Public funding for employment and training has dwindled over the past several decades. Yet in communities all over the United States, there has been considerable development of alternative approaches to help low-income people gain skills for particular industry sectors. In 2003, with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Public/Private…

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts, launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--that provide an opportunity to study the influence of schoolwide democratic deliberation on students' civic knowledge and participation. The intervention involved, in part, organizing the school into…

Social skill development is emerging as an important issue for educators and practitioners in their work with adolescent youth. This presentation will use the results from two ongoing research projects to examine the relationship between adventure-based programming and social skill development in the lives of diverse youth. The first project is…

A PROGRAM TO REDUCE DELINQUENCY IS PRESENTED. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE IS TO IMPROVE READING PERFORMANCE. THE PROGRAM IS THE RESULT OF A COOPERATIVE EFFORT OF BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND ABCD, A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION. THE PROGRAM WILL CONCENTRATE ON THREE AREAS OF THE CITY OF LOW SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL. TEST RESULTS WHICH ARE DESCRIBED INDICATE THAT…

CHILDREN FROM LOW SOCIOECONOMIC GROUPS ARE HANDICAPPED BY THE LACK OF MANY EXPERIENCES FOUND TO BE CONDUCIVE TO SUCCESS IN DEVELOPING SCHOOL SKILLS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COGNITIVE SKILLS AND SCHOOL BEHAVIOR PATTERNS DEEMED TO BE NORMAL FOR CHILDREN OF THEIR AGE. THE FOLLOWING SKILLS ARE TO BE…

Site visits to 17 workplace education projects funded in the second year of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative are reported for year 1 and year 2 projects. The year one projects are as follows: EASCO Handtool Company (Springfield), T.J. Maxx Distribution Center (Worcester), laundry workers (Boston/Lynn), AT&T (Lawrence), and…

A two-year study was undertaken in Massachusetts to evaluate the impact of vocational education on released ex-offenders. In the first year, evaluation procedures and interview instruments were developed, a survey of inmates was conducted, and the data collected was analyzed and summarized in a report. Since the second year of the study was not…

THE GENERAL AIM IS TO PROVIDE AN INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM WHICH WILL STIMULATE THE CHILD'S INTEREST IN READING, MOTIVATE HIM TO GREATER ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND FOSTER DESIRABLE GROWTH IN THE READING SKILLS AND ABILITIES. TEACHING PROCEDURES SHOULD BE RICH AND VARIED, AND CHILDREN SHOULD BE GROUPED HOMOGENEOUSLY ACCORDING TO READING ABILITY. LESSONS…

Seven workplace education projects funded in the first year of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative are reported. This report includes both general observations and specific information in case studies of the projects. Overall information is provided on students served, the importance of partnerships, the emphasis on…

The Massachusetts Occupational Competence Access Project (OCAP) was designed to provide secondary school students with marketable skills and to increase their ability to make decisions about careers. The first year's efforts were primarily concerned with setting up the project and with inservice training for teachers, counselors, and…

An evaluation of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative brings together three phases: (1) a pilot outcome study conducted with a sample of six local workplace education programs and featuring the perspectives of workers, labor, and management; (2) program profiles for seven federally funded workplace education programs coordinated by the…