Magnet school programs require careful planning. Originally designed to achieve voluntary desegregation, magnet programs attract students of all races and backgrounds by offering special curricular themes and instructional approaches not offered in neighborhood schools. Outcomes of a successful program include the following: (1) desegregation; (2)…

Intended to encourage young people to take part in the dialogue about nuclear weapons and become active on nuclear issues, this guide talks about nuclear weapons and what people can do to stop the threat of nuclear war. There are two major sections. The first section, "The Problem," contains background readings on nuclear issues.…

This handbook contains everything needed to prepare instructional materials for conducting a PLACES (Parents Learning to Assist Children in the Elementary School) workshop. The handbook contains three sections. The Participant Manual (composed of all left-facing pages) consists of materials needed for the four sessions (17 activities) of the…

This study examines past and present public issue forums and their role in the United States political system. The first chapter describes traditional forms of the public forum such as town meetings, neighborhood societies, lyceums, university extension programs, and settlement house networks. Analyzed next are the content, organization, and…

This paper examines the role played by parents in their children's career decision-making process. Parents are identified as preeminent influences of adolescents' career decision making, a fact that has been largely unrecognized by career guidance personnel and school administrators, as evidenced by the lack of programs designed to enable parents…

Project Know-How, a small intensive early childhood intervention program, stresses family involvement in attempting to maximize the development of children. Three main components are involved: a preschool program, a mothers' program, and a fathers' program. Project goals are addressed through a three-fold intervention plan involving cooperative…

A summary is presented of a study to determine the impact of school authority systems on student disengagement from high school. Student disengagement is defined as the extent to which students refrain from participating in activities offered as part of the school program, tasks of scholarship and citizenship, and extracurricular activities. The…

This report details the findings of a study to determine the impact of school authority systems on student disengagement from high school. The study, guided by Dornbusch and Scott's theory of evaluation and authority, examined the impact of four types of incompatibilities in the system for the evaluation of student performance on three forms of…

A critical ingredient for understanding the experiences that students undergo in the transition from elementary school to junior high school is the students' changing perceptions. The Ecological Perspectives for Successful Schooling Practice Junior High School Transition Study tapped the perceptions of students in transition using data from two…

An activity was undertaken to develop written criterion-referenced tests for each of the instructional areas comprising the Fundamentals of Agribusiness and Natural Resources Occupations Program. Designed to be taught at the ninth grade level, the program consists of six major instructional areas: agribusiness management, animal science, plant…

For the last 10 years, polling data have recorded a consistent decline in the American citizen's support for public education. While public schools experienced an 8 percent decline in enrollment between 1968 and 1978, private school enrollment grew by 12 percent. The decline in quality of public education over the last 50 years appears strongly…

This report describes an exemplary Oregon middle school that incorporates a comprehensive program of academic instruction and activity, a community of dedicated staff and involved students, and an orderly environment marked by a businesslike approach to teaching and learning. Outstanding components of Philomath Middle School's climate for learning…

The Utah Commission on Educational Excellence was created by the Utah State Board of Education to recommend improvements in the quality of education and the efficiency of schools. This report begins by summarizing the commission's 27 final recommendations for significant change in the Utah education system. These recommendations look to a system…

A synthesis and summary of the recommendations of the following five reports are presented: (1) "Integrity in the College Curriculum: A Report to the Academic Community, The Findings and Recommendations of the Project on Redefining the Meaning and Purpose of Baccalaureate Degrees," by the Association of American Colleges, February 1985;…

This report evaluates Project CABES (Career Advancement through Bilingual Education Skills) during its second year of extension of a federal funding cycle at New York's Seward Park High School. The major goal of Project CABES was to provide career advancement skills to 250 Hispanic 9th- through 12-grade students of limited English proficiency…