The digest is a summary of the information presented in the monograph, "Students on the Move: Reaching and Teaching Highly Mobile Children and Youth". It describes the different reasons for high mobility and the characteristics of highly mobile families, explains the specific educational and social support needs of highly mobile…

Student mobility--students moving from one school to another for reasons other than being promoted to the next school level-is widespread in the United States. This digest examines the research on the academic consequences of mobility for elementary school students and discusses what schools and parents can do to mitigate the possible negative…

Student mobility (students moving from one school to another for reasons other than being promoted to the next school level) is widespread in the United States. This Spanish-language Digest examines the research on the academic consequences of mobility for elementary school students and discusses what schools and parents can do to mitigate the…

In the prevailing and traditional definition, literacy is regarded as central to helping people obtain and retain employment, which is the key to moving them from dependency toward greater self-sufficiency. Another, more valid perspective is the view that literacy is not just the acquisition of reading and writing skills but is also a social…

Dropout rates are particularly problematic measures for Hispanic youth. One-third of Hispanic adolescents are foreign-born. Their sending countries tend to have much lower rates of secondary school completion than does the United States. This digest presents recent tabulations on the number of Latino high school dropouts, noting pitfalls in…

In the U.S. work force, job mobility has become the standard employment pattern. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10% of the work force switches jobs every year. Among the factors contributing to the career mobility of today's workers are the following: search for competitive employment positions; pursuit of a good career match; desire…

The following two types of student mobility stand out as causing educational problems: (1) inner-city mobility, which is prompted largely by fluctuations in the job market; and (2) intra-city mobility, which is caused by upward mobility or by poverty and homelessness. Most research indicates that high mobility negatively affects student…

Recruiting and retaining qualified, competent teachers is an ongoing problem for small school administrators. The reasons for high turnover are numerous and complex, e.g., preservice preparation is presently more suitable for large, metropolitan schools than for small, rural schools; career orientations fail to recognize that experience in small…

This digest examines the rural teacher shortage from a policy perspective and suggests strategies to address the problem. The rural teacher recruitment and retention problem varies across states. An adequate number of teachers are trained each year nationwide, but the problem is with distribution. Recent research on rural teacher recruitment and…

With North American women joining the work force in record numbers, the effect of employment on women's well-being is gaining attention. This digest examines various stressors affecting women in the work world and some actions companies can take to alleviate these stressors. While some studies show that work has detrimental effects on some…

Although the number of minority students in U.S. schools continues to increase, the number of ethnically diverse teachers continues to decline. The multicultural classroom creates a demand for teachers who are aware of cultural differences within the student population. Minority teachers are in a unique position to understand these differences and…

This brief report summarizes a longer report with the same title. It examines the problems of the increasingly severe shortage of qualified teachers in American higher education and the need to recruit large numbers of new faculty during the next decade and, as the potential solution to both problems, the recruiting of women to fill these faculty…

Although persistent career change is generally seen as a negative, today's economic reality may force counselors to look differently at clients who move from job to job. This digest summarizes a 3-year study of career drifters and discusses the significance of this study for career counseling. Research identified drifters as individuals who…

The linear career path that once kept people working in the same job is not the standard career route for today's workers. Instead, many workers are now pursuing varied career paths that reflect sequential career changes. Although job mobility no longer carries the stigma once associated with job change, it can still be emotionally stressful. Job…

Although employment can be an exciting challenge, it can also induce stress. This digest examines some of the characteristics of job-related stress. Three concepts characterize the association of work, mental health, and physical health. (1) Stress is an interaction between individuals and any source of environmental demand. (2) A stressor is an…