About 30,000 students in Grades 1 through 12 in Jackson, Mississippi, were studied to determine the effectiveness of instruction for all major social groups represented by the student population during the 1986-87 school year. The California Achievement Test and course grades were used to obtain core data. Demographic data were obtained for…

Following a review of literature that uncovered conflicting evidence about the effectiveness of formal and informal methods of finding a job, a study was conducted to test the hypothesis that informal methods (such as personal contacts) were more effective for young adults. Data were collected on a group of Southern rural, poverty-level, fifth-…

Between the summers of 1986 and 1987, the Coalition on Human Needs interviewed 202 low income people to learn about their experiences with employment, education, their families, and various government programs. The interviewees showed a higher level of participation in the paid labor force than was predicted. According to those interviewed, the…

This updated version of a 1985 monograph includes new findings on Project Redirection, a program intended to ameliorate many severe problems that typically accompany childbearing among economically disadvantaged adolescents. It opens with a review of the consequences of teenage pregnancy and the Redirection approach for addressing the problems.…

This report presents the testimony of numerous expert witnesses who appeared at three hearings on the following topics: (1) Hunger and Related Nutritional Issues; (2) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Assistance Programs; and (3) Domestic Hunger and Related Nutritional Issues. The following major issues were discussed: (1) the number of…

This compilation of articles, photographs, commentaries, diagrams, and political cartoons presents positive, practical, and action-oriented core ideas on which to base future-oriented thinking and creative activity. The first of 10 parts presents articles on traditional American principles, ways of facing the future, America's character and…

The purpose of this book is to suggest ways in which vocational and career guidance counselors and program planners in education, training, and counseling programs can provide disadvantaged, out-of-school youth with reliable, up-to-date information about the job market. Much of what is presented here relates to strategies and products developed…

Information is provided for teachers of English as a second language in Israel on teaching methods and testing procedures. The eight articles and a number of brief notes discuss the official syllabus and examination for secretarial English, a new series of lessons designed for grades 11 and 12, the use of translation, teaching English to the…

This guide, based on approaches for targeting jobs and business opportunities that were developed during the Targeted Jobs Demonstration Program (TJDP), contains strategies and techniques for ensuring that some of the benefits of economic development investments are directed to low-income individuals and small and minority businesses. Addressed in…

The primary purpose of this paper is to present evidence of significant differences in the effectiveness of schools serving low-income children; a secondary purpose is to show that one reason why more learning takes place in some classrooms and schools than in others has to do with differences in the effectiveness of teachers due to teaching…

This report is a comprehensive description of a Federally-funded Special Services program known as Operation Success at Wichita State University. The program began in 1970 and is designed to assist students from low income families and/or who are the first in their families to attend college. Part I of the report describes program philosophy and…

Increasingly, poverty has become concentrated among the urban underclass in the United States. The dramatic economic changes underlying this situation have taken place within the context of larger changes in global, national, and regional political economies, including such factors as industrial restructuring and migration flows. In addition, the…

The first major objective of this paper is to describe in some detail the research that documents the proposition that even extremely disadvantaged 5-year-olds can be taught to read in kindergarten, and that, contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence of negative side effects from such teaching. The paper also describes an effective academic…

Census data on poverty in 1987 indicate that the economic recovery has been uneven, with the poor sharing less fully in the gains than in prior recoveries. Despite a drop in the national unemployment rate from 7 percent in 1986 to 6.2 percent in 1987, the poverty rate of 13.5 percent has remained essentially unchanged. Although 1987 represented…

All of the very poor have a certain potential for homelessness due to traditional economic reasons. This report on the homeless in Chicago (Illinois) presents an overview of a two-part project whose goals are to determine the following: (1) how to prevent homelessness; (2) how to relieve homelessness; and (3) how to reverse homelessness. The…