Between 1940 and 1970, an estimated three million people left their home places in Appalachia to migrate to industrial centers in search of jobs. Many became long-time dwellers in the urban underclass. Others who found secure employment struggled with questions of identity and cultural negation and continued to consider their rural origins as…

This document compiles a series of articles from the Center for Rural Affairs monthly newsletter, January-August 1999. The series responds to public statements of some legislators, urban school board members, and others about the need to eliminate small rural schools because of their "inefficiency." Seven short articles discuss various aspects and…

A symposium compared the nature and experiences of schooling for Aboriginal Australians and Vietnamese immigrants to Australia. An introduction draws on John Ogbu's distinction between voluntary and involuntary minorities, provides background on the situations of indigenous peoples and Vietnamese immigrants in Australia, and suggests that cultural…

This summary assessment report evaluates the progress being made by the Virginia's 23 community colleges in two areas: the performance of remedial students and those students who transfer to four-year institutions. In addition, it discusses the performance of recent high school graduates who enroll in remedial courses. Each college submitted a…

This report reviews the evaluation process of the 1995 community college assessment reports for the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). It provides evaluation results, which found that the 18 colleges, even within limited resources and major restructuring, were able to demonstrate satisfactory progress as shown by assessment results and the…

This resource aid is designed to provide some materials relevant to screening students experiencing mental health, psychosocial, and substance abuse problems. Section 1, "Initial Problem Identification," is a summary of indicators designed for use as a handout. An overview that can be used to educate staff, older students, and parents on…

Environmental factors are being increasingly recognized as playing a role in school effectiveness and educational outcomes. Volume 1 examines what is known concerning the diagnosis, design, and management of environmental quality in schools, and the perceived relationship between environmental quality and educational outcomes, as revealed in an…

This digest discusses shared governance in community colleges and identifies issues highlighted by recent shared governance experiences. Governance structure in public community colleges tends to have many variations at both the state and local level. Shared governance is a pattern of self-government in which decision-making is shared among…

Reviews court decisions pertaining to student rights in search and seizure cases where theft or drug abuse is suspected. Suggests that the in loco parentis doctrine gives school officials both the authority and responsibility for conducting reasonable searches even though the Fourth Amendment provides constitutional protection. (JAC)

The article describes the educational philosophy and practice of the Hutterian Society of Brothers in Rifton, NY. The Society is a religious community which has assumed responsibility for educating its children from birth through eighth grade. Educational objectives and values of the Society are identified. (Author/DB)

Presents a parental perspective on a laboratory school at a Southern California university. Evaluates five aspects of the educational experience: friendships, the school programs, transportation, the school schedule, and the faculty. Cites excellent education, enriching friendships, and comfortable growth into a new phase of schooling as benefits.…

This article describes an attempt to reduce truancy through intervention in the school system. This strategy had two goals: (1) amelioration of truancy as manifested in individual patterns of behavior; (2) elimination of setting events and/or contingencies within the school system that evoke or reinforce truancy. (Author/KC)

Converse Elementary Kindergarten teachers give high priority to involving parents in their children's education, particularly through inviting parents to special school activities, and by visiting children and parents in the home and bringing a paper bag full of ideas parents can use to strengthen children's weaknesses. (Author/JM)

Student attitudes fundamental for achievement of certain kinds of learning are identified: tolerance for delayed gratification, a certain measure of respect for and fear of authority, and a willingness to accommodate one's individual desires to the interests of group cohesion and purpose. (MLW)