While becoming increasingly important to the economic and social development of the United States, Mexican-Americans still face barriers that hinder their full partnership in U.S. society. This ERIC digest is a summary of the latest available demographic and socioeconomic trends on Mexican-Americans. It discusses the broad implications for…

This report presents detailed tabulations of statistical data on school enrollment of the civilian noninstitutional population in October 1987 and 1988. The following enrollments are reported: (1) nursery school; (2) kindergarten; (3) elementary school; (4) high school; and (5) college and professional school. The following personal…

When considering illiteracy in industrialized countries, one should consider the following: (1) schools historically were not set up to transmit literacy skills, as evidenced by the fact that the geography and chronology of literacy are much less linked to the establishment of formal schooling than to the history of social development; (2) schools…

This report examines public policy supports that might help adolescents make the transition to the workplace or future schooling. In the first section of the report, a statement of belief concerning the school's role in the transition process is presented. The second section reviews the crisis in transition supports. It itemizes the student view,…

This report provides testimony on results of a General Accounting Office (GAO) study of Chapter 1 Compensatory Education programs, Chapter 2 Education Block Grant programs, and dropout prevention programs. The report covers the following: (1) Chapter 1 student selection; (2) Chapter 1 fiscal provisions; (3) Chapter 2 data collection and…

Components of a student retention program at Eastern Michigan University are examined; for each effort to improve retention, project objectives and design, results, and recommendations are presented. Retention initiatives, decided upon as a result of a campus-wide mobilization of effort, include: a student-focused orientation system, a fast track…

This report is based on evidence that despite the negative outcomes so often associated with early childbearing, not all teenage parents experience difficult lives. Given the heterogeneity of outcomes among teenage parents and their children, the issue addressed in the research is to identify the factors that explain variations in academic…

The project described in this report was piloted at Florida Community College during fall 1985 to review policies and practices that can facilitate the retention of students, to propose a system of data collection and dissemination designed to provide routine, useful information about the retention of students, and to establish communications…

One in every four families with children under the age of 18 is a single-parent family (up from 1 of every 10 in 1970). The vast majority of single-parent families are low-income families consisting of a mother (usually with relatively little formal education) and her young children. Many female single heads of households are either displaced…

A study was conducted at Burlington County College to investigate the relationship between the academic characteristics and course completion of students enrolled in General College Chemistry (CHE 105) in fall 1985. The study involved an examination of students' academic records and a survey of students who did not successfully pass the course. Of…

The rural work ethic, a strong sense of community togetherness, and the absence of class distinction help rural schools avoid the politics that often stand in the way of education in larger urban and suburban schools. Factors contributing to successful schools include clear goals, good principals who know how to motivate faculty, faculty who know…

The study has two main components: a descriptive study of the secondary French program (SFSL) in a large school district in the Vancouver, British Columbia metropolitan area, and a followup study of grade nine students who had been surveyed initially when they were in grade six of the elementary French program (EFSL). The followup study examined…

The purpose of this book is to suggest ways in which vocational and career guidance counselors and program planners in education, training, and counseling programs can provide disadvantaged, out-of-school youth with reliable, up-to-date information about the job market. Much of what is presented here relates to strategies and products developed…

Knowledge of and use of the information provided by learning style theories can be of help in providing better educational experiences for students. Learning style preferences are of particular significance in programs such as allied health/health occupations education that practice selective admissions. Since the students have all been judged…

The School/Community Guidance Program in the Austin Independent School District is a state authorized program providing services to delinquent students to decrease both their disruptive behavior and their contact with the criminal justice system. Assigned to reduce factors contributing to truancy, academic failure, dropping out, and delinquency,…