A program was implemented in the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Public Schools to provide screening, identification, and programming for primary-level gifted students from culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged populations. The program's objectives include field testing recommended practices, developing appropriate identification procedures,…

Describes the provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, also known as the Welfare Reform Act, and discusses implications for young children with disabilities, their families, and early-intervention programs under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (DB)

Reviews the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRA) of 1996 and examines its details and implications. Discusses the philosophies and values of counseling psychology in the context of realities and misconceptions of the past welfare system. Recommends points of entry for counseling psychologists.…

A study investigated the effects of the placement of five economically disadvantaged minority students, who were identified in kindergarten as potentially academically gifted through nontraditional means, in a gifted school. Six-year follow-up data suggest that the student's academic careers have for the most part progressed well. Performance…

Identifies key characteristics of indigenous sole-parent families relative to other such Australian families and analyzes the factors associated with their ongoing levels of economic disadvantage. Raises issues about the efficacy of job-skill-development programs. (Author/JOW)

Vocational teachers in northern Canada are challenged to meet the unique needs of their students who are physically isolated; who must cope with harsh climate; who live in small communities; and who face an almost unbridgeable cultural gap. Teachers are challenged to prepare students for limited local employment or for life without a job. (JOW)

Uses university-based fictions or campus novels from the past 200 years to explore England's continuing concern about the exclusiveness of Oxford and Cambridge. Describes a development from portrayals of the poor student as illuminator of the inadequacies of Oxford or Cambridge, to modern comic novels where the poorer student acts as a destructive…

Offers a perspective on understanding the gap in science learning and achievement that separates low-income, ethnic minority children from more economically privileged students. Discusses how the relationship between everyday and scientific knowledge and ways of knowing has been conceptualized in the field of science education research. Considers…

National survey data indicate that child poverty was significantly related to maternal characteristics (age, race, educational attainment, academic ability) and family structure and employment. With these variables controlled, chances of spending the majority of life in poverty were about 1.3 times greater for children born in or living the…

An elementary school principal and her staff implemented a nongraded, continuous-progress model of reading instruction based on frequent assessment of student skills. The model enjoyed widespread teacher and parental support. The school, serving disadvantaged students, was recognized by the state education agency for significantly improving test…

Data from interviews with 299 teachers in 46 English primary schools revealed that the correlation between free school meals and achievement and between free school meals and special educational needs may stem from teacher judgments. The very poorest schools with the lowest achievement have substantially higher levels of special needs identified…

When school bells ring to mark the start of the 2005-2006 academic year, the District of Columbia's Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School will welcome more than 200 elementary students, as well as a new teacher: First Daughter Jenna Bush. Statements released by the White House announced Jenna's decision to put her college…

Ongoing changes in the Polish political and economic sectors have led to tremendous changes in its education and health care systems that will likely bring reforms in the care of orphaned children. After the Second World War, many children in Poland were orphaned and an institutional system for their care and education became entrenched. Many…

This study examines trajectories and correlates of emotional distress symptoms in pregnant adolescents (n = 203) and nulliparous adolescents (n = 188) from economically disadvantaged communities over an 18-month period. For both groups, the prevalence of significant emotional distress exceeded expectation based on adolescent norms; however, the…

While math has long been regarded as a universal language because of its foundation in numbers, the subject poses nearly as many hurdles for students with limited English as lessons that rely more heavily on reading, many educators say. Malinda Evans spends about an hour and a half each day teaching mathematics to her 5th graders at Navajo…