The Family Context of Gender Intensification in Early Adolescence

This longitudinal study of 144 young adolescents (ages 9–11 at phase 1) examined the hypothesis that boys and girls would experience increased "gender-differential socialization" across a 1-year period in early adolescence, and that such patterns would be stronger in families in which ( a ) parents maintained a traditional division of labor, and ( b ) there was a younger sibling of the opposite gender. Longitudinal analyses of 3 aspects of family socialization (adolescents' participation in "feminine" and "masculine" household chores; adolescents' involvement in dyadic activities with mothers and fathers; parental monitoring) revealed that gender intensification was apparent for some aspects of family socialization but not others. In addition, when gender intensification was apparent, it generally emerged in some family contexts but not in others. Only dyadic parent-adolescent involvement was characterized by an overall pattern of gender intensification in which girls became increasingly involved with their mothers and boys with their fathers; this pattern was exacerbated in contexts where adolescents had a younger, opposite-sex sibling.     

Social Inequalities in Early School Leaving: The Role of Educational Institutions and the Socioeconomic Context

Reducing the number of early school leavers, those who quit education without at least a high school degree, is a key objective of educational policy throughout Europe. Previous research has shown that in particular youngsters from disadvantaged families face relatively high risks of school dropout. In this paper we use data from the 2009 ad hoc module of the Labour Force Survey to examine how macro-level determinants influence school dropout risks among different social groups. Our results indicate that both the design of the educational system (tracking age, extent of vocational education) and characteristics of the socioeconomic context (poverty rate, unemployment patterns) have an impact on the social distribution of school dropout risk.     

Embracing Urban Youth Culture in the Context of Education

The rise of post industrial urban centers and global communication technologies has created a distinctive Urban Youth Culture (UYC) with roots in Black history and social activism. In the discourse on education and Black youth, UYC is rarely seen as a positive force promoting academic achievement and self esteem. Drawing on the voices of Black urban youth in an all-male high school mentoring program, this article offers an affirming view on the significance and pragmatism of UYC to a group of young men at an East Coast high school. Findings reveal that the young men related to and relied on UYC to help them negotiate school and establish positive academic and social identities for themselves.     

Social Dominance in Adolescence: The Moderating Role of the Classroom Context and Behavioral Heterogeneity

This study investigates socially dominant adolescents: students who are actively involved in establishing peer norms, influence their classmates' opinions, and are often the center of attention. Data from 5,468 seventh graders ( M age = 13.3; 53% girls) in 266 classrooms were used to examine how social dominance relates to achievement, peer acceptance and rejection, self-perception, and deviance and to investigate contextual moderators of these associations. Multilevel analyses confirmed social dominance to be associated with both positive and negative adjustment. Moreover, the associations with achievement and disruptive behavior were moderated by the normativeness of these behaviors within the classroom. Finally, latent profile analyses revealed 4 distinct types of highly dominant students, 2 well adjusted and 2 poorly adjusted.     

The Reciprocal Links Between School Engagement,Youth Problem Behaviors,and School Dropout During Adolescence

Drawing on the self‐system model, this study conceptualized school engagement as a multidimensional construct, including behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, and examined whether changes in the three types of school engagement related to changes in problem behaviors from 7th through 11th grades (approximately ages 12–17). In addition, a transactional model of reciprocal relations between school engagement and problem behaviors was tested to predict school dropout. Data were collected on 1,272 youth from an ethnically and economically diverse county (58% African American, 36% European American; 51% females). Results indicated that adolescents who had declines in behavioral and emotional engagement with school tended to have increased delinquency and substance use over time. There were bidirectional associations between behavioral and emotional engagement in school and youth problem behaviors over time. Finally, lower behavioral and emotional engagement and greater problem behaviors predicted greater likelihood of dropping out of school.     

Career Choice Patterns and Behavior of Work-Bound Youth During Early Adolescence

A national longitudinal database (NELS: 88-94, 1996) was used to examine the occupational aspiration patterns, vocational preparation, and work-related experiences of adolescents who were either work-bound or college-bound two years after their initial transition from high school to work or postsecondary education. Adolescents' career choice and behavior patterns were analyzed at two separate points. Grades 8 and 10 achievement profiles of work- and unemployment-bound youths were similar; both groups had significantly lower achievement scores than college-bound youths. Socioeconomic status (SES) had considerable influence on determining both occupational aspirations and postsecondary transition status. Two-thirds of all young adults who were work-bound or unemployed/out of the work force were in the lowest two SES groups. Adolescents in the highest SES were four times more likely to be college-bound. Educational aspiration was a more accurate predictor of postsecondary status than occupational aspiration. Work-bound youths did not engage in higher levels of school-based work preparation than college-bound peers. Occupational aspirations of college-bound youth were relatively stable over the two-year period (from Grade 8 to 10), while those of noncollege-bound youths were more volatile. The prestige levels of occupational aspirations, for all youth, were relatively established by early adolescence and did not change significantly over time.     

The Impact of Internet Usage on Youth Social Interaction in China

The purpose of this paper intends to explore specifically whether heavy usage of the Internet by youths increase or decrease their social interaction opportunities. Issues that will be examined include that of the change of face-to-face communication between the youth and their families, friends and social activities. A quantitative research method with questionnaires is adopted to meet the objective of this study.     

初中生街头少年的社会互动研究

本文运用参与观察、定性访谈等方法搜集资料,研究了初中生街头少年在学校场域和街头场域的社会互动,并从初中生街头少年的主体性视角出发,运用协商理论解释框架,发现了其角色转变的内在逻辑,即追求自我实现、自由和保护.本研究补充了以往初中生街头少年研究中缺乏主体性视角的空白,注重初中生街头少年群体对自身社会互动的主体性解释.     

Relations between Social Competence and Academic Achievement in Early Adolescence

Relations between academic performance and 3 aspects of social competence--socially responsible behavior, sociometric status, and self-regulatory processes (goal setting, interpersonal trust, and problem-solving styles)--were studied. Based on a sample of 423 12- and 13-year-old students, correlational findings indicate that each aspect of social competence is related significantly to students' grades. Results from multiple regression analyses suggest that when accounting for students' IQ, sex, ethnicity, school absence, and family structure, socially responsible behavior mediates almost entirely the relations between students' grades and the other 2 aspects of social competence. Socially responsible behavior and peer status appear to be related by way of their joint association with goals to be socially responsible, interpersonal trust, and problem-solving styles. Similarly, relations between socially responsible behavior and the background variables are explained by joint relations with the self-regulatory processes. The social nature of learning and the role of self-regulation in both interpersonal and behavioral aspects of social competence are discussed.     

School and Neighborhood Friendship Patterns of Blacks and Whites in Early Adolescence

This research examined the school and neighborhood friendships of 292 black and white children who attended an integrated junior high school. Most students reported having a close other-race school friend, but only 28% of the sample saw such a friend frequently outside of school. Reports of an interracial school friendship that extended to nonschool settings were significantly more common among black students than whites and among children who lived in integrated neighborhoods rather than segregated ones. Race differences in reported friendship behavior were also found on other friendship variables. Compared to whites, blacks reported more extensive neighborhood friendship networks but indicated that they talked to fewer friends during the school day. In addition, the study replicated prior findings that white girls report more peer social support than white boys but failed to find a gender difference in peer support among blacks. The discussion emphasizes the importance of the school/nonschool ecology and the need for further comparative study of white and black children's friendship patterns.     

Personal Network Structure and Perceived Social Support in the Context of Intercultural Adjustment

The connections between an international student’s communication network, perceived social support, and intercultural adjustment are not well understood. This study aims to test the network–support–adjustment path among international students. With data collected from 215 international students studying at a large U.S. university, path model analyses showed that tie strength, a relational characteristic of one’s communication network, was positively associated with perceived emotional support, which in turn was positively related to sociocultural adjustment. In contrast, network density and proportion of U.S. ties were not associated with perceived informational support, although perceived informational support was found to contribute to enhanced psychological adjustment. Therefore, the network–support–adjustment path was only partially supported with the current data. This article discusses theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Perceived Psychological Control in Early Adolescence Predicts Lower Levels of Adaptation into Mid-Adulthood

This study examined perceived parental psychological control in early adolescence as a critical stressor likely to be associated with lower levels of adaptation into mid-adulthood. A diverse sample of 184 adolescents was followed from age 13 through 32 to assess predictions to adult adaptation. Perceived parental psychological control at age 13 predicted relative decreases in observed support, lower likelihood of being in a romantic relationship, and lower academic attainment (after accounting for grade point average at baseline) by age 32. Many outcomes were mediated by lower levels of psychosocial maturity and peer acceptance in mid-adolescence. Overall, results suggest that perceived parental psychological control in early adolescence potentially undermines autonomy so as to lead to less favorable outcomes well into adulthood.     

Attracting College Candidates: The Impact of Perceived Social Life

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how perceived attractiveness of the social life at a college/university influences potential applicants' likelihood to request information from, visit and apply to (decision approach actions) that school. Results obtained from a study of high school juniors indicate that attractiveness of social life, defined in terms of characteristics of the people and experiences to be found at a school, is at least as important as quality of education in determining the likelihood of a candidate undertaking decision approach actions toward a school. The implications of these findings for colleges'/universities' recruitment efforts are discussed.     

贵州古代学校教育从萌芽至初步兴起背景探究

贵州古代学校教育继东汉以私学形式出现萌芽后,经历了三国两晋南北朝、隋、唐、北宋千年断层,至南宋及元代初步兴起.汉代郡县制在贵州的推行,导致了贵州古代学校教育萌芽的产生.南宋经制州(正州)的发展及元代土司制度在贵州的建立,促使贵州古代学校教育的初步兴起.贵州古代学校教育无不是伴随着中央王朝对贵州统治的不断深入而产生、兴起的.     

The Impact of Context on the Development of Aggressive Behavior in Special Elementary School Children

The role of context in the development of child aggression was studied. The effects of peer aggregation and group composition on aggression development in intervention contexts and classroom contexts were compared using 71 elementary school children. We hypothesized that, due to peer group effects, group-trained children would benefit less from a social skills intervention program than individually trained children. We further hypothesized that children who transferred from special to regular education would show a change toward less aggression. This was hypothesized because of the relatively fewer accounts of negative peer-group effects in regular education. The results show that the social skills intervention program did not have differential effects for group-trained versus individually trained children. However, a change toward less aggression was found in children who transferred from special to regular education. We suggest that interventions toward decreasing child aggression might be more fruitful if the social context in which the children operate daily is considered.     

Voices of Parents and Teachers in a Poor White Urban School

The views of parents and teachers in an elementary school serving a low-income, primarily White, urban neighborhood are presented and analyzed. In-depth interviews reveal the beliefs and hopes of members of each group about the relationship between the school and the families that it serves. Themes of separation between home and school, the function of parent volunteers, structural barriers to more family involvement, friendship between teachers and parents, service to the school, teacher attitudes about parents, and parent attitudes about teachers are explored. Recommendations for the creation of a school environment more encouraging to meaningful parent involvement in the schools are made. Key words include parent involvement and home-school relationships.     

城市贫困人口社会救助方式选择的反思

九十年代,政府开始在城市实施居民最低生活保障制度,其中上海、大连、厦门等城市的经验受到重视,被称作模式来加以推广.对这几种模式的共性和差异进行分析可看出,城市贫困救助普遍面临着救助对象不确定、救助手段单一、经费来源无保证、救助申请制度不健全等诸多问题,而且已经影响到救助行动的开展.因此,现阶段应对全面实施最低生活保证制度取慎重态度,对该项制度的基本问题应有一个较长远的回答,如此,才能确保贫困救助的健康稳健发展.     

网络背景下的中学生社会化问题研究及对策

互联网络基本上已经渗透到我国社会的各个领域,不可避免地产生了一系列的社会现象和问题。本文就当前网络高速发展和普及的形势中,对中学生受网络的影响而产生的一系列社会问题展开讨论和研究,并提出相应对策。     

Perceived School and Neighborhood Safety, Neighborhood Violence and Academic Achievement in Urban School Children

Community and school violence continue to be a major public health problem, especially among urban children and adolescents. Little research has focused on the effect of school safety and neighborhood violence on academic performance. This study examines the effect of the school and neighborhood climate on academic achievement among a population of 3rd–5th grade students in an urban public school system. Community and school safety were assessed using the School Climate Survey, an annual City-wide assessment of student’s perception of school and community safety. Community violence was measured using the Neighborhood Inventory for Environmental Typology, an objective observational assessment of neighborhood characteristics. Academic achievement was measured using the Maryland State Assessment (MSA), a standardized exam given to all Maryland 3rd–8th graders. School Climate Data and MSA data were aggregated by school and grade. Objective assessments of neighborhood environment and students’ self-reported school and neighborhood safety were both strongly associated with academic performance. Increasing neighborhood violence was associated with statistically significant decreases from 4.2 to 8.7% in math and reading achievement; increasing perceived safety was associated with significant increases in achievement from 16 to 22%. These preliminary findings highlight the adverse impact of perceived safety and community violence exposure on primary school children’s academic performance.     

The Impact of Institutional Context,Education and Labour Market Policies on Early School Leaving: a comparative analysis of EU countries

This article presents a comparative analysis of the determinants of early school leaving (ESL) at the country level. We decompose ESL rates into two components: a ‘primary’ rate reflecting unqualified school leaving from initial education, and a second component accounting for early school leavers who participate in training programmes. Both may be influenced by structural and policy determinants. We examine how the ESL rate is affected by macro-economic and social context variables such as GDP/capita, growth, poverty, and youth unemployment, as well as system characteristics of the education system (such as legal school leaving age, grade retention, early tracking, and size of vocational education) and the labour market and social protection systems (minimum wages, unemployment insurance).