This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Melinda Longtain, Washington Congress of the U.S., David Vaughan, Robert Brischetto, Paul E. Martinez, Ricardo Barros, Rodolfo Garcia, Susan C. Paddock, Washington Comptroller General of the U.S., and Thomas Feldhausen.
(1981). Oversight Hearings on Proposed Budget Cuts for Vocational Education. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives. Ninety-Seventh Congress, First Session (March 4-5, 1981). These Congressional hearings, held in Washington, D.C., in March 1981, contain 24 pieces of testimony on the implications of the proposed budget cuts for vocational education. Government agencies and private organizations represented at the hearings included the West Virginia Department of Education; the Kaiser Aluminum Company of Charleston, West Virginia; the Massachusetts Department of Education; the Caterpillar Tractor Company of Peoria, Illinois; the First National Bank of Boston; the Golden Triangle Vocational Technical Education District; the Department of Education of Salem, Oregon; the Daniel International Corporation; Illinois Central Community College of Peoria, Illinois; the Northside Lumber Company of Philomath, Oregon; and the state departments of vocational education of Wisconsin, Mississippi, and New Mexico. Discussed at the hearings were such topics as the impact of federal budget cuts on various state vocational education programs; benefits of vocational education; impact of federal vocational funds; labor needs; training needs of special populations (older workers, urban residents, and the handicapped), and the effect of federal funding on secondary, postsecondary, and adult vocational education programs. [More] Descriptors: Adult Education, Budgets, Economically Disadvantaged, Educational Benefits
(1980). Southwest Parent Education Resource Center. Final Interim Report, December 1, 1979 to November 30, 1980. Investigations of (1) the extent to which parent involvement training is included in the pre-service training of elementary and preschool teachers, (2) external and mediational influences on parent models of child socialization, and (3) the relevance of parent education programs to changing family structures are reported. Data were gathered from individuals associated with colleges and universities, organizations, and agencies located in the six-state region encompassing Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. All three studies were done by survey questionnaire or by a combination of paper-and-pencil instruments, questionnaires, and structured interviews. For the study of parent involvement training in pre-service education, 575 teachers of elementary education courses completed the survey questionnaire. The study of influences on parent models of child socialization obtained data from members of two parent organizations: Mothers Incorporated and Mothers of Twins. The study of the relevance of parent education programs surveyed the directors of parent education programs of any type and decision makers in other agencies, such as the Junior League and the American Red Cross in the six-state region. Results are discussed. Extensive appendices provide copies of questionnaires, interview schedules, and other measures used; a discussion of personal construct theory; profiles of parent education programs; descriptions of samples; and findings and selected references. [More] Descriptors: Child Rearing, Elementary Education, Family Structure, Higher Education
(1979). Minorities, the Poor and School Finance Reform. Vol. 1: An Impact Study of Six States. To study the impact of school finance reform on minorities and the poor, researchers gathered data on educational revenues and spending, tax effort, district wealth and income, ethnicity, and urban location in California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas. Their data analysis used various measures of educational equity and fiscal neutrality as well as univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics and time-series analysis. The research yielded a large number of findings, including no large changes in educational revenues for minorities and the poor after the reforms; only small decreases in spending disparities and wealth-related inequalities; and both increases and decreases in educational income among districts with different ethnic compositions. This volume of the report also highlights analysis of data on Florida school districts. These data reveal greater spending disparities and ethnic isolation among schools within each district than across districts. The authors recommend that future research on educational equity and the disadvantaged examine the relationships of cost to quality and of equity to equality, the distribution of educational resources, socioeconomic and demographic influences, and the role of federal aid. Appendices provide scattergrams, a discussion of and guide to research methodology, and lists of variables. Descriptors: Disadvantaged Youth, Economically Disadvantaged, Elementary Secondary Education, Equalization Aid
(1981). The Home Environment and Academic Achievement: There Is a Correlation. The Home Environment Variable Questionnaire was given to guardians of 73 fifth grade students enrolled in bilingual-bicultural education programs in Espanola, New Mexico, for the purpose of identifying those home environment variables which predicted academic achievement. Grade Equivalent Scores from the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills were used to measure student achievement. The questionnaire covered parent level of education, family size, verbal interaction (which language, Spanish or English, do family members use to speak to each other), learning materials in the home, encouragement of the child to read, parent aspirations toward education and future employment of the child, parental trust in school, home stability, and income levels. Step-wide multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between home environment and academic achievement. For the total sample, the following five home environment variables were found to best predict achievement when they operated jointly: verbal interaction; total size of family; which parent handles household money; number of hours spent reading with the child in English and/or Spanish; and parental aspirations for the child. Although there were differences in the four dimensions selected for the male and female sub-samples, number of family members still at home and verbal interaction applied to both. The questionnaire used in the study and a data collection sheet are part of the document. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education, Family Characteristics, Family Environment
(1980). Curriculum Improvement for Pueblo Indian Students: A Pilot Study. A curriculum pilot project was initiated for purposes of helping the Acoma and Laguna Pueblo Tribes (2 of 19 Pueblo Tribes located in New Mexico) to improve the education of their children. A majority of these students were bilingual and the overall educational program did not seem to meet their particular learning needs, resulting in poor academic achievement, standardized test scores far below grade level, high absenteeism, increasing drop-out rates, and curriculum programs that are insensitive to the needs of the bilingual/bicultural student. After a thorough investigation, it was ascertained that these students were experiencing greatest difficulty in mathematics, reading, and social studies and that the curricula used for these subject areas were not culturally relevant. In an effort to measure whether cultural relevance would improve learning, a comparison was made of "intact" classroom situations employing a conventional curriculum and those employing the culturally relevant pilot curriculum. The experimental groups employed culturally relevant materials and strategies designed to enhance learning for fifth grade students in mathematics and reading, seventh grade students in mathematics, and ninth grade students in social studies. Findings suggested that teacher training was an important variable contributing to the achievement of these American Indian students. Pre- and post-testing indicated that in almost every case where the materials were used correctly and the teacher had received training, the pilot curriculum produced significant improvements. Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indians, Bilingual Students, Cultural Context
(1980). Educational Hierarchies and Social Differentiation: The Structural Patterns of Chicano Participation in Colleges and Universities in the Southwest, 1972-1976. The enrollment patterns of Chicanos in colleges and universities of the Southwest were examined for 1972, 1974, and 1976, and enrollment patterns were compared to graduation data for Chicanos for the academic year 1975-76. Comparative data for whites and blacks were also examined. The primary sources of data were the compliance surveys conducted by the U.S. Office for Civil Rights. The analysis was conducted for Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It was found that Chicanos are underrepresented in colleges and universities of the southwest and that they are less well represented than either blacks or whites. Chicanos were much more likely than whites, and slightly more likely than blacks, to enroll in two-year colleges. Chicanos' share of bachelor degrees were conferred in proportion to their enrollment in the undergraduate upper levels. Chicanos are least well represented in the major research universities that grant the doctorate. Implications of the findings to the issue of equal access to higher education are considered. Additionally, literature and research on Chicanos in higher education is reviewed and considered in relation to educational stratification. An interpretation of the expansion and differentiation of higher education systems is presented to provide a context for analyzing the participation of Chicanos in higher education. The discussion considers the expanded role of educational institutions in the economic structure and the structural character of system expansion. A bibliography is appended. Descriptors: Access to Education, Bachelors Degrees, Black Students, College Attendance
(1979). A Study of Navajo Perceptions of the Impact of Environmental Changes Relating to Energy Resource Development. Final Report. Ethnographic interview methods were utilized to determine the social costs of energy development (i.e. uranium mining) and the mitigation of these costs. Determination was made from the viewpoint of the Navajos in the Burnhams Chapter (a geopolitical unit) in Western New Mexico; they anticipated four major costs (losses) to their present way of life: emotional and economic support of the extended family, livestock and land, security made possible through raising livestock in one place, and activities upon which their cognitive principles and means of teaching these principles are based. Burnhams residents have formulated tradeoffs, in the form of mitigation of these costs, and these tradeoffs have been explicated through a linear decision model. The explicitness of both the costs and the tradeoffs by Burnhams residents was due in great part to their having witnessed the effects of energy development in the form of relocation upon Upper Fruitland residents (where open-ended interviews revealed intense feelings of material insecurity, loneliness, despair, frustrating idleness, and shame as well as increased illness, delinquency, poor housing conditions, and overcrowding). The methods used and results obtained should aid the Navajo Tribal government in talks with business and with the federal government and also in social planning with the Navajo people to mitigate the social costs. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Cultural Context
(1979). Minorities, the Poor and School Finance Reform. Vol. 9: Summary and Conclusions. In this concluding volume of a nine-volume study of the impact of school finance reform on the poor and minorities, the author summarizes the project's methods, variables, findings, and conclusions about reform in the six states of California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas. He first discusses the two general approaches to finance reform–social equity (equalizing expenditures) and fiscal neutrality (equalizing fiscal opportunities). The variables studied include educational resources, district wealth, tax effort, income, ethnicity, and urban location. These were analyzed at the district level and the school level (in Florida only) using correlations, percentiles, and measures of central tendency. Among the findings are that finance reform slightly decreased spending disparities and wealth discrimination, slightly increased fiscal neutrality, and made little change in revenues for poor and minority students. In Florida the study found greater spending disparities and ethnic concentrations at the school level than at the district level. The author concludes that finance reforms caused only slight improvements in social equity or fiscal neutrality and that reforms aimed at wealth neutrality will not necessarily benefit poor and minority students because such students are not always concentrated in low-wealth districts. Descriptors: Disadvantaged Youth, Economically Disadvantaged, Elementary Secondary Education, Equalization Aid
(1981). The 4-Day School Week: A Partial Solution to Today's Energy Crisis and Declining State Funding to Education. As a partial solution to the energy crisis and to solve the problem of drastically rising operating costs coupled with less state support, in 1980-81 the Liberty School District (Spangle, Washington) implemented a 4-day school week comparable to the program used by Cimarron School District #3 in New Mexico. A survey conducted in 1975 by the Cimarron District (survey form and results included in report) indicated community acceptance of the program. The Liberty School District, a large rural district with one small high school and two small elementary schools, excluded Friday from the school week. This provided a significant decrease in the use of heating oils, natural gas, and electricity. In order to meet Washington requirements, schools started 15 minutes earlier and ended 1 hour later. Projections indicated that the typical high school student would gain almost 31 school days over a 4-year period, despite the fact that school would start one week later and operate for 144 days instead of 180. The gain was attributed to longer class periods, the fact that teacher in-service and parent-teacher conferences were no longer held on school days, and time saved in setting up and cleaning classrooms. Liberty School District realized many advantages and few disadvantages from the program. Descriptors: Cost Effectiveness, Elementary Secondary Education, Energy Conservation, Extended School Day
(1981). Motivational Orientations of Senior Citizens Participating in the Elderhostel Program. A study was conducted (1) to analyze the Educational Participation Scale (EPS) factor patterns derived from a sample of senior citizens in order to contribute additional reliability and validity data to the instrument; and (2) to look at reasons that have influenced senior citizens to pursue educational activities, specifically the Elderhostel Program. The sample for the study was 160 Elderhostel participants at the University of New Mexico and the College of Santa Fe during the summer of 1981. Most participants had a college degree or postsecondary education. The Educational Participation Scale was administered to this sample, with a 75 percent return rate. Four scales consisting of 31 items were used to rank participants' reasons for enrolling in terms of escape/stimulation, social welfare, social relationships, and cognitive interest. (Items from earlier versions of the instrument pertaining to professional advancement were deleted.) It was found that the Educational Participation Scale yielded factor patterns similar to earlier studies by Boshier and Riddle, and that this form of the EPS would be a useful instrument for adult educators and program planners in planning programs for adults. The results from the study further indicate that cognitive interest was the most powerful motivator of the population, with social relationships the next most powerful motivator. No differences in motivation were found by age and sex. (A list of recommendations and practical tips for conducting programs for elderly persons is given at the end of this paper.) [More] Descriptors: Adult Education, Adult Programs, Adult Students, Age
(1980). Federal and State Actions Needed To Overcome Problems in Administering the Title XX Program. Report to the Congress by the Comptroller General of the United States. The results of a reivew by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO), this paper examines the Title XX Program of the Social Security Act and makes suggestions for its improvement. The Title XX Program provides funds to states to enable them to tailor social services programs to fit the needs of local communities. Such services are primarily for the elderly, such as home health aides or adult day care programs, but also include other services, such as child day care and delinquency prevention. The services are provided directly by public agencies or purchased from other agencies. Programs reviewed were offered in New York, Maryland, North Carolina, California, and New Mexico. The GAO found that most contracts awarded to purchase services under Title XX in four of the states visited were stated in such general terms that the states did not know what contractors were committed to deliver or whether commitments were met. The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Health and Human Services improve state contracting by encouraging the use of contracts based on unit prices or specific levels of service and prompt states that authorize elderly persons to hire their own homemaker and chore service providers to monitor the quality of services and assure that the required hours are delivered. [More] Descriptors: Adult Day Care, Community Services, Contracts, Federal Programs
(1978). Improving School Climate Through School/Community Interaction: Needs Assessment Through Community Participation. Teacher Corps Developmental Training Activities. The initial year (1978) of the five year program, the Chama Valley Independent School District (CVISD)/University of New Mexico (UNM) Teacher Corps Project, involved an intensive collaborative effort to define and delineate specific project requirements and objectives of the remaining 4 years of the project's duration. The major tool for this definitive effort was a collaborative needs assessment surveying participants from all levels of the project as data sources. The outcome of this effort was the prime factor in determining the scope, direction, and focus of future project activities in the areas of development of programs, continuing education programs, and educational support systems for the CVISD. Eight indices of the educational climate in the CVISD were focused upon: (1) instructional resources; (2) instructional quality; (3) curriculum emphasis; (4) teacher-parent-child communication; (5) community involvement; (6) individual differences of pupils; (7) community/school communication; and (8) classroom discipline. Descriptions are presented of the needs assessment and planning activities involved in obtaining data from the local education agency and the UNM staff. A description is given of the processes of compiling and reviewing sample questionnaires, formulating the CVISD needs assessment task force, developing workshops for volunteers in the project, finalizing the needs assessment plans, and collecting and analyzing resulting data. All of the forms used in conducting this needs assessment activity are attached. Descriptors: Community Involvement, Cooperative Planning, Curriculum Design, Discipline
(1976). The Relationship of the State Coordinating Agency with the Executive and Legislative Divisions of State Government in Meeting Budget Needs of Higher Education Systems. Proceedings of Ten-State Regional Conference (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 1976). Proceedings of a 10-state 1976 regional conference on the relationship of the state coordinating agency with the executive and legislative divisions of state government in meeting budget needs for higher education systems are presented as part of an inservice education program. The participating states were Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. A speech by Oklahoma's governor David L. Boren addresses the state's funding of education, the need to address the oversupply of teachers, and the potential role that higher education can play in helping to solve community problems. In "The New Game," Richard M. Millard considers changing conditions and their impact on postsecondary educational systems and state government. These trends include declining college enrollments and efforts to develop new student clienteles, the oversupply of college graduates, financial problems, the demand for accountability by the public and state government, the creation or independent fiscal and performance auditing agencies, and a trend to move higher education decision-making directly into the executive and/or legislative branches of state government. In "Educational Program Budgeting in Oklahoma" Edward J. Coyle and Dan S. Hobbs outline the principles, procedures, and processes utilized by the state in the development of institutional needs for educational and general funds. A speech by M. Olin Cook outlines principles that should be assessed when a state creates a coordinating agency to work with the state executive and legislative divisions in meeting budget needs for higher education systems. [More] Descriptors: Accountability, Agency Cooperation, Budgeting, Decision Making
(1980). Menopause, a Self Care Manual. Written for women from the three main cultural groups in New Mexico (Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo), this pamphlet discusses the causes and symptoms, some remedies for the symptoms of menopause, and presents ideas for organizing support groups to help middle-aged women and their families deal with menopausal problems. Explanations of the female reproductive system and the role of hormones precede a discussion of common symptoms which some women experience during the menopausal years and some of the misconceptions about negative reactions. Possible treatments to alleviate symptoms include estrogen replacement therapy, Kegel exercises, natural and home remedies, diet and exercise, and proper medical attention. Discussions of birth control include various methods of contraception and sterilization and the possible advantages and disadvantages of each. Based on experiences of the authors with previous groups, steps are given for organizing and conducting supportive workshops which can provide women with knowledge about the realities of menopause. A bibliography and a list of sources for relevant pamphlets are also included. Descriptors: Cancer, Contraception, Developmental Stages, Discussion Groups
(1980). Training for Planning Project. Final Report. Concerned with training local educational agencies in planning and administering community education programs, this report summarizes a year-long project in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Included are a narrative description of the project and its activities, a list of objectives and agenda subects, assessment, a summary evaluation, and recommendations. The project was designed to produce six results, including the training of district teams in the three states, the development of three- to five-year plans, the development of a cadre of practitioners in local programs who could train others, and the establishment of a team of educational professionals in the three states who could provide technical assistance. The team approach and inclusion of three states was believed to have contributed to the participants' positive reactions to the training. Recommendations for future training include more time allotted to the selective recruitment and thorough orientation of team members, pretraining orientation for coordinators with emphasis on exchanging ideas, regular coordinator meetings, and the establishment of specific definitions for planning and programming. [More] Descriptors: Community Education, Continuing Education, Leadership, Program Development