This paper describes an effort to find ways to respond to the challenges of supporting student and faculty diversity by providing data about the experiences of Latino undergraduates at the University of Michigan. Data were collected from a random sample of 73 Latino undergraduates and a comparison group of 24 non-Latinos. The Latino group…

This report provides information on 12 indicators of child and adolescent health, education, and economic status in West Virginia at the state and county level. It includes a state profile, a minority profile, and 55 county profiles. Each of the indicators is discussed on a state-wide basis. The bulk of the report consists of one-page county…

A study investigated the impact of a school-based family literacy program located in an urban, working-class Ontario, Canada neighborhood on parents enrolled with their toddlers. Subjects, 15 white female parents between the ages of 17.6 and 33 years who had not completed secondary education, were interviewed, wrote journals, and participated in…

The 1990 census shows about 5 million children living in the 13 states comprising Appalachia. Ninety percent of Appalachian children are white and nine percent are black, with the majority of black children living in the southern subregion. Children represent a quarter of the region's residents, but their numbers have declined by 11 percent since…

This paper synthesizes a study designed to identify the factors that contribute to primary school repetition and dropout in Honduras. Data were collected by record reviews; teacher, student, and parent interviews; and a test of Spanish. The sample included 1,253 students in grades 1 and 3 in 40 schools in rural Honduras. The main findings of the…

This report examines the wealth of Pennsylvania school districts, the effort districts exert to support education, school expenditures, and the effects of district wealth on students. Important findings related to disparities in wealth and spending on education include: (1) the polarization of wealth distribution during the 1980s made over 90% of…

This conference address discusses New York State programs for children and families, focusing on a mentoring program. New York State has 44 rural counties, which comprise 80% of the state's total area. Rural schools face limited financial resources and access to services. Rural school children are more likely to face failure than urban or suburban…

This report of a hearing on the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (U.S. Department of Education) focuses on programs that may help the plight of black males in the country's educational system, i.e., ways in which educational research and reform can address the problems of equal education, high dropout rates, poor student attitudes,…

An alternative high school program was evaluated. In 1990 the Program for Alternative Comprehensive Education (PACE) enrolled 40 students in grades 9 through 12 from 20 school districts in Nassau County (New York). Students had been assessed as being at risk for dropping out. The curriculum emphasized self-paced learning in an individualized,…

New Futures, founded in 1987, is a multicity foundation-funded initiative designed to reduce the school dropout rate, teen pregnancies, and youth unemployment. The foundation's expectations for a 5-year agenda and program strategies are described in this implementation guide. Based on institutional change, the project utilizes community…

As part of the School Action Effectiveness Study, 406 Milwaukee inner-city, unemployed dropout youths were surveyed seven months after intake into an employment counseling and placement center. Personality characteristics were assessed at intake. At follow-up, personality characteristics, employment and schooling status, and self-reported police…

This report analyzes a set of interlocking placement and labeling practices that heavily influence access to educational opportunities in the nation's largest urban school systems. The practices analyzed include high school admission, within-school tracking and grouping, and grade promotion and retention. Study conclusions and related…

This first of a series of four interrelated studies reviewed the current participation rates of Western Australia's Aborigines in technical and further education (TAFE) courses, surveyed 101 students in the Aboriginal Access course to identify problems they had, and surveyed teachers in the Access course and in mainstream vocational courses to…

This publication presents a summary of the research obtained from senior high schools in Minnesota that used the Minnesota Secondary School Follow-Up System to collect data on the class of 1987. Data were collected from 84 high schools, plus a sampling of Minneapolis, with responses received from 10,705 students (76.8% of those surveyed). Of the…

Presenters at a public hearing testified about strategies that were working and those that were considered not to be working in the Wisconsin vocational education system. The strategies that were cited as "working" were: education provided to businesses by VTAE (Vocational-Technical Adult Education district) colleges; interaction between…