This document includes four papers presented at a symposium, based on a synthesis of five years of research--on the interaction of role groups and factors in the change process that are critical for school improvement in elementary and secondary schools. The papers identify elements of the change process crucial for the success of proposed changes…

Statistics on the educational status of Hispanic Americans are provided in this booklet. Primary focus is placed on participation in elementary and secondary schools, and on the factors that prevent school completion and access to higher education. High dropout rates, frequent below-grade-level enrollment, and an intensification of these problems…

Data from the 1980, 1970, and 1960 censuses were used to describe Pennsylvania's rural women and to compare them with urban women and, in some instances, men. In Pennsylvania in 1980, just 1 rural woman in 25 lived on a farm. These women were more educated, more active in the labor force, and somewhat better paid than their counterparts in 1960…

This document chronicles major developments in post World War II Japanese educational policy. The focus is mainly on the way in which world events, social structure, religion, cultural values, and official policy initiatives influenced Japanese educational practices. Developments covered in the first period, from 1868 to 1945, began with the…

This study examined social class indicators of Greek migrants to the Federal Republic of Germany and non-migrants since 1960 to test the hypotheses that migrant workers as a majority are a positive select group (as compared to non-migrants of the same place of origin and time period) in terms of characteristics relevant to educational success and…

The 12 states comprising the North Central Region have been affected in similar ways by the farm crisis of the 1980s. Statewide surveys show sizeable proportions of farm operations that are experiencing moderately high levels of financial stress. The problems caused by chronic stress on family structure and functioning, the loss of mainstreet…

The introduction of the Multiple Ability Curriculum (MAC) and Expectation Training (ET) into the curriculum of racially integrated elementary schools appears to improve the equal status interaction between students of differing academic and social status. The goals of the MAC and ET are the following: (1) prevent classroom dominance by students of…

One of the largest investigations of elementary education ever undertaken, the Sustaining Effects Study sought answers to a series of policy questions. The two major issues addressed by the study were (1) Who receives compensatory education (CE)? and (2) How effective is CE? Related to these primary issues were a number of secondary questions: (3)…

The personal and professional attributes, beliefs, interests, and behaviors of secondary social studies teachers were examined. Major sources of data included: a prior study which surveyed a random sample of teachers in six states; a survey of three high schools in the Rochester, New York, area; a publication of the New York State Education…

In this overview of precedents set in the informal and formal education of women of the 19th century, a revisionist approach to the history of education is outlined. Such an approach focuses not only on the elite women's struggles for education, but also on the education of women of color, different classes, and various ethnic backgrounds. Popular…

A detailed analysis of the significant gender differences observed in performance on the mathematics portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in 1986 was performed for students enrolled in the Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland). A disaggregation of data from the 1986 SAT administration was performed to examine homogeneous subgroups…

This report summarizes evaluation information on reading, writing, and mathematics achievement among elementary and secondary school students in 310 school districts in Massachusetts, after the second year of implementation of the Basic Skills Improvement Policy. The report describes data collection, analysis, and reporting procedures, summarizes…

This paper analyzes data from the "High School and Beyond" study on approximately 30,000 sophomores in 1,000 U.S. schools. The purpose is to explain the contradictory conclusions offered by two recent national studies on public and private schooling. The analysis examines differences between public and private school students in…

The question of whether minority, female, and low income college students are disproportionately attending less-selective and lower-cost institutions was studied. Three sets of student characteristics were assessed: ascribed (race, ethnicity, and gender); socioeconomic (parental income, parents' educational attainments, and family size); and…

Intended to help readers develop an appreciation of the contributions of Franco-Americans to the cultural heritage of the United States, this book, the fourth of six volumes, presents 15 chapters representing many perspectives--from the historical to the sociological--illustrating the thinking and feelings of those in the forefront of…