S. F. Hamilton and the author agree on the potential of youth apprenticeship programs for education but disagree on the strength of the problems facing implementation of apprenticeship models. A two-level reform strategy is recommended to develop an institutional and legal structure and to encourage employer participation. (SLD)

Discusses the role of story-telling in the political empowerment of the oppressed. Describes how the uncritical reliance on stories has led to the failure in the classroom to acknowledge the risks taken by various oppressed groups when they attempt to critically reflect and build coalitions. (JB)

Summarizes seven ERIC documents and three journal articles on student motivation, focusing on students in the intermediate grades and middle level education. A number of factors that influence student motivation, as well as strategies for improving student attitudes toward learning, are covered. (TJQ)

Develops an attitude formation model for the occupational and educational goals of disadvantaged African-American students, and tests it for 175 African-American male and female twelfth graders in an urban school district in New Jersey. Discusses variance in student attitudes, sex differences, and the marginalization of African-American urban…

Five articles review drawbacks of traditional programs for at-risk youth, discuss alternatives based on a new definition of risk, and cite examples of helpful programs. They focus on identifying at-risk youth, providing caring and services, measuring service demand, removing obstacles to learning, and special needs of migrant youth. (SLD)

To implement a school-linked services approach, schools must use existing financing sources for programs in health, social services, juvenile justice, and other areas rather than adding social workers and nurses to the school payroll. Fiscal strategies then can reinforce the integrated services approach are highlighted. (SLD)

Montgomery County High School in Mount Vernon (Georgia) revised the U.S. history course as an initial step in making provisions for gifted and talented students. The curriculum and evaluation process are described. The course helps address concerns about underprivileged students and middle-class youth who may require more challenge. (SLD)

Liberals and conservatives agree that it is best if teenagers delay reproduction, but they disagree over how. Comparisons with Sweden and Great Britain suggest that America's difficulties with teen childbearing and abortion can be traced partly to combined cultural ambivalence about chastity, childbearing, and working. (SLD)

Replies to "Adolescent Mothers Drop Out" (Douglas K. Anderson, 1993). It is indeed true that women who begin childbearing as adolescents achieve less schooling than do women who postpone or forego childbearing, but debate about why continues. It is argued that the apparent impact of early childbearing on education may result from a common set of…

Reviews concerns related to diagnoses in delivery of mental health services, specifically, application of the principles of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-III-R) to African-American children. An alternative diagnostic model is proposed, and recommendations are made for enhancing the diagnostic process. (SLD)

Data from 95 educationally disadvantaged Hong Kong students placed in mastery-learning classes were compared with 64 control students in expository-learning classes. Results indicate that under mastery learning, deep- and surface-biased learners increasingly diverge in performance and attitude, with surface learners doing better unit to unit, and…

This study provides national data that show the relationship of segregation to poverty. It shows that both African American and Latino students are much more likely than Whites to find themselves in schools of concentrated poverty. Segregation by race is strongly related to segregation by poverty. (Author/SLD)

Examines ways in which social class affects the aspirations, expectations, achievement, and life-chances of children of all cultural origins in Australia. A comprehensive multicultural education would enable working class or disadvantaged non-English-speaking children to live comfortably with change and to live more rewarding lives. (SLD)

For 25 years, the Trinidad and Tobago nongovernmental organization Servol has bridged differences of class and ideology to forge private and public partnerships that build up the nation by investing in youth given up for lost. Servol has expanded the culture of philanthropy, promoted corporate support of trade schools and apprenticeship programs,…

A counseling psychologist in private practice provides a psychoeducational report of an 8-year-old second-grade male experiencing behavior problems. Results of testing show the boy to be highly intelligent. After results are shared with family and school personnel, adjustments are made and the child's performance dramatically improves. (MKA)