The U.S. federal government has played a growing role in setting nationwide education policy since the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965. This Act, along with the 'Equality of Educational Opportunity' report commissioned by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, led the U.S. Office of Education to pursue a policy agenda…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how I--and many other students--became first-generation college students (FGCSs) by exploring the rise and retraction of TRIO. Originally, TRIO was a set of three college access and retention programs created in the 1960s to address the needs of a population designated as academically and…

In the United States, adult and workforce education (AE) seems to be located, simultaneously, both everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ongoing shifts in national economic demands and changes in requirements for training and education have brought learning in the adult years into the federal public policy arena. Sometimes referred to as lifelong…

Through a year-long study of welfare-to-work students in the community college CalWORKs program, we investigated what self-authorship development looks like by examining developmental progress, and whether there are patterns in development along the three dimensions of self-authorship. Findings demonstrate progress toward self-authorship, but…

Homeless youth in the United States is rapidly increasing with more children living in unstable or temporary environments. They may encounter difficulties meeting enrollment requirements, have poor attendance, low academic performance, and experience behavioral and emotional issues. The reauthorization of McKinney-Vento Act (MCKV) in 2002 was…

Monarch School is a San Diego-based public K-12 institution that exclusively serves homeless students. Begun by the San Diego County Office of Education as a drop-in center for homeless high school students, the 170-student school is now a public-private partnership between the San Diego school board and the nonprofit Monarch School Project. The…

Current U.S. policy initiatives to improve the U.S. education system, including No Child Left Behind, test-based evaluation of teachers, and the promotion of competition are misguided because they either deny or set to the side a basic body of evidence documenting that students from disadvantaged households on average perform less well in school…

In 1982 civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson criticized President Ronald Reagan's attacks on busing to coerce school desegregation for targeting "not the bus, but us." Two decades later, the United States Supreme Court ended the thirty-two-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, plan which had launched the era of court-ordered busing…

American Indian organizations in Chicago grew both in size and number during the 1970s. The lasting impact of War on Poverty programs and the passing of the Indian Education Act of 1972 and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 served as significant factors for the development of these organizations. Alternative American Indian…

Examines the development of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and analyzes workfare reforms proposed by Senators Moynihan and Armstrong and the National Service program proposed by Senator Nunn. Argues that all of these programs are based on racism, sexism, and classism. (FMW)

Discusses child poverty and child welfare practice in Canada. Focuses on the goals and activities of Campaign 2000, a pan-Canadian movement intended to secure implementation of the 1989 House of Commons resolution to eliminate poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000. (MDM)

Chapter 1 was the federal government's first large-scale school aid program attempting to break the "cycle of poverty." The program's effectiveness--especially the formula for funding disbursement--is questioned. Congressional hearings in 1987 are expected to examine the program and consider the most effective means to provide poor…

Discusses the Clinton Administration's proposed overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), designed to assist the nation's poor and disadvantaged students. The new ESEA should set high standards for all children; focus on teaching and learning; stimulate local initiatives; reconnect schools, parents, and communities; and target…

Analyzes public policy strategies to support single parent families with children in Western European countries. Compares and contrasts with American policy. (FMW)

Provides a political update on child care after the recent welfare reform legislation. Advocates legislative lobbying by child care workers and parents. Describes a White House conference on early childhood care, Congressional hearings on improving the quality of child care, and legislation on child care tax credit. (SD)