Describes a Kingsborough Community College program that pairs an experimental sociology course with a speech and English class to help ethnically diverse students develop needed reading and writing skills, while improving their self-concept by noting parallels between their cultures and the dominant culture. Reviews course content and goals. (DMM)

Interviews with 116 Texas health science center administrators and faculty, community leaders, and state officials investigated barriers to development of area health education centers for training health professionals. School and community respondents agreed on the need for more cooperative planning and training for future activities with border…

Examines how oral history may help close the gap between professional and public history, thus broadening the framework of historical discourse. Considers public history projects--films, videos, museum, and historic site exhibits--and the work on conceptions of history by David Carr and Henry Glassie. Favors interpretive approaches that reflect…

Describes examples drawn mostly from urban areas that required the building of coalitions between schools and communities to create a new, more democratic context for curriculum development. Cited are the nationwide Vocational Education Project, the Southern Coalition for Educational Equity, and the "Rethinking Schools" progressive newsletter in…

High school academies are three-year programs offering educationally disadvantaged students an integrated academic and vocational education, extensive counseling and peer support, and employment opportunities. These models to combat dropping out and facilitate transition from school to work are joint efforts of school districts, local businesses,…

Stresses the crucial role that parents play in improving student motivation and achievement in school. Sees the parent-teacher conference as an invaluable tool for involving parents in their children's education and winning community support for public schools. Advises how to conduct a productive parent-teacher conference. (CH)

Reviews trends in Black economic progress and compares data for Black and White families. Describes how structural changes in families and income inequalities are symptoms of a growing Black underclass. Calls for policies to reduce joblessness among underclass men and increase child support by absentee fathers. (MW)

New Jersey's governor describes his state's response to the problems and needs of adolescents by creating the School-Based Youth Services Program. The program involves schools and community agencies in the provision of comprehensive services to teenagers, including mental health and family counseling, health services, and other interventions. (AF)

Verbal skills traditional in many Black communities were acquired by a pattern of socialization that was not as congruent with school use of written and oral language as the mainstream socialization process. The changing language use needs of the workplace present an educational challenge for both minority and mainstream populations. (Author/BJV)

Demonstrates that socio-economic factors such as family background are important in determining student achievement, but are reinforced by factors such as teaching and learning resources. Presents a study of student achievement in mathematics and science related to parental education and occupation and to type of school. (LS)

Maintains that educators can achieve instructional goals if students are provided with effective and interesting curricular activities. Describes the Entrepreneurship Economic Education Project in Clark County, Nevada. Asserts that it could serve as a model for community involvement in economics education. (CFR)

Reviews a book about the history of a small rural school in Braxton County, West Virginia. Argues that consolidation and eventual closure of this school resulted from political, economic, social, and cultural forces that failed to recognize the important relationship between the school and the community. Reflects on the reviewer's own previous…

Argues for a sociological analysis of effective schools as opposed to the positivist paradigm. Maintains that the practice of schooling cannot be separated from the broader social, cultural, and political aspects of the local community. Profiles four high schools and their educational philosophies. (MJP)

Overviews the problems California schools have recruiting bilingual teachers and presents a recruiting model originating in the San Bernardino County Fontana School District in cooperation with a major university. Components of the model include well-defined staffing policies, a career ladder for bilingual teacher aides and support for teacher…

Describes a space education center that was developed in a Utah elementary school as a spacecraft simulator. Highlights include funding methods; business and community participation; student programs, including field trip opportunities for other schools; and the use of technology, including videodisc, videotapes, computers, telephone systems, and…