The Arizona Head Start Association is a federation of public and private organizations that provide Head Start programs and work to improve the conditions of children in the state. This annual report describes the operation of the Head Start program in Arizona for 2000-2001. Beginning with an introductory letter from the president of the Arizona…

Analyses involving 105 biological mothers of children (ages birth to adult) with mild/moderate or severe/profound retardation revealed a low level of use of respite care across groups and no significant difference between groups. The discrepancy between demonstrated need and service utilization is highlighted. (Author/JDD)

A pretest-posttest control group design was used to assess the leadership and problem-solving skills of 281 participants and 110 controls in a statewide community leadership development program. Quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate that the program has been a catalyst to influence leadership and problem-solving skills for community…

Examined relationship of familial, demographic, and individual characteristics to pregnancy probability among 124 sexually active adolescent females. Found pregnancy was function of combination of demographic and familial variables. Pregnant adolescents perceived families as having low strength and closed communication, came from homes with…

Studied relationship between college programs in prisons and societal adjustment as well as participation in college programs. Examined postrelease success of 526 offenders enrolled in college, vocational, secondary, and elementary programs while incarcerated. Results were mixed, but college program participants had better adjustment scores…

This ethnographic study of 50 male African-American gang members constructs a portrait of the culture in which these young men lived and points out factors that helped 11 of them begin to escape gang life, in contrast to the other 39 who lacked these supporting factors of families, teachers, and peers. (SLD)

Twenty-four studies involving functional assessment of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) or those at risk for E/BD are reviewed in three main areas: (1) characteristics of participants; (2) types of functional assessment procedures and instruments employed; and (3) the reliability and validity of these instruments and…

In the last twenty years colleges have begun to emphasize the importance of career training in undergraduate programs. The current investigation addressed three questions related to this movement. First, are college students, in general, aware of the educational requirements of their preferred career? Second, are the perceptions of psychology…

We introduce family researchers to the Occupational Information Network, or O*Net, an electronic database on the work characteristics of over 950 occupations. The paper here is a practical primer that covers data collection, selecting occupational characteristics, coding occupations, scale creation, and construct validity, with empirical…

The National Science Foundation's Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement Program (UFEP) awards grants on a competitive basis to project directors at colleges and universities, professional societies, industry, and other qualified organizations to conduct regional or national seminars, short courses, workshops, conferences, or similar activities for…

A study examined adults' experiences regarding participation, guidance, and progression in various formal educational settings across Scotland. In-depth interviews were conducted with 50 adult returners to the different parts of the education system (higher, further, and community education and local schools). Data from the interviews were…

An exploratory study examined the past and present participation in education of 34 parents enrolled in 5 model family literacy programs in North Carolina and Kentucky. All respondents were high school dropouts. Over half had dropped out of adult basic education classes before completing a high school equivalency certificate. The study focused on…

Group identification is a major cause of religious, racial, and international conflict. Many forms of group identification are fantasy bonds, imagined connections with others offering security at the expense of individual self-realization. The fantasy bond forms in childhood in response to inadequate parenting. Human beings are not inherently…

Guidelines and criteria for constructing questionnaires to evaluate early childhood special education programs are presented. The information may be used to identify parent attitudes and staff attitudes and needs. Attention is directed to the focus, title, purpose statement, directions, demographic questions, set of items and responses, and…

A bilingual Manpower Recreation Training Program in Hialeah, Florida, provides on-the-job training for underemployed or unemployed 18 to 24 year olds from disadvantaged families. The year-round program encompasses classroom as well as playground training, and participant reactions describe a successful program. (LH)