Studies have shown that many Hispanic/Latino youth can be considered at high risk for substance abuse problems. The rapidly increasing numbers of Hispanic American youth and the multiple antecedent risk factors suggest that substance abuse prevention must be a leading priority in the Hispanic/Latino communities. Information is a primary tool in understanding the nature of substance abuse problems and effective prevention. This Resource Guide provides information and referrals to help prevention...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, High Risk Students, Hispanic Americans, Inner City,...
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has conducted state assessments in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996. At present, after the fourth round of state assessments, it is clear that the program is generally successful. A survey of state testing directors indicates that the NAEP has considerable credibility as a valid and reliable source of information. Despite the high regard in which the NAEP is held, today's environment of limited federal and state resources has led to level funding...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests, Cost Effectiveness, Elementary Secondary...
A former superintendent of a small school district in rural Texas describes the conditions and needs of the district and reflects on school consolidation and alternative solutions to the district's problems. In 1994, the district enrolled 650 students. Facilities were 30 years old and in constant need of repair, with leaking roofs and unsafe electrical wiring the most formidable problems. In addition, the facilities were too small for the student population, and teachers had to leave their...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Disadvantaged Schools, Educational Environment, Educational Needs, Elementary...
Many migrant students are not identified for needed special education services in a timely manner. This digest describes the obligations of schools to provide such services, and discusses approaches for student referral, assessment, and placement and working with migrant families. Federal mandates concerning special education are summarized, and the unmet needs of migrant children are briefly discussed. The referral process takes time and includes requirements that vary among agencies,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cultural Awareness, Disability Identification, Educational Diagnosis, Elementary...
This assessment scale developed by the Georgia State Department of Education is intended for use in examining the reading program in a particular school and has some suggestions as to how the school might document particular aspects of the program. Some of the suggested techniques for documentation include: describing the composition of a task force, listing community resources used during a specific period of time, preparing a master schedule of classes, compiling sample student record...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Evaluation Criteria, Evaluation Methods, Program...
Information on all facets of the 2-day 1981 American Indian Community Education Conference held in Bismarck, North Dakota, is presented. The document contains promotional materials developed for disseminating information about the Regional Conference; the conference rationale and design; lists of consortium center directors, support personnel, preregistrations received, and conference registrants; an agenda; the evaluation instrument and results; and an outline of conference costs. Minutes of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Education, American Indian Culture, American Indian Education, American Indian...
An attempt to identify methods of human resource management that emerge as schools and classrooms become more effective, this literature review emphasizes the importance of administrator "support functions," which include feedback to teachers, monitoring of teacher and student performance, incentives for teachers, and visible commitment to change. A brief introductory section describes current research findings on the actual situation in schools today, with a focus on factors serving...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Administrator Role, Change Strategies, Economically Disadvantaged, Educational...
The workshop is intended for individual or group use to understand the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and the Exceptional Child Education Resources (ECER) databases as a way of finding information on special education topics. Information products available from ERIC and The Council for Exceptional Children (which maintains the ECER database) are described. Manual searching and computer searching approaches are discussed, with examples of citations and searching formats...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Databases, Disabilities, Elementary Secondary Education, Information Retrieval,...
Educational administrators' concern with planning and time management results from the fragmentation of their daily activities, which research has documented, and their consequent search for order and control. Time is important because its scarcity affects productivity and its use has social-psychological effects on staffs' perceptions of administrators' priorities. Time management can increase administrative effectiveness through increased control of time and through the wiser use of time that...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Administrator Role, Administrators, Elementary Secondary Education, Leadership, Needs...
Isolated by distance and geographic barriers from population centers, services, current information, and opportunities, 15 of Nevada's 17 school districts are not simply rural, but are remote. Servicing districts that average fewer than 2 people per square mile, 21 elementary schools have only 1 teacher. Sixteen high schools have enrollments of less than 100. Curricula in remote schools is limited, depending on resourcefulness of teachers, administrators, and community members to fill gaps from...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Access to Education, Curriculum, Educational Needs, Educational Quality, Elementary...
This paper discusses the role of matriarchs in African-American culture, explaining that traditionally, African-American matriarchs arise from a combination of African norms and American social positions that naturally forces them to assume leadership conditions. The roles these women assume are a response to the desire to survive in a society that has created and perpetuated a complicated system of social and economical domination for the African-American men with whom they share their lives....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Black Mothers, Blacks, Elementary Secondary Education, Females, Higher Education,...
This book contains 46 summaries of positive findings from youth interventions based on 64 evaluations. Each of the summaries follows an outline that includes these components: an overview, population information, evidence of effectiveness, key components, contributing factors, study methodology, geographic areas, and contact information (plus a section of additional resources for some studies). The summaries are organized in three sections: education and career development, building strong...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, Career Development, Disadvantaged Youth, Education Work Relationship,...
This report provides a summary for the years 1993 through 1997 of district and school-level results in Washington on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, fourth edition (CTBS/4) for grades 4 and 8 and the Curriculum Frameworks Assessment System (CFAS) for grade 11. For grades 4 and 8, the average national percentile scores in reading, language, mathematics, and the total battery are reported. For grade 11, the average Washington state percentile scores are reported for English/language...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Academic Standards, Achievement Tests, Educational Trends,...
The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) is an integrated set of surveys that has been conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94. In each of those school years, the Census Bureau also conducted a reinterview of the administrators, schools, and teachers. This report contains the reinterview results from the 1993-94 school year. The reinterviews evaluated a subset of survey questions for response variance....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Census Figures, Data Collection, Elementary Secondary Education, Interviews, National...
This issue of "Policy Forum" compares the mathematics and science achievement of students midway through elementary school, midway through lower secondary school, and at the end of upper secondary school. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), conducted in 1995-96, is the largest international education study ever undertaken with data from one-half million students in 41 nations. The featured article provides significant research findings from TIMSS on student...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cross Cultural Studies, Elementary Secondary Education, International Studies,...
This guide lists information and resources concerning school interventions to prevent youth suicide. Part 1 includes articles related to youth suicide, depression, and violence, along with a listing of basic facts, statistics, and myths about suicide. A general model of youth suicide is included followed by information on prevention. Part 2 contains information on identifying and addressing risk, risk and protective factors, a suicide assessment checklist, and criteria for diagnosis. Part 3...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, Counseling Techniques, Crisis Intervention, Elementary Secondary...
This document lists the 16 characteristics that help integrate comprehensive program planning into the regular school program and other family-support systems. The 16 characteristic arose from a review of research on effective afterschool programs and interviews with active program sites. The characteristics are as follows: climate for inclusion; community partnerships; coordination with the regular-school-day learning program and community partners; culturally sensitive climate; evaluation...
Topics: ERIC Archive, After School Programs, Comprehensive Programs, Educational Change, Educational...
Over the last 50 years, American attitudes toward rural areas have shifted from pride and concern to indifference and ultimately neglect. This shift in attitudes has accompanied the decline in rural population. The media tend to portray rural areas in extremes, depicting either poverty, neglect, and despair, or breath-taking scenery and an idyllic lifestyle. Such conflicting representations feed misconceptions about rural areas. A good example of our neglect is found in rural education. Rural...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Consolidated Schools, Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Essays,...
A study investigated the outcomes of the Acute Children's Extended Services (ACES) program, a Salt Lake City, Utah, program designed to help children with emotional and behavioral disabilities reintegrate into the community from inpatient or residential care. The study examined outcomes of the ACES program within four domains: access, clinical effectiveness, consumer satisfaction, and cost. Archival data were obtained for 99 children (ages 5-13) attending the ACES program during 1997-1998....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Behavior Disorders, Children, Community Programs, Cost Effectiveness, Elementary...
This manual and videotape provides guidance on establishing effective school ground maintenance and management practices that link the grounds development phases with appropriate management. The video provides an overview of the key issues by showing approaches adopted by five different schools, and the manual explores these issues in greater detail offering additional outline information on the practice of maintenance and management of school grounds as well as a resource directory of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Foreign Countries, Guidelines, Public Schools, School...
The Children's Scholarship Fund (CSF) program in Charlotte, North Carolina offered partial scholarships, awarded by lottery, to low-income families in Charlotte to attend private schools in the 1999-2000 school year. Families of 452 students (or the students themselves in some cases), some of whom were using scholarships and some of whom were not, responded to the study survey. Receiving a scholarship to attend private school improved scores on standardized mathematics and reading tests. Nearly...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Class Size, Elementary Secondary Education, Low Income Groups,...
This guide features information about the latest initiatives by the U.S. Department of Education, an update on specific programs for schools and teachers, and a list of services and resources, both at the Department's headquarters in Washington, DC, and nationwide. Introductory pages provide information on nine of the Department's latest initiatives, with details on the teaching initiative and a summary page on each of the others. Other sections discuss the Department of Education's grant...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Standards, Adult Education, American Indians, Beginning Teacher Induction,...
Principals, aspiring principals, and superintendents completed surveys investigating the state of the principalship in Indiana. Respondents rank-ordered selected skills and personal traits necessary to succeed as school principals. Perceived barriers for principal candidates were compared by group. A total of 581 principals, 55 aspiring principals, and 221 superintendents participated. Principals and aspiring principals considered honesty and leadership very important personality traits. They...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Administrator Attitudes, Administrator Characteristics, Administrator Education,...
In 1996 the Chancellor introduced Performance Driven Budgeting (PDB) to the New York City schools. PDB is a form of decentralized budgetary decision making intended to provide local educators with increased control and flexibility over the use of resources. The plan established a framework of goals and principles, outlined a phased-in implementation, and called for outside funding for an evaluation. This first year evaluation, from the inception of PDB in September 1996 through August 1998,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Budgeting, Decentralization, Decision Making, Educational Finance, Elementary...
Physical activity is extremely important in maintaining good health. Activity is not possible without a certain amount of flexibility. This report discusses issues related to flexibility fitness. Flexibility is a property of the musculoskeletal system that determines the range of motion achievable without injury to the joints. Static flexibility tests measure the limits of the achievable motion, but these limits are subjective. Dynamic flexibility tests are more objective and measure the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Exercise Physiology, Higher Education, Injuries,...
The Rural and Remote Education Advisory Council of Western Australia developed a 4-year plan to improve educational access, participation, and achievement by rural people of Western Australia. The plan outlines seven priorities: (1) ensuring that rural students are able to participate in quality education and training; (2) ensuring a broad cross-sectoral partnership approach to educational provision in rural Western Australia; (3) implementing strategies to recruit and retain qualified...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Aboriginal Australians, Access to Education, Culturally Relevant Education, Distance...
The Southern California Developing Center on Youth Violence Prevention, in conjunction with the Department of Family Medicine of the University of Southern California, convened a working group to identify core competencies in youth violence prevention for health professionals. Experts in youth violence prevention and health professional education from eight Youth Violence Prevention Centers participated. The group defined and described core competencies at three levels (generalist, specialist,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adolescents, Competence, Comprehensive School Health Education, Crime Prevention,...
Over the past three years, California State University, Bakersfield received NSF funding to support hands-on explorations in "network security" and "cryptography" through Research Experience Vitalizing Science-University Program (REVS-UP). In addition to the summer bridge component, the grant included development of "Multidisciplinary Information Assurance Curriculum" at the undergraduate level and offered Information Assurance (IA) education for community members....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Technology, Computer Security, Crime Prevention, Computer Networks, Summer Programs,...
Are the nation's 90,000-plus school board members critical players in enhancing student learning? Are they part of the problem? Are they harmless bystanders? Among the takeaways are the following: (1) Board members, by and large, possess accurate information about their districts when it comes to finance, teacher pay, collective bargaining, and class size. Whether they were knowledgeable from the outset or surround themselves with savvy staff and administrators, many are making decisions from...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Boards of Education, Knowledge Level, Class Size, Accuracy, Educational Finance,...
The Serrano case controversy raises the fundamental question: Do differences in school district per pupil expenditures represent cost differences incurred in providing essentially equivalent programs, or do they represent substantial differences in educational offerings? Although the answer is debatable, the California legislature increased foundation programs and included specific provisions to remedy cases of unequal education. Herein, the Serrano case is analyzed through an examination of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Court Litigation, Educational Finance, Elementary Secondary Education, Equal...
The School District of Philadelphia has had a continuously maintained computerized data system for its 270,000 pupils since 1967. This paper outlines: the general procedures and descriptions of the file; the need for establishing a pupil data-base file; the systems products and services; its value to research and evaluation as well as to the overall decision-making process of the school district; the philosophy underlying the kinds of data elements contained in the system; the often overlooked...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Computers, Data Processing, Databases, Decision Making, Elementary Secondary...
This publication updates a survey originally conducted in 1970 to determine the legal status of school principals in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. States were categorized in four groups on the basis of similarities in their laws relating to principals. Category A includes 15 states in which principals have attained at least the basic elements of legal status; category B includes 6 states with school codes that frequently mention specific duties and responsibilities of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Administrator Role, Change Strategies, Educational Legislation, Elementary Secondary...
This booklet is designed as a teacher guide for supplementary use in the regular social studies program. It lists names and contributions of Americans from all ethnic groups to the development of the United States. Seven units usable at three levels (upper elementary, junior high, and high school) have been developed, with the material arranged in outline form. These seven units are (1) Exploration and Colonization; (2) The Revolutionary Period and Its Aftermath; (3) Sectionalism, Civil War,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Achievement, American History, Cultural Background, Elementary Secondary Education,...
In recent years the costs of school vandalism and the incidence of vandalism in the public schools have been rising. The study concerns itself with the application of production functions, Monte Carlo techniques, and Shannon's model of information theory to determine the most efficient use of preventive vandalism techniques in a large school system. The results of the study indicate the gain in efficiency of communication to administrative decision-makers as a result of the information...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cost Effectiveness, Electronic Equipment, Elementary Secondary Education, Information...
The nature of nonstandard dialects and the ways they may contribute to reading failure in the children who speak them are the focal points around which the books and articles in this annotated bibliography were compiled. Part one, "The Linguistically Different Learner," contains abstracts of items which deal primarily with language factors. This section is divided into subsections which focus on language development, dialectology, and instructional approaches to teaching standard...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Abstracts, Annotated Bibliographies, Elementary Secondary Education, Language...
This publication reports the proceedings of the National Accountability Conference held by the National Education Association in March 1977 on the theme: "Schooling: Expectations in Conflict." Section 1 of the report draws primarily on the contributions of the major speakers and seminar leaders to discuss the nature of conflict, the implications for schooling if present conflicts are not resolved, the constructive uses of conflict, and the resolution of conflict. Section 2 summarizes...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Accountability, Change Strategies, Conference Reports, Conferences, Conflict,...
Organizational development (OD) can be of value as a professional development tool in the school, especially where it can broaden the perspective of the teacher so that he can conceptualize the school as an organization with various related units working to achieve the same goal, see more clearly his place in the total educational program of the school, and see his place in the total school organization. This increase in the interdependence of teachers will be of real value as schools try to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Consultants, Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Foreign Countries,...
This report highlights three major issues dealt with in the conference: (1) energy education; (2) energy conservation; and (3) interstate and interagency cooperation. An introduction section establishes a context for the meeting by explaining the history of the network concept. Another section provides a summary of the conference recommendations for the network. An evaluation of the proceedings and comments from participants are provided in a concluding section. An appendix includes agenda,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Objectives, Elementary Secondary Education, Energy, Energy Conservation,...
This guide is the seventh in a series of eleven generated in 1978 as the result of workshops that focused on peer training, a different approach to teaching. The workshops provided the opportunity for members of eleven identified role groups to work together with peers to examine the relationship between their specific role group and community education and the ways in which they could stimulate their peers to improve role performance and effectiveness. This booklet focuses on community...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Administrator Role, Community Education, Elementary Secondary Education, Guides,...
Issues associated with minimum competency testing are discussed: the national, state, and local context for MCT program development; MCT's potential impact; the use and development of MCT programs; and reactions to the testing programs. Presently, the federal role is described as limited to providing information, research support, and technical information, although some government officials support national competency standards. Most activity has occurred at the state level, with the emphasis...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Standards, Basic Skills, Elementary Secondary Education, Graduation...
This collection of informational materials includes brief essays on library services due California children and youth, ways to help children develop thinking skills, and thrusts of parent involvement. Also included are a bibliography of books for use in helping children develop thinking skills, and a listing of resources available from the State Department of Education Resources Center and what the center would like to receive from library/media directors. (SW)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cognitive Processes, Educational Media, Educational Resources, Elementary Secondary...
In 1981 North Carolina's Migrant Education Program adequately met legislative requirements and national program objectives while initiating 11 new projects. More that $7 million was expended on 72 school year projects with total enrollments of 15,682 migrant children and 34 summer programs with total enrollments of 4,854. Program continuity was implemented through various strategies, including efforts to coordinate the North Carolina program with those in other states. Each project used...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Agency Cooperation, Annual Reports, Community Involvement, Cooperative Planning,...
The guide describes the mission, objective, and function of the Migrant Education Resources List and Information Network (MERLIN) and defines the scopes of interest currently identified as national priorities in migrant education. MERLIN is a federally funded project designed to improve interstate and intrastate coordination of migrant education activities through the development of a comprehensive national database of educational resources in a range of scopes relevant to the many needs of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cooperation, Databases, Educational Resources, Elementary Secondary Education, Human...
How microcomputers are to be utilized in on-going mathematics instruction is discussed. In the first section, the ideas of Skinner are considered in relation to microcomputer use. How computer-assisted instruction would appear when Skinner's programmed learning suggestions are followed is described, and other points of his philosophical beliefs are discussed. In the next section, the use of microcomputers for drill and practice is noted, with questions raised. The use of word processing in the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Computer Oriented Programs, Computer Simulation, Computer Software, Drills...
Based on the theory that learning takes place if the learner is able to relate new knowledge to something already known, the course of study described in this booklet consists of recording stories dictated by individual students and using these stories as a basis for teaching reading and creative writing to students from preschool through adult levels. The first part of the booklet provides an overview of the course, which was developed for use with Belizean students in a Peace Corps program;...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adults, Creative Writing, Elementary Secondary Education, Language Experience...
This paper discusses the data that are available on demand and supply of teachers of mathematics and science and points out discrepancies and difficulties in current statistics and in collecting the pertinent information. Estimates of supply hinge on indentifying who is to be included in the pool of mathematics and science teachers, but there are no commonly accepted measures of competence. Nor is there information on response behavior of potential teachers to various monetary and nonmonetary...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Data Analysis, Educational Planning, Educational Research, Educational Trends,...
This guide is intended for use in locally conducted inservice programs and university courses. It is designed to aid each school of a district and the district office itself in starting and maintaining a self-improvement capability by maintaining or improving (1) student achievement, interest, behavior, and citizenship; (2) effective instructional, advising, and administrative practices; (3) job satisfaction and staff morale; and (4) the capacity for organizational renewal through staff...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Curriculum Development, Educational Administration, Educational Improvement,...
Using recent establishment clause decisions concerning vocal prayer, silent meditation, and prayer groups in the public schools, this article suggests that courts have applied the seemingly consistent doctrine of the tripartite test to arrive at quite different results, based in part on extralegal sources. Two such sources are the attitudinal variance among judges and the practical posture provided by administrators. The latter source, as exemplified in the prayer-group cases, can be an...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Compliance (Legal), Constitutional Law, Court Litigation, Elementary Secondary...
This publication contains statistical profiles of Connecticut's 165 public school districts, both town-operated and regional. Data given for each school district describe community characteristics, superintendent's office information, enrollment of pupils overall and by major subgroups, proficiency test results, program offerings, staffing characteristics, and educational funding and expenditures. Also given are the following: (1) community data, education equalization data, and aid and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Community Characteristics, Educational Finance, Elementary...
Research indicates that the characteristics of schools can affect student performance. School improvement reforms depend on the involvement of individual teachers and administrators, but research also suggests that individuals are more likely to commit themselves to change when a positive, supportive change environment pervades the entire organization. The good school can be characterized as one that follows processes identified as conducive to school improvement. In addition to exhibiting the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Change Strategies, Educational Improvement, Elementary Secondary Education,...
