A Charleston (West Virginia) native recounts her sixth grade experiences when her elementary school was closed and the (mostly poor) children were sent to a larger middle-class school. Obvious class distinctions and instances of social discrimination led her to attend college and become a teacher. (SV)

In contrast to findings of the 1970s that much poverty was episodic, data from an income panel study indicate that the incidence of chronic poverty increased after 1973 and accelerated in the early 1980s. Trends were sharper among African Americans and women than among whites and men. Contains 30 references. (Author/SV)

In the slums of Medellin, Colombia, a program seeks to improve children's physical health, intellectual development, and self-concept through such activities as carpentry, breadmaking, and sports and literature clubs. These activities help develop ethical and moral values, planning and organizing skills, and a future orientation. (SK)

Summarizes data from 1990 Current Population Survey supporting three general conclusions: (1) parental employment and children's poverty are linked in married-couple and female-headed families; (2) child poverty rates are insensitive to parental employment; (3) black-white differences in child poverty are not result of racial differences in…

Urban academic excellence is usually reflection of culture of success, created within stable, supportive family that places highest value on love and education. Self-leadership can help urban youngsters avoid high-risk behavior, defer immediate gratification, enjoy solitude and reflection, and resist going along with the crowd. Urban…

Establishing a child's legal paternity is the first step to gaining specific rights and benefits which can be critical to a child's well-being, such as emotional and financial security. Discusses specific procedures that Washington, Virginia, and other states have enacted to more easily establish paternity. (MDM)

Analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on 1,434 men and women, aged 18-23, found that moving from a rural to an urban area reduced time spent in poverty for white and African-American women; effects were not statistically significant for men. (KS)

Estimated effects of neighborhood and family poverty on maternal psychological and behavioral characteristics using data from 895 mothers. Neighborhood poverty was associated with poorer home physical environment and with less maternal warmth, controlling for family conditions. Home environment was adversely affected by family poverty, large…

Discusses the need for citizen involvement to help restore and improve nutrition programs cut by the welfare reform bill. Describes various activities to offset government cutbacks and ease hunger in America. (YKH)

Describes the concentration of poor and minority populations in public housing in the United States, and examines the relationship between the location of public housing and changes in neighborhood poverty rates through a longitudinal database for four large U.S. cities. In each city, a significant relationship can be traced. (SLD)

The changing world economy, declining confidence in the welfare state, and adverse social trends have generated strong pressures for change in education systems and educational management. Together, these forces have produced three interconnected imperatives (accountability, productivity, and community) for administrators. This article discusses…

Reviews the work of Paulo Freire, one of the first internationally recognized educational thinkers who appreciated the relationships among education, politics, imperialism, and liberation. Discusses critical pedagogy and the place of liberation as the central project of education. (SLD)

Critiques the methodology used by Gorard and Fitz in their work on changing levels of social segregation between schools, arguing that their index of segregation does not reveal how patterns of school enrollment have changed over time, challenging their dismissal of the polarization hypothesis, and concluding that notwithstanding Gorard and Fitz's…

Responds to a critique of the author's work on the changing social composition of schools in England and Wales since 1988, discussing the critique's three criticisms of the original study, examining some minor points, and concluding that the original study is the fullest examination of the polarization thesis to date, with no really good evidence…

Residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota must deal with joblessness, alcoholism, housing shortages, and rampant disease. To assist with these problems, the Lakota Fund provides training and loans to those wanting to start small businesses. (JOW)