Presents evidence that high-quality early childhood programs can partially offset negative effects of childhood poverty and produce modest but definite benefits in children's education and early adult socioeconomic experience. Contrasts different types of early childhood programs and favors those focusing on child-initiated learning. (RH)

The impact of Student Support Services (SSS), a large federal program to help disadvantaged students complete college, on retention in college was studied with approximately 2,800 SSS participants and similar nonparticipants. SSS had a positive impact for the three measures of retention used, but the impact varied with services used and student…

Analyzes the expanding federal role in K-12 education after the mid-1960s. Provides a brief historical overview of Title I and Head Start and discusses some of the major evaluations of these programs. Contains 111 references. (SLD)

Exposes two groups of adults in vocational-education training programs to two different programs (Logo-Educability exercises and Logical Reasoning Workshops) designed to improve their cognitive skills. Argues that low improvement scores for both groups demonstrate the inefficacy of the programs in helping students transfer learned cognitive skills…

Examines the nature and quality of some prominent evaluations of Title I over the last three decades. In the past decade, evaluation studies at national and local levels have indicated that a variety of local programs, especially comprehensive programs, provide convincing evidence of at least limited effectiveness of Title I. (SLD)

Are England's Education Action Zones an innovative approach to combating educational underachievement in disadvantaged areas? An examination of the EAZ director's role and functions shows it is possible for zones to pursue a more broadly based, innovative, and longer-term strategy for delivering government-mandated improvements. (MLH)

Since its inception in 1992, the University of the North's, Science Foundation Year (UNIFY) Programme has provided access to higher education to over 1500 previously disadvantaged students. However, there has always been doubt about whether the concept of a foundation programme is a worthwhile endeavour. To date, government has not yet fully…

Prenatal cocaine exposure is an indicator for adverse developmental outcomes. To prevent developmental disabilities, an early intervention program for children birth to 3 years was developed that included three groups: center-based, home-based, and primary care comparison. The intervention was implemented across 10 years and data were collected on…

The extent to which colleges and universities provide opportunities for students from the most economically disadvantaged families is an important indicator of the potential for U.S. higher education to promote intergenerational mobility. Yet the measurement of "opportunity" for low-income students at the level of individual colleges and…

The original vision of Head Start called for a program that would "get kids ready so they would have a chance in school...a chance in life" (Sargent Shriver; quoted in Zigler and Valentine, 1997, p. 59). President George W. Bush's recent emphasis on literacy and school achievement in Head Start highlights the academic aspect of the Head…

This independent evaluation of 2 commonly used approaches for accelerating reading achievement and reducing inappropriate special education referrals, Success for All (SFA) and Open Court, was conducted in 12 Title I schools in a large urban district in northern California. To compare the effects of these approaches, we collected data on 936 grade…

"Dialogic Reading" is an interactive shared picture book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult who functions as an active listener and…

In a federally funded early literacy project, various instructional activities were embedded into an array of classroom contexts to provide supplemental literacy instruction and to contrast children's engagement and participation in different contexts and participant structures. The study was conducted with English- and Spanish-speaking children…

Critics of the Federal Title I and Chapter 1 compensatory education programs to increase the academic skills of disadvantaged children suggest that the return for the Federal investment has been small and that designers have not created programs that work. When the compensatory education programs were conceived, their promise was immense. During…

In an effort to provide positive program and procedural alternatives for personnel working in educational and training programs for low-income women, the book presents the current situation of minority female low-income heads of household, especially the Chicana, and offers solutions and recommendations regarding the education and training of such…