A 1982 study of alcohol use among migrant laborers in New York focuses on the extent of drinking among workers with different characteristics, to test the hypothesis that in camps composed primarily of family groups social control mechanisms will be more highly developed than in camps composed primarily of unattached men, and that this will be…

A multivariate model, refined by factor analysis, was formulated to investigate the degree of community and life satisfaction among a multistage cluster sample of 249 rural residents in 3 racially-mixed, low-income rural North Carolina counties. The sample was almost equally divided between black (49.8%) and white (50.2%) respondents. Analysis of…

Involving students in an active study of dialect differences will enhance their own self awareness and their knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity. (JH)

The racial composition of participants in a Florida crisis intervention agency's programs indicated that, among the population at risk, black youth were overrepresented in State delinquency and child welfare programs and underrepresented in the agency's intervention services. This practicum was designed to enhance the agency's ability to reach…

Do social policy intellectuals and their research help to strengthen quality education? Was the 1954 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, which relied heavily on social science research, flawed in its reasoning on school desegregation, equal educational opportunity, and quality education for African Americans?…

On April 5, 1989, the Bush Administration submitted to the Congress a legislative proposal entitled the "Educational Excellence Act of 1989." This report provides a description of the President's proposed education legislation and modifications to the proposal by the Congress, plus a brief analysis of each of the provisions. The seven…

This document offers guidelines for providers of continuing education that are the result of a British project at Sandown College, Liverpool, England, designed to develop, pilot, and evaluate a program that would enable a greater percentage of unemployed blacks to gain entry to specific vocational programs. (Those programs were electronics and…

This working paper provides information on 29 U.S. support organizations raising money for South African causes. Usually provided for each organization are a mission statement; a description of program areas and specific activities; and names of directors, trustees, and contacts. The organizations listed are: the Africa Fund; the African Arts…

This paper presents research-based viewpoints on black students' self-esteem and how it relates to achievement. Both historical events and research findings support the argument that blacks' self-esteem and achievement levels have been systematically kept at a lower level than whites'. Arguments for both segregation and insulation are considered…

A seminar was held at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in August 1987 on the subject, "Illiteracy and the Underclass: Are They Permanent?" The contributions of Chall, Comer, Epstein, Dash, and Rivera identified where illiteracy problems begin--in families with intergenerational patterns of illiteracy. Problems in estimating the numbers of…

Presentations on aspects of foreign language instruction include: "A World Without Walls" (Lorraine A. Strasheim); "Practical Aspects of Individualizing Foreign Language Instruction" (Howard B. Altman); "Teaching Foreign Language Through Literature" (Jeanne Varney Pleasants); "Individualization of Foreign Language Instruction" (Howard B. Altman);…

The 1987-1988 Project SPIRIT programs were evaluated for effectiveness from the points of view of the participants, both parents and children. An initiative of the Congress of National Black Churches that was begun in the summer of 1986, Project SPIRIT aims to nurture children's strength, perseverance, imagination, responsibility, integrity, and…

Because religion has greatly influenced the course of U.S. history and because it continues to have an impact on U.S. life, an examination of its role is a necessary part of social studies. In order to understand U.S. society, citizens must know something about the development of the religious ideas, practices, and institutions found in the United…

A project was developed to identify issues affecting the relationships between minority communities and vocational schools in Massachusetts. Meetings with members of the project's advisory committee and three 1-day conferences involving more than 300 persons and organizations were organized. Five major categories of issues were identified: access,…

A comparison of the racial composition of parent, community, and teacher representatives elected in autumn 1989 to Local School Councils (LSCs) in Chicago to the racial/ethnic mix of the populations they represent indicates significant racial disparity on a city-wide basis. Statistical data were analyzed from 503 of a total of 540 schools (about…