The document contains ten presentations (or summaries) given at a 1986 special education symposium on cultural differences and parent programs with emphasis on the Pacific states and territories of Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Trust Territory, and Washington. Two…

In 1988, the Minority Leadership Project was undertaken at Texas A and M to: (1) identify potential minority leaders within technical and vocational education and recruit them for leadership training; (2) identify methods to train participants; and (3) design a leadership training program to move identified individuals into positions of greater…

The report focuses on students (a Representative Group and a Black Group) who persisted at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) to graduation and discusses some of the factors traditionally associated with persistence to graduation. The report showed that significant numbers of students who have departed the university did so while in…

A study examined whether billboard advertising of tobacco and alcohol products is differentially targeted toward White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic neighborhoods. The study analyzed 901 billboards in neighborhood commercial districts in San Francisco, California, giving particular attention to tobacco and alcohol billboards. Neighborhood census…

The project's objectives included strengthening the research capability of Kentucky State University, a historically black institution, allowing faculty to participate in professional development workshops, and aiding public administration graduate students with data from which to write theses. Four hypotheses were tested: that public managers…

This research explored the effects of a number of factors derived from extant intention-behavior models on a general behavioral intention to engage in protection against Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and a specific behavioral intention to use condoms as protection in vaginal sex. Data pertaining to beliefs, knowledge about AIDS, fear…

Developed to serve as a point of comparison for women and minority student participation in mathematics and science courses, this survey focused on secondary schools in Arkansas. Survey forms were sent to all Arkansas secondary schools (N=362) and 246 forms were returned (68 percent of the initial mailing). Findings include: (1) males are…

Anxiety and tension are two affective factors which seem to interfere with measurement of instructional effects. Test anxiety respresents a possibly confounding effect in the measurement of any given knowledge. A study was conducted to examine the effect that relaxation training administered immediately prior to testing would have on academic…

Research does not support the contention that underrepresentation of women and minorities in the educational administration hierarchy is a function of deficits in training, competence, experience, and number of qualified applicants. The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting the entrance of women and minorities into this hierarchy.…

The film "Pieces of a Puzzle" (part of the series "Writers Writing" that was coproduced by WNET and Learning Designs and televised by WNET in 1985), helped students become better writers and facilitated the discovery of material and techniques appropriate to academic writing. First, students were introduced to reader response…

This report assesses the relative effectiveness of primarily voluntary and primarily mandatory desegregation plans in a sub-sample of 20 school districts, 9 of which are magnet-voluntary plans and 11 of which are magnet-mandatory plans. The major conclusions of this report are the following: (1) voluntary desegregation plans work; (2) dismantling…

This hearing examined the history, current status and trends, and strengths of American families. Testimony (1) described the complex and intense daily life of members of blended families and pointed out that social, financial, and other supports needed by stepfamilies are often not available; (2) provided accounts of personal experiences with…

University and pre-university education in South Africa is briefly described, along with areas where U.S. universities can assist South African organizations working to promote equal access to quality education. Three basic areas are explored: financial aid for South African students; manpower support to help in tutorials and academic research;…

Research on assessing the cultural fairness of individual test items is reviewed, with emphasis on Birnbaum's three-parameter logistic model. As defined in this review, differential item characteristics are exhibited when examinees from one group have a lower probability of answering correctly than do examinees of equal ability from another group.…

A study was conducted to determine how well-balanced and accurately the largest ethnic minority groups are portrayed in major contemporary basal reader series. The amount of ethnic minority content by group and by basal series was investigated, as were the qualitative aspects of that content: the locale of the story, the socioeconomic class…