Families in urban and rural settings were studied in an investigation of environmental influences on the development of Haitian-American infants. Birthweight and scores on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment predicted mental development. Psychomotor development was related to birthweight and household crowding. (PCB)

Given the breadth and complexity of the current school improvement movement, the upgrading of physical structures may be the only specific reform area demanding a straight-forward approach. The widespread physical disrepair and overcrowding characterizing today's innercity schools provide students with no viable alternative to urban squalor and…

Classroom density may be a more important planning consideration than size. The lower middle range for human social distance is 7 feet--not met in most classrooms containing 20 to 25 students. Students need ample space, since crowding causes behavior problems and increased maintenance costs. (Contains 10 references.) (MLH)

Year-round schools operate 12 months rather than the traditional 9- or 10-month schedule. On a multitrack year-round schedule, attendance is staggered so that some students are on vacation while others attend school the usual number of days (about 180). Year-round schools can usually accommodate more students and offer an alternative to…

Year-round schooling is a positive alternative for the Woodburn School District, a district experiencing an overcrowding problem. The year-round education system has not yet been implemented in Woodburn, but the proposal is getting serious attention by administrators, teachers, and parents. The Utah Foundation Research Report identifies 10…

Year-round education is an essential component of California public education. Through creative calendar planning, space utilization is being increased by 25 to 50 percent, depending on the selected configuration. Although growth remains the driving force, there is increasing acceptance of the learning, employment, and lifestyle benefits of…

Presents a system, Program Sensitive Capacity, by which capacities of schools and classrooms can be calculated. Involves consideration of program characteristics, average class sizes, and scheduling efficiency. (MLF)

According to a Department of Education report, 92% of nonpublic schools would accept students from overcrowded urban public schools only if they were allowed to maintain their current admissions, curriculum, and religious instruction/activity policies. These are powerful arguments against school vouchers or use of nonpublic schools to alleviate…

Examines the effect of the proportion of women administrators on both men's and women's salaries in colleges and universities. Identifies four theoretical predictors: economic competition and crowding, demographic group power, group interaction, and institutionalization. Increasing the proportion of women actually decreases salaries for both…

Two studies examined the relationship between classroom crowding and the behavior of handicapped students in a total of 74 special classes. Both studies found the frequency of disruptive or aggressive behavior higher under the crowded conditions. (Author/DB)

This study measures inmates' perceptions of conditions in a metropolitan detention center. Results indicate that educational programs can reduce the problems associated with crowded conditions. Correlation analyses indicated significant relationships between participation in educational programs and more positive feelings of inmates, along with a…

This report presents data collected from 43 over-capacity elementary schools in the New York City Public School system. The data give information about typical class sizes in the early grades and the cost of an initiative to reduce class size. Of the 1,722 classrooms examined, 56 percent are considered to be overcrowded, and 438 of the city's 723…

This follow-up report revisits the overcrowded classroom issues facing the New York City Public School system after one year's efforts to correct the problem. The study reveals that: (1) 53 percent of all New York City elementary school buildings and annexes are overcrowded and continue to operate at 99 percent or greater capacity; (2) in 10…

Examined the connection between chronic residential crowding and student adjustment, academic achievement, vulnerability to learned helplessness, blood pressure, and parent-child relationship in 10- to 12-year olds in urban India. Found that crowding was positively associated with blood pressure only among boys, and with learned helplessness only…

Pictorial space can be conceptualized as aggregate space (where figures compete for limited available space) or as axial space (where space is infinite and exists independently of figures). That these two kinds of space concepts follow a developmental sequence was tested by investigating size regulation mechanisms in 7- to 12-year-old children's…