Access to a quality, affordable college education remains a cornerstone of American economic and social development. Individuals from all backgrounds need the knowledge and skills afforded by higher education to compete in an increasingly integrated--and competitive--global economy. Greater educational attainment correlates with many positive…

The objectives of a mental health program in Illinois are: (1) to have the patient wish to choose a field of work, and (2) to get him to obtain a job in his chosen field. (CK)

This report describes a program for increasing the level of motivation in art which currently interferes with the understanding and appreciation of art as it relates to career choices, and the quality and quantity of artistic products. Targeted population consists of high school students in a predominantly white, middle class community in rural…

Located 25 miles south of Chicago in South Holland, Illinois, South Suburban College (SSC) is one of Illinois's larger community colleges--and one of its more financially challenged. Because tuition dollars and the state reimbursement generated by student enrollment are key to a college's solvency, a slow, steady decline in enrollment was cause…

This paper describes a program to increase motivation and interest in social studies among fourth-grade students in a growing middle class community in central Illinois. The lack of motivation and disinterest in social studies is evidenced by student attitude surveys, teacher surveys, teacher observations of student time on task, and student…

This paper reports on a project created to improve high school students' academic success. Students in three schools in the suburbs south of Chicago were targeted. Lack of student success was attributed to several probable causes: teacher-student relationships, curriculum relevance and choice, family issues, teacher expectations, lack of…

This is the final report of a three year program for preventing dropout attitudes from developing in the middle schools in grades 6,7, and 8. The project plans focused on three major goals: staff training for leading the project activities the development of materials for assisting teachers in the project activities, and the provision of…

This action research project evaluated a program of activities to increase the engagement of high school students in their learning. The targeted population consisted of freshman, sophomore, and senior students in a middle class community in central Illinois. The lack of student engagement that posed a problem in academic progress was documented…

Sport and recreation-based approaches to the social problems of "at-risk" urban youth have become very popular in recent years. Yet the lack of a proper theoretical understanding of these initiatives threatens to minimize their effectiveness and could generate a backlash against them. To begin to fill this void, this paper presents a…