This report contains information on elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education aggregated at a state level. A wide array of statistical data is presented, ranging from enrollments and enrollment ratios to teacher salaries and institutional finances. The report is designed to meet the needs of state and local education…

This collection documents how far we still are in the United States from putting our knowledge about child well being and policy into practice. It provides an overview of the changing nature of child poverty in the United States through the contributions of authors who use a number of qualitative and quantitative approaches to look at children in…

This book focuses on a range of instructional practices that promote children's understanding and build meaning into their academic learning experience. Actual practices uncovered in a 2-year investigation of 140 classrooms in a variety of high-poverty school settings are described and analyzed in a comprehensive demonstration of what…

By describing what has been learned in disseminating Success for All, a reform program for high-poverty elementary schools, this paper explores how a national approach to professional development might enable professional development networks to implement proven school change models. Success for All restructures the elementary school by…

In 1993, 10.4 million people were classified as being among the working poor. Of those individuals living in poverty, 2.4 million worked year round at full-time jobs and 7.4 million lived in a household containing someone who was employed full time throughout the year. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report identified low earnings, involuntary…

The stories of gang members and former gang members show that positive solutions can be found to the crisis of American urban youth. Personal experiences and challenges similar to those faced by young black students are used to indicate that there is hope. It is evident that poor black youth cannot survive or become part of the mainstream in…

Minority gangs of the 1980s are examined as groups of juveniles and young adults and as a fraction of the forming underclass. Gangs today no longer disappear as their ethnic groups rises socially. Instead, gangs are becoming institutionalized in the central cities. This discussion of prior research in Los Angeles (California) and more recent…

This book is concerned with the impact of poverty on health, focusing on families with young children in the United Kingdom. It draws together information from a wide range of disciplines to provide workers in the health and welfare fields with a better understanding of the complex interconnections between living conditions, lifestyles, and health…

The need for a national strategy on child abuse and neglect has reached crisis proportions. This report declares child abuse and neglect a national emergency and presents the key elements of a national response to this crisis. Following an executive summary, the report is divided into three parts. Part 1, "The Need for a National Strategy on…

It is estimated that by the year 2010, 50 percent of the population of southeast Asia will be under 15 years of age. Based on a research project completed in 1993, this book provides a regional overview of the quality of life for these children, and is targeted not only at those with an academic and professional interest in child care and social…

Interviews with 265 low-income women examined demographic factors, maternal and child educational experiences, and social support factors, with a focus on urban-rural differences. The women lived in Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida, and ranged in age from 16 to 55; 94 percent had children and 80 percent were not currently married. The results…

This abstract summarizes recent statistics on the prevalence and causes of disability among U.S. children, based on data from the 1992 National Health Interview Survey, a household survey of the noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Analysis indicates that there are difficulties in comparing disability prevalence across age groups; overall, 5.5…

Barriers to progress in educational reform exist inside and outside the education system. Some arise where new practices encounter traditional expectations and boundaries, but others go much deeper than education, such as poverty, racism, local political conflicts, and human resistance to change. The following five categories of barriers are…

The Erikson Psychosocial Inventory (EPSI) (Rosenthal, Gurney, and Moore, 1981) was introduced into a longitudinal study of 234 previously studied inner-city children as they were scheduled to make the transition from elementary to junior high school. Compared to the EPSI original Australian sample, inner-city African American 12- and 13-year-olds…

The 12 chapters of this volume offer a comprehensive portrait of today's children and their challenging urban environments. The opportunities and obstacles that confront children are examined in detail, and key social problems are discussed in the following contributions: (1) "Growing Up in the Urban Environment: Opportunities and Obstacles for…