This report summarizes UNESCO's co-operation activities within the framework of the Major Project of Education in the field of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean between May 1991 and March 1993. Regional priorities had been established in Quito (Ecuador) in 1991 to focus on: (1) women as protagonists both in family life and economic…

This report presents a context for the consideration of welfare reform, and reviews 10 major poverty programs. A linkage is made between government poverty programs and the full panoply of American economic and social interventions through five major themes: (1) quashing the many myths about welfare leads to a clearer understanding of poverty; (2)…

According to the Educational Reform Chicago Study Group, the traditional public school's text-paced classroom environment may be too bare, especially in poor neighborhoods, to help poor students learn, or too middle class to motivate all students to participate. We need to examine our present teaching methods, existing educational research, and…

Many programs have tried to offset the problems with which many children of low socioeconomic status (SES) enter public schools. Some of these programs have attempted to better prepare preschool children for school, while others have tried to help children already struggling in school. The United States has one of the highest child-poverty rates…

To determine whether parents in families that live in high-risk environments accurately complete developmental questionnaires to be used in identifying infants at-risk for developmental delay, this study evaluated 54 at-risk and 43 nonrisk parent-infant dyads. Risk dyads included those living in extreme poverty and those with mothers whose…

Issues of equity assume a position of prominence as they relate to the young child's emerging mathematical understandings, the development of scientific thinking and problem solving skills, and potential technological literacies. This paper discusses the key issues of equity for culturally and linguistically diverse children and impoverished…

This report presents testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee on issues affecting low-income children and their families, offered by the executive director of a nonprofit organization that conducts research and analysis on a range of public policy issues affecting low- and moderate-income Americans. The testimony reviews recent trends…

This booklet challenges assumptions about the hopelessness of educational reform in urban high schools by presenting the stories of: (1) Theodore Sizer's Coalition of Essential Schools; and (2) Metro High School in Cedar Rapids (Iowa), a school that participates in the Coalition. Following an introduction, the Coalition of Essential Schools…

This booklet examines the plight of homeless families who have children who need special educational services. It explores the magnitude of homelessness among families, provides empirical descriptions of homeless populations, and identifies factors contributing to the rising incidence of homelessness in the United States. Specific effects of…

This 18th annual report to Congress, covering the program year 1989-1990, outlines the status of children with disabilities in Head Start programs. The report states that the program's mandate of having 10 percent or more of the total number of enrollment opportunities in Head Start programs available for handicapped children was met in each state…

The Utah State Office of Education has conducted surveys of homeless shelters throughout Utah for the past 4 years. Data show that, during 1993, 32 shelter providers reported sheltering 4,680 homeless children. Each year, however, the shelter providers report turning away an increasing number of families because of a lack of space. Budget…

This document summarizes the requirements and guidelines for the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP). This program is authorized by Section 787 of the Public Health Service Act to make grants to and contracts with postsecondary institutions to carry out programs which assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter and graduate…

The recent upsurge in persistent urban poverty has been generated by a particular set of American political responses to structural transformation of the global and domestic economies, exacerbated considerably by a long process of highly subsidized suburbanization and racism. Persistent poverty is connected to the following structures and…

Adolescent pregnancy in the Hispanic community warrants attention both because it has been underresearched and because its consequences may be particularly dramatic. In addition to economic disadvantage, Hispanic adolescents in the United States must contend with conflicting messages from two cultures regarding standards of sexuality, timing of…

Spanish Harlem's Community District 4, known as one of New York City's most disadvantaged school districts, has developed a system of alternative educational programs, coupled with controlled parental choice. Having begun in 1974 with the creation of a single alternative elementary school, the system now serves about one-fifth of all elementary…