This instructional packet is one of the components of "Work Skills," a set of competency-based instructional materials written for low-level readers that prepares students with specific job search and job keeping skills. ("Work Skills" is part of the "Connections" package, which represents a synthesis of significant work on education and…

This guide for adult educators provides a general model for establishing and maintaining Adult Basic Education (ABE)-in-Industry programs. The model encompasses eight components, including the industry program and ABE program. The handbook, however, skips the two programs and begins with the industry and ABE agreement component, devoting a chapter…

The inability of the schools to meet the educational needs of economically disadvantaged minority children has prompted efforts to identify alternatives to the traditional school curriculum. One such alternative emphasizes the use of the arts in developing basic academic skills. Research indicates that the arts can be used to develop perceptual…

Disadvantaged secondary school students with special reading needs can be motivated in the reading room. The school year can start with "popcorn" reading involving materials that are funny, interesting, and exciting. The teacher reads to the students or the students read silently, using materials on the students' independent rather than…

Information necessary to the planning of the 1982-83 Austin (Texas) Independent School District Chapter I Program is provided in four sections. The first section describes in detail how the attendance areas were ranked by percentages of low-income students. The second section describes ranking procedures altered to reflect differences in…

The development of moral judgment of students was studied in two types of college courses requiring readings, lectures, and discussions. In one of the courses, students gained exposure to or served disadvantaged people; they combined reflection on this experience in the light of readings and lectures. The other course was a more traditional…

A project was conducted to develop and implement a field-based inservice and preservice model to increase vocational education services to disadvantaged students in the Centre Region of Pennsylvania. With the help of an advisory committee, the following activities were carried out: (1) an instructional resource team was developed and services were…

The Employability Factors Study is a 3-year research effort that focuses on youth's perceptions of the skills and attitudinal attributes needed to get and keep jobs. A preliminary study was made of 1,135 youth enrolled in employability development programs and comparison groups of employed and nonemployed youth not enrolled in such programs. Data…

This paper assesses the youth employment situation from a policymaking perspective. The first of three main sections provides a largely statistical overview of the current youth labor market. The 1980s recession is said to be a depression for youth, especially minority youth. Increases in teenage unemployment are documented, and asserted to be the…

Federal appropriations totalling over $162 million during fiscal year 1984 enabled the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to attack the region's most critical needs. Area development appropriations ($43 million) were used to create almost 10,550 new jobs and retain nearly 4,100 jobs, give special assistance to Appalachia's neediest 80 counties…

The problems facing low-income families headed by women and some current and planned Ford Foundation responses are discussed in this paper. The first section presents a general overview of the problem, with special focus on nonpayment of child support and teenage pregnancy. The debate over the Federal welfare program and other attempts to use…

A model is proposed for enhancing family choice in public education; unlike many previous voucher plans, it would build on current trends in educational administration. Following an introduction that reviews these trends--highlighting recent developments in California school finance--two central assumptions are stated: that regulated competition…

This study sought to identify the relationship between operationally-defined family outing activities and measures of achievement among fourth grade students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. The results, collected for four successive years from 1715 students in urban Los Angeles, indicated that: (1) participation in family activities…

In the midst of a period of major educational reform, questions about standards, quality, and excellence have dominated at the expense of questions about access and equity. To begin with, certain myths must be challenged. The belief that schools were once uniformly better than today is a distortion of history. So is the belief that attempts at…

An increased proportion of Chapter 1 budgets across the country have been directed to the purchase of microcomputer hardware and software. A major reason for this expenditure has been the promise of better instruction, or at least more instruction for Chapter 1 students, without additional staff resources. Although evidence for instructional…