Reviews many of the major programs seeking to increase college access among economically disadvantaged and at-risk students. Evaluates the potential of these programs while stressing four conditions that effective programs must meet. (Author/EV)

Describes experiences of student ambassadors and alumni in the Academic Talent Development Program, a K-12 summer program for economically disadvantaged students offered by the University of California, Berkeley. Includes story of two students' experiences with a "Shakespeare as Theatre" class. (PKP)

Describes how Puerto Rico's teenage tutor, Jorge Aneudy Villalba, leads a children's learning crusade through an urban desert of poverty and despair, determined to prove the kids from the projects can make their own future. (Author/EV)

The purpose of the present study was to examine gender differences in the self-handicapping tendencies of a sample of 337 Australian school attending adolescents, who were aged between 15 and 19 years. Self-handicapping, as measured by the shortened Self-Handicapping Scale, was examined in relation to self-esteem, performance attributions, coping…

Perceptions of present, ideal, and future lives among 12 Chinese adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage were examined via qualitative interviews. Results showed that most of the adolescents evaluated their present lives positively. In general, they also had positive perceptions of their future lives, although there also were some negative…

In 1974, Ronald Reagan called the United States a "shining city on a hill." A decade later, Mario Cuomo responded by speaking to us about another city that was not on a shining hill. His "Tale of Two Cities" speech, delivered at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, was not only moving but also haunting. In this other city…

Using a statewide database of student records, the grades of students enrolled in organic chemistry and biochemistry at a large state university were analyzed to determine if there was a difference in performance between community college transfers and "native" students. Although only small differences were found for the organic chemistry…

While our world is being transformed by rapid developments in 'new' technology, nearly one-third of humanity continues to be deprived of the benefits available from technologies centuries old. Northern markets rather than Southern needs increasingly determine what scientific and technological advances are developed and for whom. We urgently need…

An M.A. in divinity is an uncommon qualification in librarianship, and so is experience in leaching job skills to homeless women. But Cynthia Chadwick, the Arapahoe Library District's manager of outreach services, thinks her background is a good match for library work. Libraries not only "have a duty to serve the marginalized of our society," she…

This article analyzes how a recent National Research Council report (2002) defined the impact of poverty in explaining the overrepresentation of minority students in special education. Echoing the perspective of mainstream special education literature, the report offered a latent theory of compromised development which indicated that minority…

How sensitive is long-run individual well-being to environmental conditions early in life? This paper examines the effect of weather conditions around the time of birth on the health, education, and socioeconomic outcomes of Indonesian adults born between 1953 and 1974. We link historical rainfall for each individual's birth-year and…

This study of teacher staffing issues in the School District of Philadelphia explores the degree to which the district has succeeded in upgrading teachers' professional credentials, recruiting and retaining them, and equitably distributing experienced and credentialed teachers across all types of schools. Since the passage of "No Child Left…

Small schools are a significant feature of the educational landscape in India, with approximately 78% of primary schools having three or fewer teachers to attend to all grade levels, and more than 55% with 100 or fewer students in 2005. These schools are commonly found in impoverished rural communities, where they are often characterised by the…

Public universities in Virginia, as in many states, have generally not paid much attention to diversity among their suppliers. For years, state expenditures for outside contracts went to the usual suspects--White contractors from well-established companies. Four years ago, former Governor Mark Warner, a progressive Democrat from the high…

In this study we investigated reading development from kindergarten to third grade for 1,913 economically disadvantaged children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort. Characteristics of the child, the family, classroom instruction, and school composition were used to model influences from multiple levels of children's…