Parents know their children better than any outside expert and can use that knowledge to advocate for their children. This handbook is designed to assist parents in Alaska in advocating for their children, with the eventual goal of helping children identify situations that need advocacy and to take responsibility for advocating for themselves.…

This book describes "The Learning Community," a minischool that was founded in 1972 by five teachers as an alternative program within a large urban high school in Astoria, New York. The Learning Community included 150 high school juniors and seniors and 6 teachers. The book overviews the development of the minischool, beginning with the…

The Colorado legislature, through passage of the "Colorado Comprehensive Health Education Act," declared that comprehensive health education is an essential element in public education in the state. The first half of this volume reprints Title 22, Article 25, "Colorado Comprehensive Health Education Act" from the Colorado…

This study examined the extent to which an individual doctoral student's characteristics and involvement in the academic and social life of the department influences the student's perception of growth and development during graduate school, and thus the student's persistence in pursuing a graduate degree. The study surveyed doctoral students…

This study examined the racial dynamics of the undergraduate social system of fraternities and sororities. The study sought to determine: (1) how white student participation in social fraternities and sororities was influenced by racial dynamics, (2) under what conditions students of color were accepted by the dominant peer group, (3) what types…

The involvement of parents in schools has been legislated in Spain since 1970, with the main activities being parents associations and school councils, but these partnerships do not represent a particularly friendly situation. A research project was carried out through the University of Oviedo, Spain, Department of Education, to create a mechanism…

Undergraduate students at Northern Arizona University interviewed and surveyed 20 staff members at Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD) on the Navajo Reservation and 14 parents of exceptional Navajo children enrolled in KUSD. Both groups were asked to identify challenges affecting the working relationship between parents and school on a rural…

Data gleaned from the 1982, 1985, and 1992 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPAs) were used in this analysis of participation in the arts via television, radio, and sound recordings. The arts examined were jazz, classical music, opera, musicals and operettas, plays, dance, and the visual arts. Selected findings are as follows: (1)…

This report presents data on the civic involvement of U.S. adults, including sources of information, community and political participation, and attitudes toward government and democratic principles. The data are from the 1996 National Household Education Survey, Adult Civic Involvement component. A brief summary of the data is included in the…

Responding to increased interest in the development and education of children, many states have invested in initiatives to facilitate school success of prekindergarten-age children. Although national progress is encouraging, individual state initiatives are uneven, ranging from bold innovations with major funding to inaction and reliance on…

This booklet presents a short history of the Head Start program and discusses some of the challenges that the program will face in the 1990s. Project Head Start, begun in 1965, has helped 12.5 million children become better prepared to start school, and has grown to be the largest early childhood and family education program in the country. From…

These three reports by national consultants assess first year progress in implementing state mandated educational reforms in Kentucky. First, "The Status of Primary School Reform in Kentucky and Its Implications," by James Rath, Lilian Katz, and John Fanning, reports on site visits to 14 public schools to assess progress in implementing…

The pilot project of the District of Columbia Public Schools Community Service Initiative was implemented during the spring of the 1991-92 school year. Two schools participating in the project were surveyed (including 35 students and 2 principals) regarding views on initiative merits and outcomes. Both schools engaged students in community service…

This review of the key issues likely to surround the reauthorization of Chapter 1 covers allocation formulas, selection of schools and students, fiscal issues, and accountability. As Chapter 1 is the largest federal elementary and secondary education program, with appropriations of over $6.1 billion in fiscal year 1993, a concern of…

The Chapter 1 program provides aid to local education agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. This review of background and issues involved in the reauthorization of Chapter 1 covers funding and participation trends, features of the program, selection for participation, fiscal issues, and program improvement. A key concern is…