Community-based prevention-oriented approaches that provide basic supports to families are needed to address rising rates of violence, child abuse, and other socially disruptive behavior. Weak families, weak neighborhoods, and weak economies are mutually reinforcing and lead to negative behaviors by youth and others. In proposing a community…

The use of vocational assessment instruments with Texas special needs students was investigated as part of the requirements of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. A nonrandom sampling method was used to identify the population. Transition from School to Work Coordinators in each of 20 regions collected 130 completed survey instruments…

This series of newspaper articles evaluates North Carolina's schools and establishes a relationship between the state's rural poverty and low student achievement levels. Test scores in 1988 are consistently low in all but four of the poorest rural counties. Small schools are disappearing from rural areas. Large schools can offer students more…

The characteristics of schools defined as having low, medium, and high poverty concentration are examined. The following variables are examined for elementary schools: (1) school climate; (2) compensatory education related characteristics; (3) demographic characteristics; (4) student mobility; and (5) reading and math achievement. The following…

This report discusses the education of Latinos, Blacks, and low-income students in California. Over the past 10 years, California's society has shifted from a predominantly White to a predominantly ethnic society. The number of the state's people living in poverty has increased, and poverty has been concentrating in big cities. The achievement gap…

Efforts to prevent mental retardation have been encumbered by lack of scientific and technical knowledge, vague understanding of incidence and prevalence, and scarcity of resources to implement effective public policies. Scientific and social progress toward prevention has pursued a wavelike, erratic course, driven primarily by prevailing social,…

A survey of current research on disadvantaged students (defined as children of unassimilated lowest class Negroes, Puerto Ricans, American Indians, Mexican Americans, and Caucasians) provides classroom teachers with concise and up-to-date summaries of educational research findings and their implications for teaching. Discussions presented cover…

The recruitment and training of competent teachers for Spanish-speaking children is but one phase of the overall staffing problem facing schools nationally. Generally, the teacher shortage could be reduced by increasing wages, improving facilities and equipment, reducing the teacher's work load through employment of teaching assistants and…

Environmental causes of reading problems and suggested programs which principals can implement are presented. Parental attitudes and behavior, the absence of books in the homes, lack of language stimulation, nonstandard dialect, and inadequate experience opportunities are among the environmental causes mentioned. Preprimary diagnosis,…

The first 27 pages of this report summarize the efforts to develop a favorable climate toward career education in the schools of an eight-county area of Kentucky. The area is beset by occupatioanl, housing, educational, and geographical problems. Orientation meetings were held for superintendents and directors, career education coordinators,…

The economic, social, and educational history of the Burakumin--a Japanese minority group--is traced since 1603. The role of Burakumin activism--plus increased national awareness and economic well-being--in promoting economic, social, and educational improvement is reviewed. It is noted that Burakumin progress toward further social and educational…

Indexes of socioeconomic status (SES) are widely used in school and higher education because of the known relationship of low educational participation and achievement by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Because an index of SES can predict which areas and social groups need to be "targeted" to improve educational participation,…

A conference brought together the leaders of the 11 projects funded by the National Science Foundation's Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) to reflect upon their efforts to improve mathematics and science education in poor rural communities. A variety of themes emerged. The RSI projects serve small, rural communities suffering from decades of…

"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…

Educators working to improve dropout prevention programs should closely examine the development of defensive overlays in children's world views. Efforts to neutralize defensive world views within existing dropout prevention initiatives should refocus efforts to be more holistic. Such neutralization may best succeed in small schools. (SM)