Support systems research has expanded its therapeutic horizons beyond the family, often using the concepts and methods of social network analysis. Recent network developments provide useful suggestions for support systems research in the analyses of social ties and social networks, and the implications of large-scale social structure for…

This study investigates the impact of activities done in the basic education sub-sector by a consortium of four non-government organizations in four provinces in Afghanistan from January 2004 to June 2005. The evaluation uses the project objectives and components as the evaluation framework, and data collected through survey questionnaires,…

Discusses extending AIDS/HIV counseling in developing countries from individual to family and community as a means of facilitating changes and support. Increases in the capacity of communities to care and hope result from the counseling shift from individuals to communities. Gives examples of such counseling shifts in the countries of Brazil, Sri…

A challenge for the 1990s is the implementation of prevention strategies that strengthen protective factors in families, schools, and communities. Protective factors refer to positive action strategies that build resiliency in youth. After a brief overview of protection factor research, the major protective factors that contribute to the…

Education is important because it directly affects our social quality of life, individual opportunities, national economic competitiveness, and other dimensions of life. Unfortunately, the true value of education is often only recognized by its absence. Although economic competitiveness is only one byproduct of national education quality, it does…

The charter public school movement has experienced significant growth, attracted veteran community activists and committed educators, acquired the bipartisan support of Congress, contributed to increases in student achievement, and influenced a variety of educational improvement efforts. Internal and external challenges facing charter schools are…

This information packet contains 14 articles reprinted from various books and journals. Establishing and enriching school-community ties in small schools is the theme for this "Information Exchange Packet," the sixth in a series developed for Small Schools Network members. The articles and their authors are: "Skills in Building…

Empirical data show that there are more negative consequences for youth offenders committed to institutional rather than community-based programs. However, public policy, governed by political factors rather than knowledge of the relative effectiveness of alternative programs, favors punishment and retribution over rehabilitation goals.…

The prevention of child abuse is bound up in the joining together of social nurturance and social control, which flow directly from the concept of support systems. Families involved in maltreatment are likely to be cut off from prosocial support systems. In contrast to psychiatric approaches, more recent behavioristic methods concentrate on…

Examination of 459 Black Middletown inhabitants indicate that a "typical" Black community is characterized by high levels of kin involvement, particularly between parents and adult children, and between siblings. The respondents, especially those of higher socioeconomic status, reported giving and receiving financial assistance, and feeling that…

Examines the commitment of the Black community to the education of its women as a liberation tool and the resulting emergence of a new American intellectualism. Explores the Black woman's role as carrier of African American culture. Discusses the difference between intellect workers and intellectuals. (JS)

Establishing a marketing and public relations program to improve community perceptions of public schooling involves identifying community expectations, determining whether "inequalities of exchange" are occurring between the school and the community, gaining support of both students and staff, deciding what needs to be communicated to…

The papers from the 1982 conference on Pennsylvania's Long Range Plan for School Improvement (LRPSI) assist in constructing reality about LRPSI itself. Focusing on the program's registration phase, Charles Gorman offers an alternative proposal, linking registration and evaluation, that would contribute to improving schools and increasing public…

Argues that the "social capital" provided to schools by parent and community involvement has been eroded in rural areas by school consolidation, centralization, and urban models, placing all rural students at risk. Traces this erosion in one rural West Virginia school district. Contains 19 references. (SV)

Using information from four national surveys and a decade of research, this book demonstrates the connection between family structure and a child's prospects for success. It shows how divorce, particularly with often-attendant drops in income, parental involvement, and access to community resources, diminishes children's chances for wellbeing. It…