This book examines the condition of America's poor and the policies used to help them, demonstrating that government aid has been far more effective in reducing poverty than most people think. One of the primary points of the book is that poverty is not synonymous with single mothers and their children on welfare; in fact, the majority of the poor…

This series of followup studies concerned mentally retarded rehabilitation clients of the Social and Rehabilitation Service research and development projects in the District of Columbia, and the Model Cities Project in Maryland. The clientele were primarily black, urban ghetto residents. The studies dealt with (1) vocational success of…

This paper discusses and compares bidialectalism and various types of bilingualism, and the educational considerations presented by each. Stable bilingualism can result when each language is used by most, if not all, members of the community for different purposes. In a bilingual situation, societal factors are frequently such that no agreement…

The efforts of Cleveland's intermediate level mathematics teachers to change their curriculum from computation to a dual emphasis on application and computation are described. This paper reports on the second year of a project to enhance mathematics instruction. A natural history ethnography was conducted, which focused on the work of seven…

This publication includes sample units designed for use in the senior high school elective course, minorities in America. Written during the summer of 1969, it is designed to suggest possible organizations, materials, and activities that will assist the classroom teacher in handling a diversified, complex course. The units are pilots or models,…

Seven schools located in and around an impoverished West Philadelphia community are highlighted. While all seven schools are representative of a movement toward the decentralization of authority, the involvement of people in their schools, and the humanization of the educational process, each is innovative in its own way. The authors first discuss…

THIS 2D-YEAR REPORT OF AN EVALUATION STUDY OF A JUVENILE DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PROGRAM IS CONCERNED PRIMARILY WITH THE ADOLESCENT COHORT (A CORE GROUP OF 14- TO 20-YEAR-OLDS) IN A SINGLE SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE MAJOR AIMS OF THE RESEARCH WERE TO DETERMINE WHETHER INTERVENTIONS HAD REDUCED DELINQUENCY IN A SELECTED GROUP FROM THE DISTRICT, AND TO…

This fourth book in the Urban Language Series is concerned with the relationship of language to reading. Literacy must be based on the language the child actually uses. In the case of ghetto children, materials in their dialect must be prepared so that their task of associating sounds and words with written symbols is not complicated by lack of…

The final unit of this three-part course begins with the mass migration of Southern blacks to the industrial cities in the North and the consequent rise of black ghettos. How the blacks responded to these new conditions--the development of the black church, the rise of the blues as a method of self-expression and the emergence of political and…

"Discovering Successful Pathways in Children's Development" provides a new perspective on the study of childhood and family life. Successful development is enhanced when communities provide meaningful life pathways that children can seek out and engage. Successful pathways include both a culturally valued direction for development and competence…

War and violence are part of day-to-day life for many of the world's children. This book explores the lives of the children of Cambodia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and inner-city Chicago. Through research on the psychological and developmental effects of trauma in early life and interviews with children in war zones…

Social scientists have adopted two different views on the influence of the community and home on academic achievement of lower-class and minority students. The first is the deficit perspective, or the failure-of-socialization hypothesis. The second is the difference perspective, or the cultural-discontinuity/failure-of-communication hypothesis.…

This book analyzes how community-based organizations in low income urban neighborhoods can promote reform of their local public schools. Chapter 1, "Reassessing the Declining Urban Neighborhood," discusses the sources of urban decline in terms of a structural relationship between "haves" and "have-nots." Chapter 2,…

A survey was conducted in ghetto areas in Los Angeles and New Orleans to explore the waysin which ghetto residents gain information about public events, social service agencies, and job opportunities. Researchers found that information dissemination in the ghetto communities was a great problem. The mere presence of a social service agency or job…

"The Opportunity Gap" aims to shift attention from the current overwhelming emphasis on schools in discussions of the achievement gap to more fundamental questions about social and educational opportunity. The achievement gap looms large in the current era of high-stakes testing and accountability. Yet questions persist: Has the…