MR GEOFFREY F FOUNTAIN wrote:
>
> I was a "listener" in a conversation the other day with a group of people
> on an education foundation board. They were discussing "kids at risk" and
> cause(s) of this social issue. One suggested conducting a teacher's
> survey or having a teacher's forum to probe further into understanding the
> causes, with the assumption teachers close to kids at risk would have a
> good understanding of the causes.
>
> I am a rookie in the education field and am just beginning to get involved
> in my community's education system. I am wondering if there are common,
> nation-wide systemic causes for kids at risk that have already been
> identified and published somewhere.
>
> Any information on this issue (insights, research references, etc) would
> be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Congratulations for "getting involved." One of the key issues for
eliminating risk factors for young people, is to keep them in school and
make sure they profit from being there. There has been much published on
"kids at risk." The current focus, however, is on building resiliency
skills. This shift provides a chance to look at what we all can do to
provide safe environments for kids rather than focusing on what's wrong.
Several authors, in the field, have written scholarly and up to date
articles on this for Critical Linkages (note especially 11/95 issue).
Please visit our site below and note back issues. If anything looks
helpful to you, please contact me.
--Carol Sager, Sager Educational Enterprises http://www.dowtech.com/CLIIN/ Critical Linkages II Newsletter 21 Wallis Road,Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 V.(617)469-9644; Fax(same)-9639
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>