Significant Influences on the Development of Adults’ Environmental Awareness in the UK,Slovenia and Greece

This article provides an overview and discussion of the relative importance of various categories of significant influences and formative life experiences on the development of environmental educators’ knowledge of and concern for the environment. A previous article in this journal (Palmer & Suggate, 1996) presents relevant findings deriving from the UK and analyses the ways in which the importance of influences may change through time or be affected by the subject's age. Here, the team of international authors presents data from three European countries and engages in both location‐specific and cross‐cultural comparative analysis.     

Newspapers as a reading resource: their impact on boys and on parental involvement

This study, carried out in connection with the Newspapers in Education programme, reveals the effectiveness of newspapers as a reading resource in the classroom. Their beneficial effect is especially apparent in the motivation given to boys as readers and to the natural way in which parents, and fathers in particular, can become involved.     

Research Matters: a call for the application of empirical evidence to the task of improving the quality and impact of environmental education

This paper argues for an increase in the application of empirical evidence to the task of improving the quality and impact of environmental education. Whilst the global scene in environmental education appears to portray optimism and great endeavour, there remain key issues to resolve. Such issues include the apparent lack of impact of formal educational programmes on individual's environmental awareness and concern. The paper argues that an empirical research base can illuminate significant findings relating to human motivation and cognition which may help to resolve such issues. It provides an overview and discussion of some of the findings of one particular substantial international research project in order to illustrate the underpinning case for using research to inform both policy and practice and gives some examples of how the evidence generated from this research programme is being used to shape educational policy and practice.     

Noncontingent use of alum in the reduction of rumination

In the years following the passage of PL 94–142, increasing numbers of severely and profoundly handicapped children have been educated in public school classrooms. One of the many troublesome behaviors sometimes found among members of this population is rumination, a habit in which the child vomits repeatedly and may reingest the vomitus. The behavior is a potential health hazard. It also tends to make the child repulsive to teachers and other caregivers. Treatments developed for management of this behavior in residential facilities have tended to require time-consuming contingent aversive treatment of the rumination. The present study adventitiously identified a stimulus that is effective in reducing rates of rumination when used contingently and also when used noncontingently. Theoretical implications for the understanding of rumination are considered.     

“These People Are Never Going to Stop Labeling Me”: Educational Experiences of African American Male Students Labeled with Learning Disabilities

This investigation employs Disability Critical Race Studies as a theoretical framework to determine the interdependence of racism and ableism in school settings. African American male students with learning disabilities are queried about their interpretations of special education placement and labeling while attempting to secure educational opportunities during high school. Their responses were used to determine the consequences of labeling as they intersect with factors such as race, gender and, to a lesser extent, social economic status. Subsequently, as a result of this investigation, implications for empowering students through self-advocacy and enhancing teachers' knowledge of diverse learning styles are discussed.     

Self-reported childhood and adolescent sexual abuse among adult homosexual bisexual men.

From May 1989 through April 1990, 1,001 adult homosexual and bisexual men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics were interviewed regarding potentially abusive sexual contacts during childhood and adolescence. Thirty-seven percent of participants reported they had been encouraged or forced to have sexual contact before age 19 with an older or more powerful partner; 94% occurred with men. Median age of the participant at first contact was 10; median age difference between partners was 11 years. Fifty-one percent involved use of force; 33% involved anal sex. Black and Hispanic men were more likely than white men to report such sexual contact. Using developmentally-based criteria to define sexual abuse, 93% of participants reporting sexual contact with an older or more powerful partner were classified as sexually abused. Our data suggest the risk of sexual abuse may be high among some male youth and increased attention should be devoted to prevention as well as early identification and treatment.     

Understanding College-Student Roles: Perspectives of Participants in a High School/Community College Dual-Enrollment Program

Dual-enrollment programs have been proposed as a useful way to ease students’ transition from high school to community college. Several studies have shown that dual enrollment produces positive effects for students, but less is known about the mechanisms these programs use to support student success. Symbolic interactionism suggests that clarity of the role of a college student may help students transition into this role with more ease. With new legislation allowing students to use Pell Grants to attend dual-enrollment programs, and other proposed policies to increase attendance at community college, research on the mechanisms that make dual enrollment successful is well-timed. This study takes a mixed method approach with an online survey (N = 101) and a series of focus groups (N = 15) to explore the experiences of dual-enrollment students from several high schools and one community college. Findings suggest that dual enrollment helped to enhance participants’ clarity of the college-student role, including who attends college, what skills are required, what college can lead to, and their own self-identification as college students. Sources of role expectations for these students included self-reflection and peer, family, teacher, and structural expectations. Students highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the dual-enrollment program in which they were enrolled. These findings have implications for practice, including the potential for dual enrollment to support low-income and first-generation college students in their transition to higher education.