In recent years, more than 25 percent of potential graduates--more than one million youngsters annually--left school without graduating. The dropout rate is even higher for Blacks, Hispanics and students from families of lower socioeconomic status. Since the dropout problem is closely related to broad social issues, such as youth unemployment,…

A non-profit program based in Washington State that promotes access to college for low income groups/welfare recipients is described, along with results of research on the program. The H.O.M.E (Helping Ourselves Means Education) program is designed to help welfare recipients leave the welfare system by entering educational institutions. Additional…

One in a series of booklets whose purpose is to stimulate greater and more effective understanding of world affairs among Americans, this five-chapter report explores Africa's attempts to lay the developmental foundations of a prosperous, modern economy shaped and molded to the cultural norms of the African people. Four central points addressed…

This guide is intended to assist Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program policymakers, planners, and program operators develop JTPA programs and activities. Discussed first are JTPA participant eligibility criteria and ways of assuring that competing groups can receive services in an equitable manner that is consistent with the intent of JTPA.…

After listing the aims and objectives of the Institute for Socially Disadvantaged Groups' Educational Improvement (ISDGEI), in Kolhapur, India, this collection of seven articles discusses prospects, problems, and successes of providing universal elementary education to the children of India. Articles: (1) discuss quantitative and qualitative…

This paper examines the distribution of economic well-being from 1980 to 1984, and compares economic changes during that period with those of other periods. The following indicators of economic change are used: (1) money income consistent with a Census definition; (2) money income net of direct taxes--i.e., disposable income; and (3) disposable…

The characteristics of schools defined as having low, medium, and high poverty concentration are examined. The following variables are examined for elementary schools: (1) school climate; (2) compensatory education related characteristics; (3) demographic characteristics; (4) student mobility; and (5) reading and math achievement. The following…

Over time, compensatory education has become an increasingly institutionalized and effective Federal program, characterized by the following: (1) cooperation; (2) mutual accommodation on the part of national, state, and local officials; (3) ready acquiescence to Federal guidelines at the state and local level; and (4) shared responsibility among…

Children who are raised in poverty currently run grave risks of educational failure. This paper approaches the issue, not through concentrating on special problems of, and programs for, the educationally at-risk, but through focusing on the educational problems of young people generally and on the effect that schools, not programs, play in…

Poor, minority, and low ability students suffer most from the general lack of sustained opportunity to study mathematics in American public schools. Studies indicate that preschool and kindergarten students show only minor social class or racial differences in mathematical thinking and that differences in mathematical performance among older…

In 1983 the National Office of Job Corps conducted a review of Job Corps vocational offerings and outcomes for fiscal year 1982. Based on a review of Job Corps procedures identifying emerging occupations, assessing training needs, developing curricula, and implementing training programs, the project researchers developed a series of…

An evaluation project determined the effectiveness of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) 8 percent programs operated during the 1987-88 school year in North Carolina. Data were reported by 19 JTPA 8 percent program sites. Five different JTPA project activities were evaluated: Extended School Day (ESD), Pre-Employment Skills Training,…

Efforts to prevent mental retardation have been encumbered by lack of scientific and technical knowledge, vague understanding of incidence and prevalence, and scarcity of resources to implement effective public policies. Scientific and social progress toward prevention has pursued a wavelike, erratic course, driven primarily by prevailing social,…

This paper considers the following dimensions of the change in household composition of the United States population between 1960 and 1980: (1) a decrease in the number of households headed by a couple; and (2) a decrease in the number of children per household. Examination of census figures from 1960, 1970, and 1980 reveals that blacks and whites…

This document contains transcripts of hearings on employment and the social costs of unemployment. During the hearings, testimony and prepared statements were taken from persons involved with unemployment programs, with Black community leaders, union representatives, teachers' representatives, police officials, and research professionals about the…