This report comprises a critical analysis of research in the area of the disadvantaged student, mostly on population characteristics and on educational programs offered them. Much of the research on such factors as genetic and environmental influences, verbal ability, motivation, school achievement, attrition rate, demographic characteristics,…

This speech offers a guide to identifying and teaching high-risk children, those who exhibit a lag in development severe enough to be a handicap in learning. The high-risk children focused on are those whose developmental lag is frequently not recognized until they fail in school. The two major areas of neurodevelopmental learning disorders are in…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of motion pictures utilizing black models on the self-concept of black fourth and sixth grade students; that perhaps, mediated black models may be effective in bringing about a more positive self-concept among black students. The design of this study was of the post-test form only. This was…

Educational psychotherapy for preschool children and its functioning are described in detail. Also described is the process of training teachers to do this work. The educational psychotherapy process attempts to operate at the interface between education and psychotherapy. The components of catharsis, recall, sharpening and correcting of…

The Resident Tutor Project, funded under Title I of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act, was initiated in June 1968, in an effort to prevent skill deficits from progressing to such a point that they are beyond remediation within the relatively short span of a child's school years. The project was designed to provide additional resources to…

RECOVER is a developmental aftercare team of professionals and paraprofessionals organized to serve the total person with versatility. Coordinated expertise of the team was focused on providing action-type opportunities for starting developmental processes in clients. Methods included counseling, groups, crisis intervention, cluster apartment…

The range of cognitive gains made by low-income preschool children in the home-based Mother-Child Home Program is discussed as to the causes of the wide variability found. At the end of one year (October 1967 to May 1968) in the program, 33 low-income preschoolers made an average Stanford-Binet IQ gain of 17 points. The varibility within this…

A national indifference to children is indicated by the system of foster child care and by the treatment of mental retardates. Another manifestation is the attack on Head Start. Criticism based on the program's failure to raise standardized intelligence or aptitude scores is misplaced. Head Start is a broad developmental program having many…

Data from a stratified random sample of full-year 1967-1968 and summer 1968 Head Start programs were re-analyzed to compare centers operated by local educational agencies (LEA) and community action agencies (CAA). The analyses indicated that CAA-operated programs were more likely to report parent participation in decision making and as paid staff,…

It is not easy to describe American efforts during the past dozen or so years aimed at improving the quality of education for all, with particular attention to those termed "the disadvantaged." The difficulties stem from the diversity of activities and programs, the ebb and flow of various efforts, the responses and resistances to legislative and…

IQ and reading achievement in grade five were examined in a ten-year follow-up study of children who had participated in an early-intervention program, at ages 24 or 36 months. The intervention program varied age of training, type of training (concept versus discovery), and social class for 310 black male children from Harlem. The follow-up study…

Suggestions for narrowing the discrepancy between the knowledge base of early communication development and the implementation of effective communication interventions for severely handicapped infants and young children are offered including strategies for facilitating emerging language development, increasing positive interactions with infants,…

Thirty-four stimulant-treated, academically deficient, and attention deficit disordered, hyperactive (ADDH) boys (ages 7-12) participated in a 16-week, intensive cognitive training program focusing on academic skills and tasks. Intervention did not enhance self-esteem and there was poor agreement between teacher ratings of academic competence and…

This paper reviews learning characteristics and best intervention practices for the mentally retarded; research on the use of computer-assisted instruction to teach language skills; alternative models for computer use, such as expert systems and learner-based software; characteristics of computer-based language activities that complement learning…

Hyperlexic children have superior word recognition skills accompanied by delayed development of cognitive and language abilities. Assessment of four hyperlexic children (ages 5-9) confirmed their superior abilities to retain sound/symbol associations. Written prompts were then effectively used to increase functional speech in one of the subjects.…