African Americans and Latinos earn lower grades and drop out of college more often than whites or Asians. Yet thirty years after deliberate minority recruitment efforts began, we still don't know why. In "The Shape of the River," William Bowen and Derek Bok documented the benefits of affirmative action for minority students, their communities, and…

A community college polled its basic skills students about their high school academic experience and study skills and habits. Most felt that too little had been expected of them, and that their remedial program experience had made them better students. An increase in academic underpreparedness is forecast. (Author/MSE)

The report of the President's Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans expresses concern that with federal block grants to states and fewer federal mandates, emphasis on Latino educational issues and enforcement of related federal laws will diminish. Findings show inadequate school funding, treatment of bilingualism as a…

Profiles a 16-week learning unit that led students to develop literacy in their native Spanish, as well as academic and computing skills. The reading and writing assignments incorporated grammar, geography, and local and family histories to create a sense of pride in the students' community and culture. (MJP)

Introduces a theme issue on school-constituent relationships that includes papers on such topics as community development in educational reform; teacher commitment; parent- principal contacts; family school relationships; school boards and school-based decision making; engaging Latino families; the agency of African American teachers in Franklin,…

Criticizes the school choice proponents' belief that exiting students would result in schools upgrading their services to remain competitive. Contends that school choice programs create less than 1% exit from public schools. Asserts that voucher programs only help the families of students already enrolled in private schools. (MJP)

Discusses issues related to the underrepresentation of minority teachers in social studies education. Suggests that many minority college students choose occupations other than teaching. Recommends that secondary history teachers develop student involvement in history through historical research and controversial issues. (CFR)

Percentage of enrollment that is American Indian, Asian, black, Hispanic, white, and foreign is given for colleges and universities, by state. Proportions of total U.S. college enrollments are also summarized for public and private institutions, men and women, two- and four-year institutions, and educational level. (MSE)

A national survey shows that total minority enrollment in colleges is at an all-time high at 20.6 percent of overall enrollment. Despite this, minority groups continue to be underrepresented in college student populations. Enrollments by state indicate wide geographic variation in percentages of students from ethnic and racial minorities. (MSE)

Investigated factors that played a role in mediating the effects of the government-funded Child-Parent Center preschool program in Chicago. Results indicated that preschool influenced later achievement and retention indirectly rather than directly. A social context view of the transmission of preschool effects was supported. (LB)

Discusses finding of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 with respect to minority students (children of color) in independent nonpublic schools. Helping African-American students feel less like outsiders at majority-white independent schools is discussed, and the role of the teacher is emphasized. (SLD)

Presents an ethnic breakdown of statistics from a subset of National Adolescent Student Health Survey data on eighth and tenth grade students' knowledge and attitudes related to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Differences between ethnic groups were significant. White students generally were best informed, and Native Americans received…

Discusses research on the importance of context and social interaction on the development of school literacy, particularly writing development, concentrating on five classes of Latino elementary school students. Specific features of institutional contexts that shape writing process instruction are identified. Necessary broadening of current…

Examines effects of the Supreme Court decision, "Regents of the University of California V. Bakke" on Black and Hispanic enrollment in medical and law schools. Uses time-series analysis on aggregate enrollment trends between 1968 and 1987. Finds decision had little impact but notes decline in these applications beginning in 1984. (NL)

Examples from a multiyear project in a Los Angeles (California) school in a low-income Hispanic school district illustrate successes of a program to improve the early reading achievement of Spanish-speaking primary school children. The interplay of research, practice, and school improvement resulted in significant improvement in early Spanish…