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Assesses the effectiveness of a reading project for seventh graders that taught caring for others. Results, based on 57 students, show that the experimental group became more committed to caring in two out of three cases. Findings indicate moderate support for the use of a literature-based approach to teaching values. (RJM)

Used Erikson's and Gilligan's theories of adolescent development to conduct content analysis of depiction of adolescent development in sample of Newberry Medal winners and honor books. Found some diversity among major characters, although white males were overrepresented. Many characters underwent identity crisis. Themes of separation and connection were paramount in stories; Gilligan's "ethic of care" was presented positively. (Author/NB)

Articles advocating the use of literature to accomplish a variety of goals is common in journals of educational psychology and social work. However, studies validating such an approach are scarce. This study attempts to assess the effectiveness of one reading project to teach one specific value. Using an experimental design in a 7th grade classroom, the researchers introduced the reading project as the independent variable, and measured the dependent variable, the value of caring for others, with a series of essays. The results of the experiment indicate moderate support for the use of a literature-based approach to teaching values. Changes from pretest to posttest in two of the three essays were in the hypothesized direction. However, the authors advise practitioners that the use of one discrete project cannot produce large-scale or long-term change., The intentional teaching of morals and values was common in American public education for almost three hundred years and had widespread public support until the 1930s. In recent years there [...]

Using Erikson's and Gilligan's theories of adolescent development, this paper presents a content analysis of the depiction of adolescent development in a sample of Newbery Medal winners and honor books. Some diversity was found among the major characters, but white males were overrepresented. Many of the characters underwent an identity crisis. Some passed through the identity versus role confusion stage; others, especially in the almost prototypical male-initiation-rite stories, discovered ways to deal with nature (industry) which engendered a far clearer sense of self (identity). The major female characters experienced the two phases more or less simultaneously, but a similar fusion existed for a number of the male characters. The themes of "separation" and "connection" were paramount in the stories, and what Gilligan has called "the ethic of care" was presented positively. Some main characters matured only when they recognized their responsibility to others.

Teenage pregnancy and parenthood have long-term implications for women's labor force participation. A major intervening variable in this relationship is the level of education completed. The policies and programs of local school systems in Rhode Island are examined in the light of these relationships. (Author)