The authors map the route undertaken by the Project Management Office of the Gansu Basic Education Project (GBEP) in Gansu Province, China, in instituting measures to ensure good learning opportunities for children with special educational needs within the four poor counties benefiting from this DFID supported project. The main purpose of GBEP has…

Education has become a central issue in West Papua. During the Suharto regime, the Indonesian government paid little attention to educational investment in the province which led to poor educational infrastructure and a shortage of teachers. As a result, the quality of human resources in the province is poor. Since 2001, the adoption of the…

Auto insurance rates can vary dramatically, with much higher premiums in poor and minority areas than elsewhere, even after accounting for individual characteristics, driving history, and coverage. This paper uses a unique data set to examine the relative influence of place-based socioeconomic characteristics (or redlining) and place-based risk…

In 1994, the newly elected Government in Malawi abolished primary school fees. Using household survey data from 1990/91 and 1997/98, this paper assesses the impact this major policy change, combined with increased Government spending on education, has had on access to schooling by the poor. This paper shows that enrolment rates have increased…

This article presents a reply to "Edison Is the Symptom, NCLB Is the Disease" by Peter Campbell--a critique that portrayed the school as an exploitative environment, a veritable plantation subjugating poor minority children through mind-numbing, compliance-inducing drills. The author refutes the specific charges leveled against…

Although research has clearly established that low family income has negative impacts on children's cognitive skills and social-emotional competence, less often is a family's experience of material hardship considered. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (N=21,255), this study examined dual components of…

This longitudinal study of 105 economically disadvantaged children examined the relation between reading problems and internalizing behavior in 3rd- and 5th-grade assessments (8- to 12-year olds). The variable-centered results showed that reading problems predicted change in internalizing behavior in the context of child and family predictors. The…

Background: Previous investigations have shown that low academic achievers are more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and use marijuana and other illicit drugs. This study investigated the relationship between academic performance and substance use among public high school students in Mississippi. Methods: The sampling frame for the 2003…

This paper is an empirical analysis of the determinants of crime in Virginia. Over a dozen explanatory variables that current literature suggests as important determinants of crime are collected. The data is from 1970 to 2000. These include economic, fiscal, demographic, political, and social variables. The regression results indicate that crime…

A panel of 16 school administrators from 8 states developed this draft application for discounted school telecommunications services as part of efforts to advise the Federal Communications Commission on rural implications of the implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The application is split into a seven-page cover application to be…

Medicaid continues to be viewed as a primary funding mechanism for providing health coverage for children in poor and low-income families. In order to make informed decisions about health coverage for children, states need data on uninsured children and the potential role Medicaid can play in reducing the number of children who are without…

Describes pitfalls which developing nations must avoid in the creation of an information system. (CP)

Study of a partial hierarchy of needs to work of paraprofessionals in education and social service yielded findings which differ from what might be expected of disadvantaged adults. (Author)

Providing equal access to child health care in socially deprived areas can be accomplished by economically wise use of medical procedures and by formation of more organized health care programs. (CL)