Discusses some of the conceptual problems underlying distinctions between native and nonnative speaker, between foreign and second language learners, and the related difficulty of eliciting valid and reliable data about language background. Problems are illustrated with reference to a scheme developed in Australia involving the classification of…

Evidence from 100 women in women-only reentry courses suggested that any form of assessment and credit may deter the target audience. Assessment imposes requirements that may reduce program effectiveness. Noncredit programs for disadvantaged women are recommended. (SK)

Explores the divide among those who study higher education policy over whether preparation or money is the primary obstacle to college attendance for underprivileged students; federal policies could hinge on which side of the debate is favored. (EV)

In this study we examined and compared the determinants of first-to-second-year persistence for 1,167 first-generation and 3,017 continuing-generation students at four-year institutions, using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Survey (Wine, et al., 2002). Because first-generation students are over represented in the most…

Uses Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse to examine interview accounts of educational disadvantage provided by Samoan paraprofessionals in secondary schools in Queensland (Australia). Finds that Samoan paraprofessionals attributed educational disadvantage to the arbitrary organization of students, knowledge, and spaces in schooling…

To investigate teachers' beliefs about critical-thinking (CT) activities for different populations of learners, the Critical Thinking Belief Appraisal (CTBA) was administered to 145 practicing secondary teachers. Teachers rated both high-CT and low-CT activities as more effective for high advantage learners than low advantage ones, demonstrating…

In a survey of 30 Mid-Atlantic Region education leaders, improving the achievement of No Child Left Behind subgroups (low-income students, students with limited English proficiency, students with disabilities, and students in major racial and ethnic groups) was the top priority in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey, despite concerns about the…

The Scheduled Castes (SCs, also known as Dalits) and Scheduled Tribes (STs, also known as Adivasis) are among the most socially and educationally disadvantaged groups in India. This paper examines issues concerning school access and equity for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities and also highlights their unique problems, which may…

Dutch child care can be described as organized provision with care, guidance and additional education for children from 0-16 years old, by other people than parents or guardians in a way that is adapted to the space of twenty-four hours and the age of children and to the needs of parents or guardians. Child care in the Netherlands is characterized…

Title I provides extra instructional services designed to raise achievement for low-performing students in schools with relatively high poverty rates, and for all students in many of the nation's highest-poverty schools. To learn more about how well Title I students are performing academically, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) compared…

The people at Inverness Research Associates spent 12 years studying Community Science Workshops (CSW) in California and in six other states. They gathered statistics on the scale, scope, and cost-efficiency of CSW services to youth. They observed youth at work in the shops--taking apart computers, repairing bikes, growing plants, and so on--and…

This study used survival analysis (also called event history analysis) to investigate how long specially admitted students at Northern Illinois University persist, in which year of their education they are most likely to leave, and if the risk of leaving school is affected by personal and academic background characteristics. Specially admitted…

Using the results of model gifted and talented projects in Ohio (32 during Fiscal Year 1992-93 and 31 during 1994-95), this report provides information to local education agencies to improve the identification of and delivery of services to students who are gifted. Alternative identification strategies such as using a multifactored assessment are…

This book provides a sociological and historical analysis of the evolution and demise of a state college's educational opportunity program, the goal of which was to compensate for unequal pre-college education and provide equal opportunities for economically and educationally disadvantaged students. The program was an example of a special…

The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (IASA) was signed into law on October 20, 1994, as P.L. 103-382. The legislation reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) through fiscal year 1999. The ESEA authorizes most federal elementary and secondary education programs, including the Title I program to provide…