This study was conducted to identify factors that affect disadvantaged women in their efforts to gain long-term employment or to complete vocational and technical education programs. Following a review of literature, a questionnaire was prepared and administered to 160 disadvantaged women in Texas. An analysis of the questionnaire responses…

Continuing erosion of the structure of low-income families perpetuates a vicious cycle of moral and economic troubles--poverty, drug and alcohol dependency, out-of-wedlock births, child and spouse abuse, juvenile delinquency, and crime--that feed on and create more impaired families. Accordingly, this report contends that the major portion of the…

New data issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) show that most poor households in the Buffalo (New York) metropolitan area pay extremely large portions of their limited incomes for housing costs. Housing is considered affordable for a low-income household if it consumes no more than…

Various federal and state laws, regulations, and policies influence whether a low-achieving reader is categorized as "disadvantaged" or "disabled," and consequently what instructional interventions are provided. Low-achieving readers are being referred to special education at high rates while the number of eligible students…

Summer Bridge, a 2-week, non-credit program of intensive career exploration and personal development offered to eligible freshmen at Alvin Community College, was instituted to enhance retention rates and achievement levels among high-risk students, particularly during their first semester at the college. The rationale for the program lay in the…

Costa Rica's Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED), the education system in the country, and information on Costa Rica are considered. UNED is helping to equalize geographical inequalities of access to higher education. Overall, UNED's academic programs have been aimed at those who want to obtain professional qualifications. In the first semester…

This report, one of several background papers for a comprehensive policy study of early childhood education, examines the effects of preschool experience on Illinois children from low income families. The 1980 U. S. Census for Illinois identified 81,959 preschool-age children (3 to 5 years old) from poverty-level families; 54 of these young…

Operation Success is a pilot project funded by the New York State Education Department to provide support services to high school dropouts and potential dropouts. It offers programs, including employment programs, intended to develop skills, self-awareness and self-direction, enourage career goals, and develop appropriate attitudes toward the…

In an effort to present a descriptive verbal picture of white nonmetropolitan poverty in the Mid-South and to identify those factors contributing to white rural poverty, 1970 census figures were analyzed in conjunction with survey results derived from responses to an 83-item questionnaire made by a random sample of 106 poverty families living in…

One of five supplements which accompany chapter three of "Mountain-Plains Handbook: The Design and Operation of a Residential, Family Oriented Career Education Model" (CE 014 630), this document contains specific infomration concerning the curriculum component of the research services division. The curriculum products are listed by…

Utilizing data collected through a national survey of employers, the impact of federal tax credit programs for employers of Work Incentive Program (WIN) participants and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients was assessed. Six major questions were addressed: (1) What differences there were in the use of the WIN and welfare tax…

This paper reports the results of an ongoing study of home school programs incorporating the fourth through twelfth grade levels of large urban school districts. It examines the nature and scope of programs designed to improve student learning through parent involvement in tutoring, managerial and socializing activities as they relate to…

According to a 1981 study, the Life Skills Program that was developed by Saskatchewan New Start over a decade ago is still very much needed to improve the life situation of economically disadvantaged adults. At present, the overall rationale for the Life Skills Program is contained in collections of articles written at successive stages of program…

In addressing the problems faced by compensatory education programs in getting financially and academically disadvantaged students through postsecondary education, this paper explores three common myths about schools and schooling: (1) academic success is highly correlated to intelligence; (2) families of these students are not supportive of…

This paper describes a longitudinal comparative study of group and family day care for infants in New York City. Approximately 400 infants from low income, predominantly Black or Hispanic families enrolled in publicly or privately funded, community-sponsored day care programs participated in the study from the time they entered the programs…