Reviews the following health issues related to the opportunity to learn for poor African-American and other minority children: (1) inadequate prenatal care; (2) malnutrition; (3) childhood diseases and illnesses; (4) unsafe environments and violence; (5) teenage sexual activity, pregnancy, and AIDS; (6) substance use and abuse; and (7) mental and…

This witness appeared for the state of Missouri, which wished to discontinue funding the St. Louis public schools' desegregation efforts, in the areas of school desegregation plans and techniques, surveys and survey methodology, race relations and attitudes, allocation of resources, statistical analysis, and the relationship between school…

This report, submitted during the 1996 Liddell court case on school desegregation in the St. Louis (Missouri) city schools, has been revised. Part 1 analyzes the effects of race on student achievement, using school district data. Part 2 uses national survey data to focus on the effects of race on education, employment, and attitudes. (SLD)

The young people quoted in this paper attend two high schools in Umlazi Township, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Poverty is rife in the area: some students are known to go five days at a stretch without food. Parts of the vast, sprawling township are notorious for shootings and violent crime. The rape of schoolgirls on their way to and from school…

This study measured the English and Spanish language proficiency and phonological sensitivity skills of Hispanic children who attended Head Start. Its primary objective was to determine the relationship between language proficiency and phonological sensitivity in English and Spanish independently, and whether this relationship differed in English…

Objective: This study's aim was to examine variables associated with different short-term trajectories in multiply disadvantaged adolescent mothers by investigating antecedents and concomitants of parenting stress. Method: We followed 49 adolescent mothers (ages 14-18 at study outset) who were wards in Illinois foster care using a longitudinal…

The author considers whether differences in genetic endowment may account for racial and ethnic differences in school readiness. While acknowledging an important role for genes in explaining differences "within" races, he nevertheless argues that environment explains most of the gap "between" blacks and whites, leaving little role for genetics.…

This article is an analysis of the current state of early childhood care in the Maghreb, in particular in Morocco and Algeria, where the pre-schooling rate for 5-year-olds is on the increase. Extending pre-school infrastructures and the need to create unified curricula have been among the most urgent questions to be tackled over the last decade in…

In this paper, we examine some modern myths of poverty and special education. Mythology has been a staple of curriculum for many years, particularly in the early grades. Students study mythology to understand historical societies, unearthing cultural values and mores communicated through fables. Not so benign are myths related to poverty and…

Context: Adolescence is critical for the development of adult health habits. Disparities between rural and urban adolescents and between minority and white youth can have life-long consequences. Purpose: To compare health insurance coverage and ambulatory care contacts between rural minority adolescents and white and urban adolescents. Methods:…

One of the more enigmatic issues of contemporary homelessness is that of schooling. This collection highlights issues related to the provision of an education to homeless children and youths. Background information is offered, with an analysis of educational policy relating to homeless children. Practical strategies and a review of successful…

This study evaluated how public school districts collect, disaggregate, and analyze student outcome data. A survey was mailed to research directors and test directors responsible for assessments in 142 public school districts to determine if the districts have the capacity to analyze opportunity to learn (OTL) data, what their interest level is in…

This paper discusses teaching science to language minority students and describes work with linguistic minority children and their teachers. A key goal of this work is to create scientific sense-making communities in the classroom that parallel science as it is practiced in the world. Following a critique of current practice in science education,…

This book attempts to put learning to read in the United States into its broader ecological context of the school, the family, and society. It tells the stories of students trying to learn to read and of the adults who try to help them. The stories of individual students, particularly the case study of a student named James, illustrate how the…

The story of Alejandro Juarez, Jr., a Mexican American youth, and his family's experiences in the parochial and public schools of Chicago (Illinois) portrays the problems that bilingual and bicultural children and their parents face. A further dimension was added by Alejandro's learning problems, which further complicated an already complex and…