The 1970s witnessed a sharp growth in ghetto poverty areas and heightened economic hardship within them. Census Bureau definitions and measures of poverty have not been brought up to date. Researchers must ensure that their findings are interpreted accurately by those in the public who use their ideas. (DM)

Funding was received for a long overdue serious study of inner-city decay in Canada. Presented are the hypotheses and research methods for this projected study. The first policy challenge is providing evidence of the extent and seriousness of inner-city decay in Canada, particularly since urban difficulties are often presumed to be a problem in…

This presentation reviews and discusses literature on the following problems affecting blacks in America today: (1) housing; (2) education; (3) economics; (4) civil rights; (5) drugs; and (6) Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). An attempt is made to focus on race relations as a major factor in the majority of the problems discussed. In…

Personal narratives were analyzed to determine if a pattern would emerge in the lives of Tucson, Arizona's successful Mexican American adults who had grown up in a traditional barrio without benefit of inherited wealth. Participants in the study were nominated as successful by their peers. Nominees who agreed to participate were given a life…

Questions addressed in this paper include: what it means to be a successful teacher in poor, urban, ghetto areas; whether schools of education can prepare white, middle-class young men and women to be successful teachers in such areas; and if it is possible to prepare them, how to do it. Two case examples illustrate some unique challenges found in…

Most theories on the low socioeconomic status of Blacks have been grounded in sociology and economics, have concentrated on largely quantitative data on occupation and income distribution among Blacks and between Blacks and Whites, and have presented a disfunctional picture of Black economic life. It is time now to turn to anthropological studies…

This paper presents background information on the development of the folk oral tradition of black American literature. It then examines seven types of black literature that are basically oral: black folk tales, black folk sermons, black ballads, black American spirituals, black nonreligious or secular songs, black American blues, and Afro-American…

The research for this paper was concentrated in a poor barrio in Bogota, Columbia. The Paper discussed learning in a poor urban community using the ethnographic example of a small community to illustrate the larger socio-political impact of the implication of the United States' policy and position for Colombia. The account is considered to be…

This study presents findings from an ongoing study of urban childhood on public assistance. The study used interviews with aldermen, social workers, police, public housing and ghetto neighborhood residents, and medical personnel as well as the collection of field study data from local institutions and their representatives. The results appear in…

An elementary school principal's successful attempts to improve her inner-city school are described in this case study, which includes a diagram representing her formula for better education. The principal, a charismatic, elderly woman, takes an aggressive role in improving the school environment and student nutrition, encouraging and monitoring…

Black underrepresentation in college enrollment and degree attainment can be seen as symptomatic of broad societal structures that have perpetuated inequality of socioeconomic and educational opportunity. This study examines a low-income black neighborhood to discover the extent to which blacks think of themselves as members of a subordinate caste…

The efforts of Cleveland's intermediate level mathematics teachers to change their curriculum from computation to a dual emphasis on application and computation are described. This paper reports on the second year of a project to enhance mathematics instruction. A natural history ethnography was conducted, which focused on the work of seven…