This ERIC digest summarizes recent studies on poverty in rural areas. In 1986, the poverty rate in rural areas was 50 percent higher than the urban rate. During the 1980s, rural poverty stayed higher, rising more rapidly during recession, and falling more slowly in the "recovery" period. Characteristics that distinguish the rural poor…

The recent upsurge in persistent urban poverty has been generated by a particular set of American political responses to structural transformation of the global and domestic economies, exacerbated considerably by a long process of highly subsidized suburbanization and racism. Persistent poverty is connected to the following structures and…

Spanish Harlem's Community District 4, known as one of New York City's most disadvantaged school districts, has developed a system of alternative educational programs, coupled with controlled parental choice. Having begun in 1974 with the creation of a single alternative elementary school, the system now serves about one-fifth of all elementary…

In September 1988, the Corporate Community Schools of America (C/CSA) opened its first model school in Chicago's North Lawndale, an innercity neighborhood scarred by deprivation, violence, and hopelessness. After briefly describing the school's laboratory approach, this report defines C/CSA's philosophy, goals, and educational plan and refers to…

Through its Health Manpower Distribution Project, the National Health Council has developed three demonstration projects in rural Maine, inner city New Orleans, and Applachian Kentucky to test methods of influencing students to practice in shortage areas. Four additional projects have been funded and three regional workshops sponsored. (MW)

This volume, fourth in a series, is devoted to a study of the depression years of the 1930s, a crucial period in the history of the Hispanic land-grant-villages. It places northern New Mexico in a broad regional and national context, examining the major currents of social and political thought in American society that influenced Hispanic New Deal…

This publication focuses on the youth-at-risk problems of young people who are not successfully making the transition to adulthood in Oregon. It provides information needed by the state's educational, government, and religious leaders, as well as parents, employers, and youth. In 26 tables and graphs, the report provides information on population,…

This document describes the 10 winners of the 1990 ABLE Award, which recognizes outstanding adult students in Pennsylvania adult basic and literacy education programs. The award, given for achievement based on learning excellence (ABLE), is presented by the Pennsylvania Division of Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs. The winners are…

This book consists of 15 chapters on understanding and helping the homeless. The first seven chapters present the "new" homeless in historical context and describe this population and its situation. The remaining eight chapters discuss policy and program options of the government and other organizations in attempting to alleviate the problems of…

In the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, the American family has been stripped of two of its traditional social functions: serving as a unit for economic production and as a school for the vocational training of children. The first function has been usurped by commercial firms, the second by the state. Some functions remain: physically and…

This document is a transcript of a tape of a conference on homelessness and mental illness conducted by adult literacy educators in Florida. Persons whose remarks are transcribed include Blanca Polo, Director of the Southeast Florida Training Center for Adult Literacy Educators; David K. Fike, author of a study on homelessness in southern Florida;…

Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act provides local school districts with federal funds to meet the special needs of educationally deprived children in high poverty areas. Because federal regulations provide little guidance for allocating Chapter 1 resources within the districts, distribution formulas vary and so do the…

Within a longitudinal design, the present study assessed parental attitudes, quality of stimulation in the environment, historical factors, and children's temperament to identify determinants of cognitive ability at 54 months. Children (n=147) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: a center-based intervention, a home-based…

The first in a series of studies about poverty in the South, this report focuses on Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. Since 1979, the rate of poverty for these states has shown a steady, sharp increase, bringing it up to 18.2 percent in 1983. The national…

Using data from the 1984 (sixth wave) survey of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this report describes the household structure and parental characteristics of about 4,400 children born to a national cross-section of American mothers 19 to 27 years of age. About 80 percent of the children were under 6 years of age and most of the rest…