Giddens explores, in "Modernity and Self-Identity," our preoccupation with risks in modern social life and the disparity between perceived risks and actual prevalence of life-threatening dangers [Giddens, A.: 1991, Modern and Self-Identity. Self and Society in Late Modern Age (Polity Press, Cambridge), p. 115]. Modern technologies have…

In 1993 The Annie E. Casey Foundation made a substantial commitment to the goal of reducing adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease by investing in the design and development of the Plain Talk initiative. Plain Talk attempts to organize and mobilize community residents to change the attitudes and practices of adults, teenagers, and…

School-based early childhood centers are high-quality programs using approaches to instruction based on recognized principles of child development and learning for children 3 to 8 years old. The centers are characterized by the active involvement of parents and the community and by a commitment to smooth transitions from home to school and through…

The rush to establish conflict resolution strategies in the schools has created a maze of programs based on a number of models. By themselves, these programs are not sufficient to promote peace among youth, since they do not transcend the interpersonal level to consider the involvement of groups of students, the community, and families. Resolving…

Practical and well-defined solutions are presented to build effective and long-lasting partnerships among parents, educators, and community members for the improvement of schools. A step-by-step model is presented, with an outline to guide anyone attempting to involve parents in their children's schools. Chapter 1, "My Journey to Parent…

This paper addresses issues relevant to international development programming, particularly with reference to distance education programming in indigenous communities of the Canadian north. A major issue in international programming is the role of the community. Without the participation of indigenous peoples as partners in program design and…

The National Forum on Assessment, a coalition of education and civil rights organizations, offers these principles and indicators to help guide the development of assessment systems that can meet the needs of today's educational environment. The following principles reflect that the key purpose of assessment is to serve learning: (1) the primary…

In the United States today Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is recognized by professionals as a distinct disorder, a neurobiological disability marked by inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. About 2-10% of school-age children suffer from ADD, making it an issue of rising concern to families and school leaders. It is necessary that…

This document profiles 11 examples of arts and education institutions across the country that are working to solve community problems. Programs, which reflect a number of purposes, are organized by category. Large Urban Profiles, include: (1) "Bridgemaking" in Chicago: Chicago Arts Partnership in Education; (2) Learning by Working: Young Artists…

Twenty of 26 active members of the Governor's School to Work (STW) Advisory Council shared their views of and expectations for Arizona's STW initiative. The STW transition occurred in one of three ways: instructors in vocational programs had linkages with employers; a program, school, or district had a placement person to facilitate students' STW…

To determine what graduates in Saginaw, Michigan, (n=491) from two high schools had been doing since leaving school 9 months earlier, a 12-item survey instrument was distributed via mail and telephone. Respondents (n=370) were directed to identify issues relating to their post-secondary education, employment status, and perception/evaluation of…

The Partnership Schools Initiative (PSI) originated among Texas schools in 1992 as a network to create an educational system for achieving excellence and equity for all students. Participants in the network developed a matrix to be used by schools embarking on restructuring efforts, which identifies what leaders of successful schools can do to…

Community-based early childhood education and development programs can serve a geographical community, but may also serve a group not necessarily from the same community but who have a deep interest in one or more community-based schools. This set of booklets provides a proposal and program characteristics for a community-based early childhood…

Businesses, community agencies, career educators and counselors, churches, parents, and other community members are increasingly being approached to become actively involved in K-12 career education through school-to-work, tech prep, or other related programs. Community involvement in career education can assume many forms. Businesses can…

These instructional guidelines contain information for school systems and teachers in Maryland to assist them in preparing to deliver instruction on Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) prevention to students. The instruction is appropriate to the age, intellectual development, maturity, and curiosity of the…