This system dynamics analysis draws on the literature to outline the factors commonly discussed as predictive of and, perhaps, causally related to problematic differences in academic achievement among students who vary in race, ethnicity, and social class. It first treats these as a wide-ranging set of exogenous variables, many of which interact…

Geographical, economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing services in rural areas are widely reported. Less widely discussed are dilemmas posed by individual and community reluctance to address sensitive health issues. This article, focusing on the highly sensitive area of mental health, and employing a participatory action approach,…

Information literacy (IL) has been described as a core literacy. However emerging empirical research indicates that the phenomenon will have different characteristics in different contexts and will be played out in culturally different ways. This paper reviews the nature and growth of IL to ascertain how researchers understand the phenomenon in…

Many academic and public policies promote rapid immigrant assimilation. Yet, researchers have recently identified an emerging pattern, known as the "immigrant paradox," in which assimilated children of immigrants experience diminishing developmental outcomes and educational achievements. This volume examines these controversial findings by asking…

The field of substance abuse prevention has evolved towards a risk and protective factor paradigm in explaining the onset and escalation of adolescent substance use. This framework for understanding the problem has been developed and employed by researchers at the University of Washington, under Doctors Hawkins and Catalano, to assess communities…

The National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) provides a unique resource with which to analyze the health status, health care use, activities, and family and community environments experienced by children in rural and urban areas. The NSCH was designed to measure the health and well-being of children from birth through age 17 in the United…

Education professionals and policy makers have been working to "close the achievement gap" for some time. Differences in school performance for children from diverse and different family backgrounds have been at the core of past and present social, political, and education reform initiatives and practices. Previous research suggests that…

Professional advocacy organizations are often challenged by the question of their authentic community representation and their ability to balance short-term pragmatism with strategic plans for long-term, systemic change. Coleman Advocates, one of the nation's most effective child advocacy organizations, has taken up this challenge under the…

In a rural community there is a risk that readers will not find connections to their own lives, which may affect the pleasure gained from reading. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the use of literature in a small rural elementary school, focusing on how sociocultural factors affect how students connect to and access literature.…

A perception of limited opportunity conditioned by their past experiences in their communities leads black students far too frequently to use institutional services on only a crisis basis. Some methods of handling the situation are described. (JA)

Finds that those newspapers which take stands and present a well-balanced forum-editorial page attractively laid out will be read and can have influence. (Author/RB)

Part of the special section, EDUCATION IN THE GHETTO, prepared by Saturday Review and the Committee for Economic Development to explore the problems of the education of the disadvantaged.

The Morgan Community School, located a mile from the White House in Washington, D.C., offers an example of both the successes and limitations of neighborhood control as a potential tool for improving public education. (Author/JA)