Praises the efforts to develop a national standards for civics and government. However, discovers serious shortcomings in the current product. Claims that the current standards blur important distinctions and contain a number of factual errors. Recommends reducing the conceptual outlines and increasing illustrative cases and texts. (MJP)

Sixteen premedical students from underrepresented minority groups participated in a six-week, six-course program at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (Illinois). Academic performance before and during program participation was compared for students subsequently offered or denied admission. Accepted and denied students could be…

Discusses the need for early childhood programs to develop strong partnerships with families in order to support each parent's role as his or her child's primary educator and to provide a foundation for ongoing family involvement. Outlines the steps for establishing high-quality parent involvement programs and offers examples of how parents can…

Describes the Charlottesville (Virginia) Volunteer Tutorial, a one-on-one tutorial program that promotes the literacy development of young children and involves a wide range of community volunteers. Suggests that the program offers one model of an affordable, alternative form of early intervention. (SR)

This article describes the outcomes associated with a 3-year demonstration project designed to examine the efficacy of three models of intensive in-home services for treating children (ages 5-17) experiencing a psychiatric crisis. Results found 82% of children were maintained at home and family adaptability, children's self-concept, and parental…

Examines the federal, state, and local policies that guide approaches to sex education in the United States today (comprehensive curricula versus abstinence only), examining recent research into community-level experiences and practices as well as emerging evidence about the effectiveness of different types of sex education curricula. (SM)

A discussion of the performance indicator system used at the University of Wisconsin to provide feedback to stakeholders and encourage continuous improvement of services includes background on the system's context and development, legislative and governing board involvement, resulting recommendations, and three examples of specific accountability…

Describes three precollege programs at the University of Virginia (i.e., the Research Assistantship, Introduction to Engineering, and Summer Transition programs), which facilitate the academic and social integration and increase the retention of at-risk students. Suggests that hands-on experience has helped students acquire the requisite academic…

Development of an inexpensive but powerful computer program to teach clinical periodontal diagnosis using epidemiological principles is described. Using probabilistic thinking, the student is guided from application of raw research data to derivation of likelihood ratios and how they affect clinical decision making. Student response was found to…

Describes a longitudinal research project to introduce holistic-constructivistic pedagogy into bilingual special education classrooms. The authors report the process of teacher change as teachers shifted from a medical model to a contextual-performance model for viewing abilities and disabilities, the changes in students' attitudes toward reading…

Assesses Nigeria's efforts to achieve mother-tongue literacy for its citizens. Describes Nigeria's complicated sociolinguistic landscape, national language policies, and the Ife experimental project, studying the use of the mother tongue in primary schools. Points to nonlinguistic factors in educational success, including parental background,…

At the outset, few politicians and educators recognized the potential of the GI Bill, calling it unworkable. However, the GI Bill had many positive features and no disadvantages, causing unexpected numbers of veterans to take full advantage of it, creating enrollment and housing surprises for colleges and universities. (MSE)

Describes the attributes of effective programs and teachers serving language-minority students. Summarizes findings from large-scale studies and describes a case study of two bilingual early childhood teachers. Their instructional perspectives and practices are discussed in terms of the role of language and culture in their classrooms, their…

Implementation of the Total Quality Management approach in the Maricopa County Community College District (Arizona), a large 10-campus system, is described. The program's current early stages are reported noting the serious administrative commitment and thorough training, seen as key factors in potential success. (MSE)

Based on the results of a study of conditions in child care centers in North Carolina, a model project to upgrade child caregivers' levels of education and compensation was developed. Describes the implementation, outcomes, and evaluation of this project. (BB)