Young people's lives have been directly and indirectly affected by the dynamics of decline in rural Australia. In early 1999, the Casterton region experienced the suicides of two young people. These events led to the funding of a rural youth education and support program at the town's secondary college. The program adopts a multi-layered approach…

This study shows how the provision of educational facilities in Kenya since the colonial era has been skewed in favour of densely populated agricultural communities. It analyses interventions to redress the resultant imbalances, such as the school-fees waiver, free primary education, the construction of boarding schools, and school feeding…

A community-campus health partnership was formed in 1999. To determine health partnership priorities, it was collaboratively decided that an assessment of the community's health needs and interests was necessary. This article describes a community-based participatory research project: namely, a door-to-door survey to assess community health needs…

In Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Oakland, California and Philadelphia, to name a few cities where it has been active, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has emerged as a major player in K-12 in education issues. Its army of organizers has tackled everything from a lack of stop signs to such vexing issues as teacher…

This issue in the "Literacy Matters" looks at the relationship between literacy and HIV prevention education. It is the result of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning's work on examining the contribution of non-formal education (NFE) to HIV prevention, carried out in collaboration with the Association for the Development of…

Self-help initiatives stand as a classic context for organizational studies in community psychology. Behavior setting theory stands as a classic conception of organizations and the environment. This study explores both, applying behavior setting theory to consumer-run organizations (CROs). Analysis of multiple data sets from all CROs in Kansas…

Background: Family and community involvement in schools is linked strongly to improvements in the academic achievement of students, better school attendance, and improved school programs and quality. Method: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts the School Health Policies and Programs Study every 6 years. In 2006,…

The use of local languages in formal education is a widely debated educational strategy in sub-Saharan Africa. National-level policies abound which permit mother-tongue instruction in primary grades, and yet successful implementation of those policies is not merely so common. The reasons for this are varied, but one powerful reason has to do with…

The Community Organization Sense of Community Scale (COSOC) is a frequently used or cited measure of the construct in community psychology and other disciplines, despite a lack of confirmation of its underlying 4-factor framework. Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesized structure of the COSOC, the potential effects of method bias on…

The implementation and continuing growth of a volunteer youth/adult match-up service, Cal-Pal, being provided in seven rural communities are described in this article. School social workers in these areas can collaborate with other school-based personnel and community leaders to make such a service available. A major benefit of the program is the…

This document was prepared for participants of the 1986 Invitational Conference for Boards of Education in Maryland. It contains three sections that present scenarios dealing with the following issues: staffing, interest group involvement, and secondary schools. Each section includes: (1) a definition or discussion of the issues currently…

This book describes how to establish a Cultural Exchange Program in a school. The Cultural Exchange Program is a partnership between special education students and teachers, regular education students and teachers, and the community. The program involves a member of the international community visiting the school approximately once a month. Before…

Despite a long tradition of public support for public education, America today is experiencing the erosion of public commitment to public schools. Chapter 1 of this book describes the reasons for the disconnection between schools and communities and argues that fundamental change must start with the public and within the community in order to…

In hoping for a brighter future of self-government and self-determination, Canadian Aboriginal communities have placed great hopes and expectations on their youth. The complexity and uniqueness of career-related issues pose a formidable challenge in the development of career counseling programs for Aboriginal youth. This digest describes the…

Most of our public problems--from crime to racial tensions to substance abuse--directly involve and affect young people. The goal of this guide is to create opportunities for young people and adults to talk candidly about youth issues, develop new ideas, and work together to implement these ideas. It fosters democratic dialogue by advocating the…