Examines data from published sources and ethnographic studies that assess the economic situation of Vietnamese refugees in the United States. Evidence suggests that, rather than a success story, the economic status of many Vietnamese refugees is characterized by unstable, minimum-wage employment, welfare dependency, and participation in the…

Discussion of technical/vocational education in Portugal looks at the system's recent history, characteristics, and the influences of class stratification and industrial demand. Recommendations include reform in college/university admissions policy, universal exposure to technical/vocational education, specialized training for economic…

Thirty-five high ability Black students (ages 9-15) attending a predominantly White university summer enrichment program were compared to 35 White peers. Results suggest that, despite differences in achievement and social status, Black students were accepted by White peers and were comparable in self-concept and academic self-esteem. (Author/JDD)

Study examined the ways 117 low-socioeconomic third graders interacted during acquisition of new mathematical skills. The effects of cooperative-mastery-learning (CML) strategies on their mathematics achievement were investigated. Two experiments indicated that students exposed to CML performed better than those given more traditional instruction.…

Black, White, and Hispanic medical students are compared in terms of their social supports and personality resources and mental health status when they entered medical school and after a year of training. When entering school, minority students reported greater social supports, higher self-esteem, lower anxiety, and more internal locus of control.…

Replies to "Adolescent Mothers Drop Out" (Douglas K. Anderson, 1993). It is indeed true that women who begin childbearing as adolescents achieve less schooling than do women who postpone or forego childbearing, but debate about why continues. It is argued that the apparent impact of early childbearing on education may result from a common set of…

Presents data on rapid growth of the Latino population during the 1980s. Outlines ethnic and racial differences in educational attainment, family income, language status, age distribution, and other demographic variables. Discusses the impact of school segregation, growth of youth population, and low socioeconomic status on Latino access to…

Compared a group viewing a slide/tape program designed to reduce the novelty of a science museum with a control group (n=64 sixth graders). The results indicate that boys in the experimental group had higher on-task exploratory learning and greater cognitive learning, but there was no effect for girls. (PR)

Poses questions about the relationship of access to string instruction to school district size, location, and socioeconomic level; school level; and region of the country. Finds that availability is highest in average-socioeconomic-level urban areas across most regions of the country; it is lowest in low-socioeconomic-level districts regardless of…

Under British school-choice systems, parental perceptions of school quality motivate considerable pupil migration. Headteachers are cast into managerial roles stressing their ability to retain catchment populations and attract pupils from elsewhere. A South Wales study shows that school location and local environment figure prominently in a…

Analysis of Iowa Youth and Families Project data found three distinct routes to 4-year college attendance: the traditional path of youth with professional/managerial parents; farm youth's use of parents' community ties; and the path of resourceful lower-status rural youth, whose attainment grew from early educational ambition and varied community…

Focuses on the performance of South African 12th graders on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), exploring the relationship between student background and mathematics literacy. Teacher data and school background data were not available, but findings show that the most significant performance factors were home language,…

Examines correlates of perceived popularity among black middle school students versus other groups. Survey responses from 24,024 eighth graders, their parents, teachers, and school administrators shows that, except for black females, athletic status yielded stronger correlations with perceived popularity. For black females, the strongest predictor…

National Survey of Families and Households 1987-88 (n=13,017) data were used to generate population estimates of in- and out-of-household caregiving. More than one in seven U.S. adults reported caring for relatives or friends during the previous year. Predictors of caregiving likelihood were gender, age, marital status, education, ethnicity,…

Argues that genetics, as popularized in "The Bell Curve" (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994), does not affect educational attainment and personal development, but environmental upheavals do. The environmental changes that effect educational and personal development are highlighted. It cautions that works involving pseudoscience, like "The…