The origin of Latino Studies is grounded in the experiences and status of U.S. Latinos. Ethnicity, culture, community, empowerment, and power relationships are intertwined themes in the discipline. Latino Studies has integrated an interdisciplinary approach to establish its corpus of knowledge and theories to explain and understand Latino…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that each state participating in the federal early intervention program establish a state interagency coordinating council (ICC) to assist and advise the state lead agencies in achieving a coordinated service delivery system. When IDEA was reauthorized in 1991, by the passage of P.L.…

Input from a variety of viewpoints is essential in complex policy discussions. Families serving on local interagency coordinating councils (LICCs) and state interagency coordinating councils (SICCs) should reflect the diversity of families served within the early intervention or preschool service system with respect to income level, ethnicity,…

Parents of children with disabilities are frequently asked to tell all or part of their family's life story. These stories are potentially powerful ways to develop empathic relationships among parents and professionals. This document discusses ways parents can prepare and present their stories so that key themes are emphasized and the information…

American Indians experience many problems related to alcohol misuse. However, there are prevention approaches that work to reduce risk of alcohol misuse among American Indians. With regard to the way prevention workers carry out their work in American Indian communities, programs must emerge from the community, prevention workers must demonstrate…

The Radio-Television Journalism Division section of the proceedings contains the following six papers: "Local Television News and Viewer Empowerment: Why the Public's Main Source of News Falls Short" (Denise Barkis Richter); "For the Ear to Hear: Conversational Writing on the Network Television News Magazines" (C. A. Tuggle,…

Peace Corps volunteers are perceived as role models, technical specialists, teachers, counselors, heroes, and friends. This idea book shares specific ideas and frameworks for transferring the potential for positive guidance into classrooms and communities around the world. It concentrates on activities and strategies that increase girls' access…

This report describes a program designed to empower students through the use of the democratic classroom to improve students' attitudes toward school. Targeted population consisted of sixth grade students in a growing middle class community, located in a major midwestern city. The problem of poor student attitude was documented through data…

Notions of white supremacy, racism, sexism, and patriarchy constitute the power relationships and hierarchical structures of colonialism. Power is accessed when certain cultural forms are made to prevail over others, thus producing racialized and marginalized identities. The will to control what is different is the main tenet of colonialism.…

This paper discusses the success of single sex science and mathematics education classrooms. Most studies on single sex learning environments come from countries such as Australia, Jamaica, Nigeria, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Thailand, and there is little research on American public schools. This study investigates single sex mathematics and…

This paper investigates the impact of the BOUNCE BACK! Resiliency Program on teachers and students. The program teaches coping skills to students, 11-12 years old, to help them resist the use of substances and other risk-taking behaviors. The program contains five elements: (1) the core component of coping skills; (2) a supportive social skills…

This booklet should be of interest to educators and people seeking to understand the mechanisms of exclusion and the forging of new paths towards community empowerment and basic education skills. Many inhabitants of Cairo, Egypt, depend on the zabbaleen/garbage collectors but know very little of these people who make their way up and down the…

With the nationwide implementation of managed care and the eroding financial base for children's services, social service agencies need new organizational systems to survive. This handbook provides an overview of one new system, Total Quality Management (TQM), as it relates to the child welfare field. The book's chapters are: (1) "Total…

This study addressed the efficacy and outcomes of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrition Education Training (NET) project designed to increase awareness of health risk and wellness factors for grade 9 high school students. The study also considered the empowerment fostered by the program and measured changes in the health and nutrition…

To illustrate the principles and conflicts inherent in ensuring the self-determination of individuals with disabilities, this paper discusses the challenges faced by the parents of Shari, an adult with developmental disabilities. Throughout Sheri's 30 years, her parents have sought to create the kind of supports and opportunities that will put…