Recent research demonstrates that teacher quality has a greater impact on student achievement than any other educational factor. Yet there is concern that overall teacher quality is variable, and hard-to-staff schools (i.e., high poverty and minority schools) have an even more difficult time recruiting and retaining quality teachers. The No Child…

Whatever else might be said about the No Child Left Behind Act, it has the potential to be one of the most important pieces of education civil rights legislation in a generation. Its goals are an indispensable component of a renewed commitment to promoting racial and ethnic justice. The emphasis on accountability gives essential urgency and…

Mobility, rather than stability, has become the norm for students in schools across the United States. The student mobility rate is now higher in the United States than in any other industrialized country. This Information Capsule discusses the reasons for student mobility and the characteristics of highly mobile students and families. Research…

President Bush says that the No Child Left Behind Act is working, pointing to student-achievement results from a single subsection of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and tentative Reading First data. But the evidence available to support his claim is questionable. The data Mr. Bush cited are from just the "long-term…

Across the globe, progressive universities are embracing any number of MUVEs (multi-user virtual environments), 3D environments, and "immersive" virtual reality tools. And within the next few months, several universities are expected to test so-called "telepresence" videoconferencing systems from Cisco Systems and other leading…

Introduction: This study used quality of life and resilience as theoretical frameworks for evaluating predictors of outcomes for adults who received foster care services alumni of foster care and were diagnosed with a physical or psychiatric disability while in foster care. Method: First, outcomes for foster care alumni with and without physical…

"Doors to Discovery"[TM] is an early childhood curriculum that uses thematic units to engage young children and support them as they build an understanding of their world. "Doors to Discovery"[TM] literacy activities are used to encourage children's development in a number of areas identified by research as the foundation for…

This book describes the historical perspectives related to the education of Black children through their heritage, their family and community, and institutions of learning. The complex interactions between Blacks and Whites and the roles of philosophers, theorists, and educational practitioners in this historical development are discussed. The…

A distillation is presented of the ideas, facts, trends, conclusions, and recommendations presented during a 2-day conference on strategies to reduce urban poverty. The meeting addressed two main approaches to reducing urban poverty: economic opportunity and human development, and the linkages between them. Urban poverty was set in the context of…

Women of Hispanic origin are one of the fastest growing groups in the United States. In 1983 there were 5.1 million Hispanic women aged 16 years and older in the United States, but by the end of 1993 they numbered nearly 8 million. Women of Mexican origin remained the largest subgroup (4.7 million), followed by those of Puerto Rican (919,000) and…

In North Carolina, the Task Force on the Achievement of Culturally Diverse Students was established to respond to specific goals and objectives that speak to the achievement of African American, Native American, and Hispanic American students. Issues on homeless children and youths were addressed to a lesser extent since this group represents a…

The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990 authorizes the U.S. Department of Education to review state plans submitted under the Act to evaluate whether they adequately address the problems of homeless children and youth relating to access to education and placement. Policy Studies Associates conducted a study of the…

This position paper presents a discussion of "academic child abuse," defined as the use of practices that cause unnecessary failure of groups of students in foundation skill and knowledge areas. Part 1 articulates the fundamental problems with the decision-making practices of school districts and other agencies charged with teaching children.…

The broader social issues (poverty, illiteracy, health care, single parent families) of school reform in urban settings are explored in a paper divided into four parts. The first examines the impact of urbanization on the conditions of schools in the inner city. Part two analyzes the value assumptions embedded in both the first and second waves of…

This study examines effective models for use of Chapter 1 funds. The interventions for Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act are examined for several Northern California Bay Area elementary schools. Ten teachers answered questions related to the current Chapter 1 program in effect at their school sites. Responses indicate that…