized as the secondary data source for this…

Boosting high school graduation rates is a growing concern to educators and policymakers. Researchers stress that, although graduation rates have varied little in recent years, "[w]hat makes current graduation rates alarming is a reality of the new U.S. economy: It is practically impossible for individuals lacking a high school diploma to…

As the incomes of affluent and poor families have diverged over the past three decades, so too has the educational performance of their children. But how exactly do the forces of rising inequality affect the educational attainment and life chances of low-income children? In "Whither Opportunity?" a distinguished team of economists,…

There is considerable debate about the relative importance of family versus school factors in producing academic and nonacademic student outcomes, and whether and how their impacts vary across different student groups. In addition to critically reviewing and synthesizing earlier work, this study extends the literature by (a) using the ECLS-K, a…

In 1998, the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA Reauthorization) was amended by the United States Congress, thereby encouraging the development of new strategies on college and university campuses for addressing alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse. The HEA Reauthorization also served as a catalyst for colleges and universities to develop new…

The purpose of this study was to examine persistence in school among students with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) from the perspectives of the students themselves and their parents. Tinto's (1975, 1997) Student Integration Model (SIM) provided the theoretical framework for this research. This model involves an interplay between (1)…

The modern character education movement emerged in the 1980s as a consequence of growing parental and public concern for moral drift, or what sociologist James Davison Hunter referred to as "the death of character." This public anomie was captured in these words from Sanford McDonnell, chairman emeritus of McDonnell Douglas and chair of…

American crime and violence have overflowed onto the college/university campus, and are now affecting senior high, junior high and elementary schools. This research presents suggested causes of school crime and also suggests possible solutions. In most urban environments, crime is a "way of life." When assessing the family incomes of…

This discussion compares Japan and the United States in terms of: (1) perceptions of children and childhood; (2) parents and parenting; (3) the preschool system; and (4) the social structure of child care settings. It is asserted that the most profound difference between Japanese and American perceptions of children may be that in Japan the…

The booklet, part of a series which examines actual and potential contributions of psychology toward solving problems of the world's schools, contains articles written by school psychologists from the United States, Europe, Latin America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. The document was compiled in response to a need for international…

This paper examines the characteristics of high school and college as life stages of young people in Japan and the United States and suggests some of the ways in which these experiences mesh with the demands of the occupational structure. The paper first contrasts the differences in the Japanese and American student experience during their high…