Describes the progress and problems educators in the National Coalition for Equality in Learning (NCEL), a grassroots effort for improving student learning, are experiencing as they improve school conditions so that unsuccessful and underachieving students become productive learners. The NCEL's goals and efforts in resolving the problem of…

Describes urban school instability in Chicago public elementary schools and explores its causes, namely residential mobility and school-related reasons. The impact of mobility on students, schools, and urban education is also examined. It indicates that improved schools lose their accomplishments as students transfer, and mobile students forfeit…

Argues that urban public schools' multicultural curriculum either bridges or fragments students' racial and ethnic differences. Further, it maintains that racial and ethnic conflict intensifies when school officials attempt to design their multicultural curriculum around the themes of citizenship and community which makes student differences…

Argues that society ought to provide all its school children with access to computers. The authors explain that the dearth of computers in inner-city schools is compounded by the students not having access to computers in their homes. A New York City project that evaluated how technology can improve learning among at-risk students is described.…

Information technology offers advantages to small rural schools: access to courses not locally available, opportunities for collaborative work with other schools, and access to professional development courses. Federal money can help disadvantaged rural schools afford the technology, but the teacher must integrate good practices with technology to…

The rural poverty rate declined and family income grew in 1998, but poor family incomes declined considerably. Most rural poor families had at least one worker. Poor rural workers tended to work part-time, live in female-headed families, and have a high school education or less. Rural working poor families relied more on assistance programs than…

The Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education (OACHE) is a consortium of 10 public colleges and universities that funds proposals from regional schools for creative initiatives that encourage students toward postsecondary education. College attendance rates from Appalachian Ohio have increased, and the OACHE model is being applied to programs…

Discusses U.S. economic trends for the past century. Notes that distribution of wealth is more concentrated at top than is distribution of income, with income inequality growing worse in the 1990s. Maintains that wealth disparity explains achievement test score gaps between white and minority students. Presents proposals for asset-building,…

This study examined the relationships among academic achievement, dropout patterns, and welfare reform strategies. Findings suggest that welfare reform has not translated into better educational trajectories for children from poor families. Findings suggest the need for stronger linkages between welfare departments and school systems for adopting…

Suggests that verbal and visual metaphors help academically underprepared students make conceptual connections between their own knowledge and classroom learning. Describes an exercise involving writing about art that helps develop metaphoric thinking. States that in this exercise, students used their senses, prior knowledge, and imaginations to…

Describes programs and activities at Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary, distinguished Title I school in Vancouver, Washington. With nearly 40% English-language learners and a diverse group of immigrant students, the school uses bilingual staff assistants to ensure that all students' needs are met and to promote parent-school connections. Features a…

Rapid growth of private secondary schools in Tanzania in the 1990s was fueled by excess demand and looser government policies. Longitudinal data on secondary school characteristics and student performance suggest that the expansion was accompanied by declining access for disadvantaged students, high teacher turnover, and narrow interschool…

Identifies five interlinked and interdependent issues characterizing institutional transformation in South African higher education: (1) democratizing institutional governance structures; (2) increasing access for educationally and financially disadvantaged students; (3) restructuring the curriculum; (4) focusing on developmental needs in research…

Discussion of science and education focuses on a 35-year collaboration of University of Kansas scientists with an inner city, economically impoverished community, the Juniper Gardens Children's Project. The project has conducted research designed to improve the developmental and educational experiences and achievements of the community's children.…

The authors acclaimed and innovative inner-city programs for children and their families-Peacemakers, Beacon Schools, and Harlem Freedom-offer indelible stories of lives lost and lives turned around. Children, families, and neighbors learn to come together to rebuild and empower their respective communities. (BF)