The rationale and feasibility for using Computer Assited Instruction (CAI) with migrant students was investigated. Three major social needs for migrants were identified: to reduce the educational retardation and high dropout rate among children, and to improve the economic status of the family. Three projects were proposed to meet these needs: a…

The United States Training and Employment Service General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), first published in 1947, has been included in a continuing program of research to validate the tests against success in many different occupations. The GATB consists of 12 tests which measure nine aptitudes: General Learning Ability; Verbal Aptitude; Numerical…

The German Democratic Republic's (GDR) Constitution says that "members of cooperative farms are responsible for the creation, on the basis of existing laws, of their own working and living conditions". This also applies to regulations of working hours, holidays, and paid leaves. The total time available per day to members of cooperative…

As rural communities decline due to job losses in agriculture and other industries, they often aggressively court new industries. In such circumstances, a community should question what a proposed new industry will require in terms of infrastructure; the effects of the new labor force on schools, businesses, and housing; the impact on the…

This document was written to support the work of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs. The message provided is straightforward: we can meet the challenge of supporting first and second language development in preschool children. This paper is organized around four questions: (1) Can we facilitate children's acquisition of English…

Preventing Agricultural Chemical Exposure among North Carolina Farmworkers (PACE) is a project designed to describe farmworker pesticide exposure and to develop an educational intervention to reduce farmworker pesticide exposure. The PACE project used a community participation framework to ensure that the community played a significant role in…

Although NAFTA has proven profitable for U.S. growers who have relocated agricultural production to Mexico, it has helped create an economic crisis that has forced thousands of Mexican children to leave school in order to work and supplement their parents' shrinking income. In Mexicali Valley (Baja California), approximately a fourth of the…

Census data reveal that during the period from 1990 to 1993, the number of hired farmworkers declined; farmworkers were likely to be young, male, and Hispanic, and to have only a limited education; over half of farmworkers had not graduated from high school; and farmworkers' earnings were significantly lower when compared to other workers.…

During the 1980s, the rise of independent farm labor contractors and Republican labor policies led to a deterioration in the economic well-being of farmworkers and their families. Delays in the implementation of new safeguards under the Worker Protection Standards Act have resulted in continuing exposure to pesticides, causing such exposure to…

Ricky is an 11-year-old migrant worker. During the summer, he travels with his family from their home in Rio Grande City, Texas, to farms farther north. There they spend 10-12 hours a day in the hot sun picking fruit and vegetables and packing the harvest for market. Ricky is not protected by the federal laws that govern the hours, wages, and…

This report provides information on the characteristics and work patterns of United States agricultural workers performing seasonal agricultural services (SAS) during fiscal year 1990. SAS crops include the majority of nursery products, cash grains, field crops, and all fruits and vegetables. More than 2,000 personal interviews with SAS workers…

Hudson Valley Migrant Health (HVMH) (a Public Health Service program) collaborated with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) on a study of the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis among migrant farmworkers in the mid-Hudson region of New York. CDC research personnel…

Preventing or reducing exposure to agricultural chemicals is an important focus for health educators serving farmworkers and their families. The need for this health education has been intensified with the development of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Among other requirements, WPS states that farmworkers…

Since the late 1970s, California's rural poor (frequently immigrants and refugees) have been engaged in grassroots efforts to change the cultural and political landscapes of their communities. Told in the words of rural people, this book presents six stories of struggle and empowerment. In Yuba City, Latino and East Indian farmworkers felt that…

This resource/study guide is designed to accompany the instructional video, "Sugar Cane: A Bitter-Sweet Legacy," which explores the significance of cultivating, harvesting, and refining sugar cane. It is also a brief study of the disappearing African-American workers on the sugar cane plantations in southern Louisiana. Seven main ideas…