There has been a quiet revolution growing in schooling in many parts of the developing world, particularly at the primary level. These mostly successful radical alternatives are little known among educators and scholars of education. In many cases, children who are considered the hardest to reach and teach accomplish curricular objectives not…

The Conference on Improving Minority and At-Risk Student Achievement was convened to help educators, parents, community, and business leaders in North Carolina focus in strategies and ideas that work to raise student achievement levels for low-performing students. This report summarizes the remarks of Michael Garrett, the keynote address of Asa…

Project Discovery II was based on a previous highly successful Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) project called Project Discovery. Teams of high school teachers and college faculty in the project planned and implemented an integrated, discovery based curriculum with groups of block-programmed students in New York City…

This paper examines how Asian Pacific American high school students struggle to gain social support, cultural affirmation, and political empowerment. Four distinct case studies are highlighted: (1) an urban elite public school in which entrance is by examination; (2) an urban nonelite neighborhood public school; (3) a wealthy suburban public…

After an analysis of 1990 Philippines National Statistics Office data showed a high incidence of illiteracy among women in the fishing villages, a project, Community Learning Approach (CLA), was developed to raise the literacy level. It was designed as an alternative delivery system of educating women in 24 villages for functional literacy and…

A study examined the effects of prior knowledge on the reading comprehension of disadvantaged first-grade students from an inner-city school in northern Utah. A thematic approach using trade books, field experiences, Language Experience Activities, and student journals was used to increase background knowledge of the at-risk first graders who were…

This brochure summarizes results of a study of "best practices" in the Student Support Services program (SSS), a federal program intended to increase the college retention and graduation rates of participants who are the first-generation in their families to attend college, are disadvantaged, or are disabled. To identify best practices,…

As subjects of numerous studies and research reports since the 1930s, Puerto Ricans in U.S. mainland schools have been portrayed as problems, as losers or disadvantaged, and as potentially at risk. This chapter documents the difficult educational history of Puerto Ricans, who have been in U.S.-controlled schools even in Puerto Rico since 1898, to…

This paper describes the activities and outcomes of a program in literacy education for the deaf funded by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The "L.E.A.D." program began in El Paso, Texas, on September 1, 1995, and ceased operations on July 31, 1997. The program was designed to improve communication in economically disadvantaged…

In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education funded 21 state and 164 college and middle school partnership grants for Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), which encourages disadvantaged youth to prepare for college. As part of its grant, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) surveyed parents and…

This study looked at the graduation rates of an urban, historically black, comprehensive community college to compare success rates of students who took a remediation course with those students who took no remediation courses. Data were collected from 659 first time freshman enrolled at Bishop State Community College (AL). Chi-square tests were…

This overview on potential funding sources describes three major federal programs that can provide a financing base for public job creation initiatives serving hard-to-employ welfare recipients and non-custodial parents. Section I is an introduction. Section II focuses on the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Section III…

Articles in this journal discuss the role of community colleges in educating welfare recipients since President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996. Under the new legislation, a new block grant, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), was launched in July 1997, eliminating…

Indigenous knowledge is a critical factor for sustainable development. Empowerment of local communities is a prerequisite for the integration of indigenous knowledge in the development process. The integration of appropriate indigenous knowledge systems into development programs has already contributed to efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainable…

Family MAASAI is a multiservice substance abuse prevention and intervention program for African American at-risk urban youth. The program commemorates the Maasai people of Africa and uses MAASAI as an acronym that stands for Maintaining African American Survival, Achievement, and Integrity. Cultural awareness, pride, and respect for self, elders,…