Draws on the 1998 Current Population Survey to examine the poverty status and welfare recipient status of rural and urban children under 18 to inform policymakers about potential effects of welfare reform. Discusses the effects of rural versus urban residence, region, household type, race, parental age, parental education, and parental employment…

Examines the relationship between quality of child care program and family income through a regression analysis of 99 child care centers in Boston. Data from interviews with directors of high-, middle-, and low-income programs demonstrate notable differences between programs, with quality improving substantially in high-income programs. Teachers…

Discusses the role of Parent Teacher Associations in increasing parent participation in rural and small town schools, noting facts about rural schools and describing how to reach out to parents and overcome such barriers as not feeling valued, not speaking English well, and not having transportation. (SM)

Describes the Arizona education tax credit law as a voucher plan in disguise, and argues that the concept of justice underlying the law is an element largely missing from the school choice debate. Calls on educators and policymakers to concentrate on efforts to help needy students rather than to channel tax dollars toward self-interested ends.…

Provides historical information on the potato in Ireland focusing on how the potato arrived in Ireland and the advantages and disadvantages of the potato as a food crop. Discusses the Irish potato famine in Ireland, effects of the famine, and the government's laissez-faire response. Includes a list of questions. (CMK)

Discusses the controversial work of Maurice Sendak, a popular, yet controversial children's author and illustrator. Examines the oral responses of a class of first graders to "We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy," with the purpose of demonstrating that children can act as their own agents in constructing meaning through complex…

Poverty rates increased in the early 1990s, but between 1994 and 1999 the metro child poverty rate declined 6 percentage points and the nonmetro rate declined 4 percent. In 1999, the poverty rate for nonmetro Black children was about double that of nonmetro White children, but the Black-White gap in poverty narrowed between 1985 and 1999. (TD)

Provides an extensive state-level and local-level analysis of the distribution of the federal government's financial aid to elementary and secondary schools, especially from the U.S. Department of Education. (PKP)

Explores the increasing paternalism of American social policy in light of welfare reforms that require the government to supervise poor citizens to ensure that they comply with requirements for assistance. Reviews the development of paternalistic programs and the prospects for a future that requires less government supervision with more help from…

A statistical analysis tested the relationship of class size, expenditures per student, and socioeconomic status on student achievement test scores in three south Florida counties. Poverty is a primary determinant of student achievement. There is modest support for targeted expenditures for smaller classes above 20 students. (Contains 62…

Highlights recent research findings on the status of rural southern workers and their readiness for the future. Presents information on poverty, undereducation, underemployment, and racial inequality in rural southern areas. Examines two avenues of action: helping workers get the education and skills they need and helping workers find suitable…

Asserts that California's 1999 Public Schools Accountability Act does not do enough to address the underachievement of students in high-poverty schools. Recommends four initiatives to improve the academic performance of students in these schools: provide better teachers, boost instructional time, increase teacher professional development time, and…

This article is about mainstreaming gender equality in adult basic learning and education (ABLE). Gender equality is defined as equal rights of both women and men to influence, participate in and benefit from a programme. It is argued that specific gender analyses of emerging patterns of gender relations is helpful in formulating gender equality…

Increasing numbers of poor Mexican immigrant families are settling in the rural southeastern United States. Most of these families are from isolated agrarian communities in Mexico and are headed by unskilled laborers or displaced farm workers with little education. Child welfare workers and other service providers in rural communities may be…

In this study we used spring-to-fall reading achievement data to measure summer gains and losses for a sample of over 300 early elementary school students from high-poverty schools. We combined evidence from a randomized experiment of an academically intensive community-based summer school program with parent telephone survey data regarding the…