The appropriateness of the market metaphor as a guide to education policy with respect to school choice is discussed, and the theory and practice of school choice and the history of the choice movement are traced. School choice has at times become a vehicle for racial and economic segregation and a way to deny, rather than promote, access to…

Through a study of six-year-olds who were successfully becoming literate, this book explores literacy and literacy learning among poor Black urban families. The ethnographic approach examines the experiences of four families whose lives and aspirations make it clear that literacy is an integral part of the children's daily lives, and that the…

This newsletter issue focuses on how the family support movement can help reshape the human services delivery system to more effectively meet the needs of African American families. The newsletter includes the following articles: (1) "Dispelling Myths and Building on Strengths: Supporting African American Families"; (2) "The 'Nguzo…

What has been learned about making cities better since civil disturbances first arose in American cities is summarized, and guidelines are offered for constructing an urban agenda for improvement. In some respects the country has made real progress since the Watts riots, but in other areas, conditions are unambiguously worse, with increasing…

This paper describes selected policy alternatives for the federal government in considering possible revisions to the funding provisions contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Following an introductory section, Section 2 examines demographic and fiscal trends that point to increased pressure on the nation's overall system of…

This study examined provision of services to children with developmental disabilities and their families in the context of requirements of Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires family centered services for infants and toddlers. Focus group discussions were held with health professionals at two sites in each of…

This ERIC digest examines the extent of early school leaving among migrants, conditions that precede early school leaving, common features of programs that work to retrieve dropouts, and illustrative programs that exhibit these features. The Migrant Attrition Project estimates a 45% national dropout rate of migrant students. Conditions that lead…

This publication represents the first report tailored to a non-specialist audience from an extensive case study in the Philippines, one of five country studies selected as the first project of the Urban Child Program of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) International Child Development center. The Philippines study focuses explicitly on…

In October 1990, 223 delegates from 22 nations of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific met in Australia to discuss plans and strategies for achieving universal education in the region. To inform planning and action, the conference defined five groups of people for whom universal education is a priority: indigenous people and minorities, people in…

This volume consists mainly of presentations made at a seminar held in 1981 in Bogota, Colombia, on the relation between preschool education and early childhood education. The seminar brought together educational researchers from many regions of the world as well as specialists in several different disciplines. Encompassing nine investigations…

In Connecticut, the state with the highest per capita income in the country, 110,000 children, or 14.5 percent of the population, live in poverty; 39,000 of these poor children are 5 years of age or younger. Further, 38.5 percent of Black children and 62.3 percent of Hispanic children in Connecticut live in poverty. Poverty and membership in a…

This annotated bibliography for program operators, policymakers, academics, interested students, and other professionals describes materials related to young children and families in poverty, social welfare policies, and prevention programs. The major criteria for the inclusion of materials were that the subject matter be appropriate and that the…

Efforts to solve intergenerational literacy must focus on the family as a unit. However, schools traditionally have a poor track record in dealing with minority/disadvantaged students and involving their parents. Studies have demonstrated the importance of family/community influence on children as well as the cultural and linguistic insensitivity…

This report presents data from the March 1988 Current Population Survey on the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the Hispanic population of the United States, including age, sex, marital status, educational attainment, school enrollment, fertility, voting and registration, employment status, family composition and size, income,…

This study examines characteristics of Hispanic females in single- and dual-headed households in an effort to understand the impact of the feminization of poverty on Hispanic Americans of Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican origin. The following aspects of these women are examined: (1) sociodemographic characteristics; (2) language of interview; (3)…