Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the nation, and more than 50 percent of this population is female. Overall, Pennsylvania's rural women are doing well in education, family life stability, and health, relative to comparison groups of rural men and urban women and men. Educational attainment is greater among urban women and men, but…

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania analyzed data from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare concerning rural homelessness for fiscal years 1997 through 1999. Findings indicate that rural Pennsylvania has a homeless population and it is growing. In 1999, more than 21,700 clients received homeless assistance in rural areas, 44 percent of whom…

This report summarizes data on access to postsecondary education for students from low income families. From a national perspective, access to postsecondary education for students from low-income families is less now than at any time since 1970. By income quartile, in 1996 the chance that students from families with an annual income below $24,500…

According to Statistics Canada, as many as 8 million Canadians do not have the literacy skills necessary to prosper in a knowledge-based society and economy. For most of these Canadians, the challenge is not simply in "decoding" text, but in "understanding and working with" it. The demands of the knowledge-based society are…

Concerns that higher standards and demanding high-stakes tests will disadvantage students who have attended weak, unsuccessful, or under-resourced schools have typically been met with the counter-claim that poorly prepared students will be provided with the extra help and support they need to succeed. Efforts to provide extra help are in their…

What will it take for urban schools to achieve the kind of academic performance required by new state and national educational standards? How can classroom teachers in city schools help to close the achievement gap? What can restore public confidence in public schools? Pedro Noguera argues that higher standards and more tests, by themselves, will…

Discusses problems of daily life, jobs, education, and government at the capital of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, focusing on such local institutions as the Navajo tribal administration, the Tribal Council, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Tohatchi High School. (Author/JM)

This paper deals with child care arrangements of working mothers highlighting the current controversies over the types of care which families use, the fees paid, and the costs of different modes of child care. The special problems of implementing national day care programs are reviewed, including the case for subsidized care, the costs of meeting…

Shows that substantial inequality of economic opportunity exists in the U.S. and that the educational system is a major vehicle for the transmission of economic status from one generation to the next. (RJ)

Outlines the principles that have evolved in recent years for the equitable distribution of intergovernmental funds and explains some of the problems to be encountered by the Federal government in effectively incorporating these principles in their distribution of educational aid. (Author/JM)

Describes the problems and progress toward cultural understanding between professionals and community persons in operating the Watts Health Center. (DM)

The label "underclass" obscures structural economic change and distorts the realities of poverty. It pays insufficient attention to factors for understanding marginal people--labor market shifts, the poor's lack of safety nets, and interactions between these factors and social problems. Specific policies must confront the divergent…

Indonesia's efforts to improve its qualitative and quantitative participation in community health activities are discussed. Student and faculty problems in the community health program at Udayana University Medical School in Bali are cited. Knowledge gained from Indonesian programs should be examined by American medical educators for use in…