School reform alone cannot substantially improve the performance of the poorest African American students. This performance problem must be addressed primarily by improving the social and economic conditions that bring too many children to school unprepared to take advantage of what schools have to offer. Integrating disadvantaged black students…

This document discusses an Israeli project which targeted intelligent students in disadvantaged areas for special help with the objective being to encourage their college attendance. The introduction describes problems which confront any educational system in a democratic society, such as fostering adolescent development and encouraging quality…

This study discusses my attempt to improve educational experiences of fifth-grade students living in public housing. Through reconstruction of my thought processes while teaching and learning with students, the context of social justice-oriented teaching and classroom complexity is revealed. A narrative portrayal emerges demonstrating the impact…

This paper describes a design for a public school academy, the Louisiana Leadership Academy, which provides a total immersion environment primarily for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Success is contingent upon choice and community support. Objectives are to: (1) build self-discipline and self-respect; (2) raise up leaders who will transform…

This paper discusses the disadvantaged state of women in South Africa, including statistics that illustrate effects of their lack of status on their health and well being. It then focuses on the role in South Africa of the community library and information services in empowering especially women. Barriers experienced in information delivery to…

Family socialization is a social mechanism of the reproduction of social inequality from one generation to the next. The argument about the "class-specific socialization," which stopped in the 1970s, is being taken up again with this discussion and developed further towards a theory of socio-structural and situation-specific…

"Udbhas," which means "expression," is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 to spread literacy and promote post-literacy education among the underprivileged children in the slums of Calcutta, India. This paper describes the creation, work, and benefits to children of Udbhas. The paper notes that most of the organization's…