For first-generation poor and working-class college students, surviving the social challenges of higher learning can be at least as demanding as achieving a high grade point average. To increase the odds that first-generation students with low-socioeconomic status backgrounds will persist and prosper in college, it is vital that their chosen…

The study used an adaptation of Provus' discrepancy evaluation model to evaluate a distance teacher education program in the University of Cape Coast, the premier teacher education institution in Ghana. The study involved comparing performance data of the program as perceived by students and faculty/administrators to standards prepared from the…

One possible benefit of the availability of free or low cost education is reduced reliance on welfare and public assistance among those who attain higher levels of education. The extent to which people with more education rely less on welfare and public assistance is an indication of this benefit. In 1992, high school dropouts were three times…

This is the first publication in a series of three reports that summarize the results of Ohio's Javits Project, a 3-year federally sponsored program to improve the identification of and services to young economically disadvantaged gifted children in 25 Ohio schools. The report focuses on the project's first year's activities. It describes the…

This is the third publication in a series of three reports that summarize the results of Ohio's Javits Project, a 3-year federally sponsored program to improve the identification of and services to young economically disadvantaged gifted children in 25 Ohio schools. This report provides information about the successes of the project teams in…

This report summarizes UNESCO's co-operation activities within the framework of the Major Project of Education in the field of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean between May 1991 and March 1993. Regional priorities had been established in Quito (Ecuador) in 1991 to focus on: (1) women as protagonists both in family life and economic…

This report presents a context for the consideration of welfare reform, and reviews 10 major poverty programs. A linkage is made between government poverty programs and the full panoply of American economic and social interventions through five major themes: (1) quashing the many myths about welfare leads to a clearer understanding of poverty; (2)…

According to the Educational Reform Chicago Study Group, the traditional public school's text-paced classroom environment may be too bare, especially in poor neighborhoods, to help poor students learn, or too middle class to motivate all students to participate. We need to examine our present teaching methods, existing educational research, and…

Many programs have tried to offset the problems with which many children of low socioeconomic status (SES) enter public schools. Some of these programs have attempted to better prepare preschool children for school, while others have tried to help children already struggling in school. The United States has one of the highest child-poverty rates…

To determine whether parents in families that live in high-risk environments accurately complete developmental questionnaires to be used in identifying infants at-risk for developmental delay, this study evaluated 54 at-risk and 43 nonrisk parent-infant dyads. Risk dyads included those living in extreme poverty and those with mothers whose…

Issues of equity assume a position of prominence as they relate to the young child's emerging mathematical understandings, the development of scientific thinking and problem solving skills, and potential technological literacies. This paper discusses the key issues of equity for culturally and linguistically diverse children and impoverished…

This report presents testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee on issues affecting low-income children and their families, offered by the executive director of a nonprofit organization that conducts research and analysis on a range of public policy issues affecting low- and moderate-income Americans. The testimony reviews recent trends…

This booklet challenges assumptions about the hopelessness of educational reform in urban high schools by presenting the stories of: (1) Theodore Sizer's Coalition of Essential Schools; and (2) Metro High School in Cedar Rapids (Iowa), a school that participates in the Coalition. Following an introduction, the Coalition of Essential Schools…

This booklet examines the plight of homeless families who have children who need special educational services. It explores the magnitude of homelessness among families, provides empirical descriptions of homeless populations, and identifies factors contributing to the rising incidence of homelessness in the United States. Specific effects of…

This 18th annual report to Congress, covering the program year 1989-1990, outlines the status of children with disabilities in Head Start programs. The report states that the program's mandate of having 10 percent or more of the total number of enrollment opportunities in Head Start programs available for handicapped children was met in each state…