Keeping high school students in school and helping them gain competence and confidence in skills so that they can be successful in the world of work and/or college is an enormous challenge. The results of one study clearly demonstrated a direct correlation between one's self-esteem and academic competence. The more competent one feels, the better…

This bulletin is one of a series that tells how teachers, pupils, parents, and other citizens have worked together to improve the quality of education for the children of their communities. "How Children Use the Community for Learning" describes the work of a city school of 450 pupils with no regular supervision, the Garfield School of…

If experiential learning in the elementary school is to become a reality, a support system with at least four ongoing facets (inservice education, communication of experiential links with the standard curriculum, popularization of the concept of experiential learning, and motivation of students) must be implemented. (LC)

Data collected from 55 Mexican American women (1974-1979) show their distribution (largely due to ascribed characteristics and lack of sponsorship) in public school organizations. They teach Hispanic students; are administrators of special projects; "straighten out" problem Hispanic schools as elementary principals; attain only a few secondary…

By examining two suburban high schools (one in a wealthy White community and the other in a racially mixed working class community), explores the ways schools integrate adolescents into the economic system through a structured correspondence between the social relations of the school and those of production. (Author/GC)

Stating that community colleges are among the leading providers of adult education in the United States, describes college community services, needed policy changes in lifelong education, and new ways to involve adults in the services, such as community and television courses and further cooperation with industry and labor unions. (MF)

A survey of the management, religious practices, teaching methods, and extracurricular activities in 250 Protestant and Catholic schools in Northern Ireland revealed more similarities than differences. (CP)

Analyzes data from the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study, which suggests that school policies and practices can reduce or exacerbate learning differences among students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Results indicated that schools organized around a communal mission with more holistic assessment fared better than…

Faced with mandated reforms of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, a mountain community grappled with the challenges of coupling top-down state mandates with bottom-up advocacy and engagement. A year of participant observation revealed six interrelated and paradoxical themes that emerged as these Appalachians created local ownership of…

Capital fund-raising campaigns of metropolitan universities must be based on relationships that can generate resources to position the institution in the community. At the University of New Orleans (Louisiana), a successful capital campaign resulted in a welcome increase in external gift resources to support endowed professorships, centers of…

Discusses whether community and public service efforts enhance a university's academic mission or whether they are misplaced efforts to heal sagging social conscience. Explores related issues and urges practitioners to commit to scholarly documentation of outcomes for students who participate in community service and service-learning. (Author/MSE)

Explores how community characteristics of socioeconomic class; rural, small-town, suburban, or urban location; and culture shaped the principal's expectations for student progress, educational goals, recruitment and retention, supervision and staff development, and teacher collaboration in five elementary school programs for preschool students…

1996 National Teacher of the Year--a high school teacher from rural Minnesota--reflects on the 30 years of her career and on social changes that have necessitated that her community and local schools work toward cultural understanding. The community went from a mostly white, middle-class, conservative community to one with at least six different…

The paper examines how shared decision making can help reframe the purpose of social foundations in teacher education, arguing that it bridges the gap between teacher as decision maker and the content of foundational studies. Four studies that represent different levels of educational decision making are highlighted. (SM)

Some higher education institutions have involved external constituencies (including public schools, private business and industry, state or federal agencies, and social service and nonprofit organizations) in developing and funding creative public service programs. Such partnerships provide a prime opportunity for an institution to increase its…