To broaden and extend the Mt. Druitt Early Childhood Project, a study was made of variables that research suggested were associated with classroom disruption in the primary school. Disruptive incidents in the classroom were construed as sequences of behaviors involving one or more students and the teacher in which class order breaks down and the…

This report is based on the 1982 Current Population Survey data from the Bureau of Census and examines the declining status of female-headed households in the United States. The study concentrates on White, Black, and Hispanic women and their children. Factors associated with poverty are examined, including marital status, employment, and training…

Boston's Title I Early Childhood/Jackson Mann Developmental Program is discussed in this interim evaluation report (1980-81). The purpose of the Early Childhood component, which serves about 1000 4-year-olds (kindergarten I) and 5-year-olds (kindergarten II) is to raise the level of educational achievement among children identified as needing…

To assess the impact of economic deprivation on students' reading scores in standardized tests, the vocabulary and reading comprehension portions of the California Achievement Test and the Degree of Reading Power test were admininstered to two groups of eighth grade students--60 students participating in the federal free lunch program and 60…

This report on school finance trends in urban areas is based on an analysis of the fiscal and demographic features of 44 major U.S. cities, as these have changed between 1970 and 1980. During this period, urban school systems experienced a median enrollment decline of 25 percent (2.5 times the national average), as a result of declining…

The importance of cooperation between colleges and schools to insure that students have adequate preparation for college-level work is considered by the assistant vice-president of the University of California System. It is claimed that higher college admission standards would screen out underprepared students but would not solve the problem of…

The overall development of the California Student Opportunity and Access (Cal-SOAP) Program and its achievement of legislatively-established objectives are reviewed, along with the objectives and accomplishments of five pilot projects. Cal-Soap is an experimental program that promotes interinstitutional efforts to increase postsecondary…

An analysis of rural population growth and its economic consequences in California, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Vermont helps explain the changing conditions in rural America and indicates the direction policy should take. Despite their distance from financial centers and their low density, rural areas are generally characterized by a more…

In Israel, efforts to narrow the cognitive and social gap between pupils have been directed toward integration through structural changes in the educational system, along with expected changes in the educational process. This study analyzes the relationships between the school climate and the different educational outcomes for students in various…

Two approaches to private sector participation in employment and training programs for economically disadvantaged out-of-school youth (16-21 years old) are discussed in this report. The two approaches are: (1) subsidized work experience in the private sector, which tries to foster good work habits leading to employment; and (2) occupational…

The school dropout problem among American Indian youths is severe and complicated by the heterogeneous nature of the population and its unique social, cultural, and political history. To investigate the educational experiences of high risk Navajo youths in the areas of language minority status, traditionalism, critical markers, distance to school,…

Drawing on data from a study of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this report analyzes the technical assistance that local districts receive in compensatory education, with an emphasis on the relationship between technical assistance and the local decision-making that ultimately shapes the program. The first section describes…

This report is one of a series of literature reviews conducted in response to the primary concerns of educators nationally. After noting the scarcity of research on parent involvement in the instruction of their children in kindergarten through high school, the authors summarize 18 documents found to be relevant and valid to the topic of parent…

Research on academic achievement and high risk students over the past 30 years indicates that the home, the school, or the community can be the source of insufficient educational experiences that contribute to educational disadvantage. About 30 percent of the present school population is estimated to be at risk of failure, and demographic…

This case study describes the vocational education system and job training programs, especially those funded through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, in an unnamed metropolitan area of California. The data were collected as part of another larger national study of state and local response to the Perkins Act. Information was collected…