Responds to criticisms of the community control approach to public education. Holds that community control was only unsuccessful because it was opposed by those interests who feared the consequences of participation by the poor, and that the idea should be given an opportunity to operate at the local level. (Author/GC)

Describes an audiovisual literacy educational method (Fotomontaje), based on the consciousness-raising technique of Paulo Freire called "conscientization," used in Lima, Peru, slum communities to develop social consciousness and commitment to social justice. Questions using consciousness-raising for such participants and suggests…

This is the second of a two-part article identifying various deprived groups and contributions which educational broadcasting might make to help them. Author gives examples of ways that the broadcasting services of many countries are trying to overcome some problems of deprivation. (Author/CSS)

Hirsch, author of "Cultural Literacy" (1987), wishes that progressive instructional methods were carefully monitored to see whether kids are actually learning. An "anti-subject-matter" orientation suits middle-class students better than kids from less educated families. Most elementary curricula stress "tool skills"…

Discusses how competition for black college students among the nation's most prestigious institutions could become more intense if these universities abandon their agreement to set financial aid based on merit as well as on need. It argues that by enforcing limitations on financial aid, Congress is protecting Ivy League schools and is sanctioning…

Reports on an ethnographic project examining an Australian program designed to provide homeless adolescents with access to secondary education. Focuses on the relationships among groups of students within the program and explores the way that education can either reinforce disadvantage or offer access to opportunity. (MJP)

Describes the program at Carter G. Woodson elementary school, Baltimore (MD), an urban school serving many at-risk students which has adopted the curriculum and techniques of the Calvert School, a predominantly white, selective private school. There have been readily observable and measurable gains in academic achievement at the public school.…

Research and literature are reviewed to support the thesis that new identification procedures, appropriate criteria for evaluating identification procedures, new curricular and instructional programs, and changes in beliefs and stereotypes are needed to resolve the problem of underrepresentation of minority students in gifted programs. A…

The National Institutes of Health has developed innovative programs to help students, mostly medical school graduates, to repay or to forgive student loans, including physician participation in AIDS research, general research, and contraception and fertility, and plans for graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program also provides…

Results from a study of at-risk boys in a summer camp suggest that critical thinking can be fostered effectively in an instructional framework that emphasizes teacher modeling, an indirect approach to instruction, group collaboration, and strategy facilitation. The study examined changes in critical- thinking scores, as well as teacher and student…

The author responds to Pinnell et al's (1996) call for caution in using cost-benefit analysis in measuring educational reform success. It is argued that reform already is being sold to state legislators and educators in cost-benefit terms and that research has been inappropriately used in the selling process. (GR)

Structural equation models reanalyzed data from the 1969 Westinghouse Head Start evaluation and extended the analysis to blacks and full-year programs. Results showed that the selection bias for summer program whites was absent for blacks and full-year program whites, and that Head Start helped the most disadvantaged children. (SLD)

Data from national sample of 3- to 16-year-olds show that lower test scores and increased behavior problems of children of younger mothers resulted from family background rather than maternal age. For nonfirstborns, maternal age at first birth, not at child's birth, influenced test scores. Disadvantage of children born to younger mothers was…

In a Canadian program, adult volunteer mentors meet with elementary student mentees for an hour each week during school. An evaluation of five such school-based mentoring programs found that mentored students developed a more positive attitude towards school, achieved higher grades, and improved relationships with adults and peers. Mentors report…

Studies show a positive correlation between parental involvement and academic achievement, but the involvement of immigrant or poor parents is lower than that of native-born, middle-class parents. Reasons may include socioeconomic status, level of instruction, language fluency, status of immigrant community, years of residency, relations between…