Endemic problems in EU "lagging rural regions" (LRRs) are well documented and various support mechanisms have long been in place to help overcome structural difficulties. Nevertheless, new rural development architectures are now being sought and some scholars have posited that LRRs may benefit from the "quality (re)turn" in…

Poor people have been described in a range of ways. This article begins by tracing the term "underclass" in its social and political context from the 1960s to present, examining its transference from academia to lay usage through analysis of widely accessible periodicals of the time. Next, it engages the work of Earl Shorris, a writer who devised…

The U.S. Department of Education's "1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey" indicated that teacher shortages are 50 percent higher in urban schools than in suburban schools. Almost a third of the teachers leave the profession during the first three years and nearly half leave after five years. In schools serving low-income communities,…

Human capital models assume residential mobility is both voluntary and opportunity-driven. Residential mobility of low income households, however, often does not fit these assumptions. Often characterized by short-distance, high frequency movement, poverty-related mobility may only deepen the social and economic instability that precipitated the…

A decades-long school funding revolution continues in the United States. The litigation sparked by the Supreme Court of California's 1971 decision in "Serrano v. Priest" continues to reshape the legal, political, and educational landscape in the United States, affecting the lives of children, parents, educators, and taxpayers throughout…

Violence is a widespread phenomenon in juvenile street culture. But the questions of whether this relationship is a deterministic one, and if not, which are the contributing factors, are largely unanswered. This article focuses on the role of public space, starting with a comparison of the meaning of deviant behavior and crime in street culture in…

Oral language skills in the preschool years are predictive of children's later reading success and literacy acquisition, and among these language skills, vocabulary and narrative ability play important roles. Children from low socioeconomic families face risks to their language development and because of threats to these skills it is important to…

The goal of the "Closing the Achievement Gap for 21st Century Learners in West Virginia (CAG)" report, 3rd edition, is to update West Virginia educators to the status and improvement of student achievement in West Virginia which may then be utilized as a basis for determining future educational decisions. In order to enhance the quality…

In a most timely volume addressing many of the connections among current fiscal and employment crises to adult education, Learning for Economic Self-Sufficiency highlights the problems and challenges that low-literate adults encounter in various environments. Moreover, this book presents strategies for addressing the chronic illiteracy among…

The "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006" ("Perkins IV" or "Perkins") requires states to report to the Department of Education each year on their progress in achieving their adjusted performance levels--negotiated with and approved by the Department--on the core indicators of performance (core…

Children in immigrant families account for nearly one-in-four children in the U.S. They are the fastest growing population of children, and they are leading the nation's racial and ethnic transformation. As a consequence, baby-boomers will depend heavily for economic support during retirement on race-ethnic minorities, many of whom grew up in…

This paper presents the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Job Corps to the Secretary of Labor pertaining to the review, development and implementation of policies, legislation and regulations for the Job Corps program. This document represents the culmination of an intensive and comprehensive nine-month process undertaken by the…

When it comes to the reproductive health behaviors of teens and young adults, far more public attention has focused on women than on men. That's not surprising. After all, men don't actually have the babies. Yet the importance of understanding men's reproductive health behaviors should not be overlooked, given their potential implications for men…

This review paper, prepared for the forthcoming Russell Sage volume Changing Poverty, considers the ability of different education policies to improve the learning outcomes of low-income children in America. Disagreements on this question stem in part from different beliefs about the problems with our nation's public schools. In our view there…

"Which school should I choose for my child?" For many parents, this question is one of the most important of their lives. "School choice" is a slogan being voiced around the globe, conjuring images of a marketplace with an abundance of educational options. Those promoting educational choice also promise equality, social…