School violence in British Columbia (Canada) is directly related to youth alienation and disconnectedness. The Native concept of connectedness or sense of belonging can be a useful guide for assessing the effectiveness of school violence programs. Connectedness, in this context, indicates that humans are part of a seamless web of creation in which…

This collection of papers explores past and current trends among African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans in the context of a white majority. The papers, presented at the 1998 Research Conference on Racial Trends in the United States, provide analyses of racial and social dynamics and recommendations for future…

This report presents case studies of nine successful programs designed to reduce alcohol and substance abuse among American Indians and Alaska Natives. These case studies highlight effective solutions developed within tribal communities and combining Western and traditional approaches to build upon the strengths of the respective Indian…

Since September 1995, the Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico-Rural Systemic Initiative (UCAN-RSI) has promoted systemic reform to improve science, technology, and mathematics education for all rural students in its states. Initially, UCAN targeted 159,000 students in over 430 rural, primarily American Indian or Hispanic, communities. These…

As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study examines reform efforts underway in New Stuyahok, a community of 440 people in southwestern Alaska. The population is almost entirely Yup'ik Eskimo. The K-12 school enrolls about 150 students. In 1992, Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) established district…

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF), an independent agency of the U.S. government, funds innovative, participatory, and sustainable self-help development projects proposed and managed by grassroots groups and supportive organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. IAF also encourages partnerships among community organizations, businesses, and…

This book is designed to summarize, integrate, and evaluate current research on adolescent development. It contains the following chapters: (1) "Paths to Adulthood: Adolescent Diversity in Contemporary America" (Ramond Montemayor); (2) "Competence among Urban Adolescents in Poverty: Multiple Forms, Contexts, and Developmental…

This study analyzed retention and graduation rates of entering minority group freshmen from the 1989-96 cohort at 232 diverse colleges and universities using data from the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange (CSRDE), which consistently have indicated that graduation rates are lower for underrepresented minority groups of blacks,…

The reauthorization of Title I (Improving America's Schools Act--IASA) made the Schoolwide Program (Schoolwide) a major strategy for schools with high poverty rates and stressed the importance of parent involvement. This guide was developed to provide professional development and parent education on Schoolwide implementation in California. The…

This report analyzes the under-representation of North Carolina's black, Hispanic American, and Native American students in honors courses, advanced placement (AP) courses, and academically and intellectually gifted (AIG) programs. Data came from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's database on all public schools and from surveys…

Nanagusja is a Tsuut'ina (Sarcee) language development program composed of 10 video programs, a teacher's guide, and a unit plan book. The unit plan book, presented here, includes 10 units with 12 to 15 lessons each. Each unit begins with notes to the teacher and a Unit Overview Chart to be used to plan activities for each class. The teacher must…

This article describes an investigation with a class of seventh graders to determine what impact the study of traditional literature would have on their narrative writing. The classroom teacher emphasized the narrative structure of the traditional literature genre by prompting his students to respond both orally and in writing with their thoughts…

Examines outreach and cultural exchange in the design and delivery of social work courses offered in Canada's Aboriginal communities. Discusses the contract between the educational institution and the Aboriginal community, issues encountered by instructors in outreach programs, the appropriateness of distance education, and efforts to incorporate…

Critical steps in developing these curricula included: selecting integrative theory to address multidimensional antecedents of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse among Native Americans; using ethnography to obtain input from target groups and community members to ensure developmental and cultural sensitivity; and using process and outcome evaluations of…

A qualitative study examined a rural Alaskan school district's standards-based reform in the sociohistorical context of Alaska Native education. Observations and interviews with 32 district staff members indicate that the district had recast the historical "civilization-savagism" paradigm as an "unhealthy Native" construct to…