This report describes disadvantaged urban eighth-grade students. All statistical data were drawn from the student, parent, and school files of the base year of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). The following findings are summarized: (1) rural schools contain the greatest proportion of disadvantaged eighth-graders, but…

This book provides descriptive reports about people living in poverty in New York City (New York) in the period from 1964 to 1979 as a beginning to solving the problems of persistent poverty. Analyses of the problems of poverty have rarely been undertaken from the point of view of the poor themselves. It is argued that society will never be able…

The term "underclass" is often used to describe concentrations of inner-city Blacks in urban neighborhoods where social problems are common, mostly in large metropolitan areas. The most widely used empirical measurements of underclass are the spatial concentrations of poverty and social problems. Characterizing the underclass as almost entirely a…

A partnership was formed to address the crisis that rural health care facilities in rural Nebraska face in attracting and hiring trained health care workers. The Rural Allied Medical Business Occupations (RAMBO) project trained economically disadvantaged individuals in high technology medical fields. Five objectives were outlined in the project:…

The effectiveness of Upward Bound (UB), a federally funded program to assist high-ability disadvantaged youth in completing programs in higher education, is addressed in this study. The study sought to determine if participation in UB enhances high school performance and participation in postsecondary education, especially in comparison to non-UB…

This document comprises nine commissioned papers and four literature review chapters that are part of the first report of the Study of Academic Instruction for Disadvantaged Students, a 3-year investigation of curriculum and instruction in elementary schools serving high concentrations of poor children. (A summary of this report is presented in…

The inadequate literacy skills of some individuals in Australia: (1) restrict their ability to exercise informed citizenship, participate in their local communities, and use their abilities and talents; (2) damage their development as autonomous, competent, and confident individuals within families; (3) may be repeated in successive generations,…

This report provides descriptions of strategies for dropout prevention at the secondary level and presents examples of programs that successfully utilize these strategies. The information is based on data from a review of nearly 200 programs at secondary schools across the four-state Western region that includes Arizona, California, Nevada, and…

The first section of this report introduces the U.S. Department of Labor's efforts to focus attention on the evolving demographic, economic, and social trends that are causing pervasive mismatches between workplace needs and work force capabilities. Section 2 outlines trends, changes, and challenges, including demographic and economic trends,…

Government policies of developing nations to stimulate economic development do not necessarily improve the living conditions of their citizens, most of whom are economically poor and politically powerless. A major criticism of attempts by most Western and national governments to promote development is that they serve only the elite. This study of…

Analysis of information gained from the March 1986 Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the Bureau of the Census shows the following results for the year 1985: (1) median family money income continued to move ahead of inflation; (2) the median earnings of men showed no statistically significant change from 1984, but the earnings of women…

Class size is a complex problem that depends on many factors. The central theme which runs through the current research literature is that academic achievement does not necessarily improve with the reduction of student/teacher ratio unless appropriate learning styles and effective teaching styles are utilized. It is also evident that no single…

High school academies are three-year schools-within-schools offering economically disadvantaged students an integrated academic-vocational education, career development and enrichment activities, and nonacademic supports and employment opportunities. The academies represent a many-faceted approach to linking business and industry with schools,…

When considering illiteracy in industrialized countries, one should consider the following: (1) schools historically were not set up to transmit literacy skills, as evidenced by the fact that the geography and chronology of literacy are much less linked to the establishment of formal schooling than to the history of social development; (2) schools…

These two documents, addressed to the first session of the 101st Congress, are S. 543, a bill to amend the Job Training Partnership Act to strengthen the program of employment and training assistance under that act, and the Senate report, from the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, to accompany S. 543. The Senate report includes amendments to…