Erni, Christian, Ed. (1997). The Indigenous World, 1996-97 = El Mundo Indigena, 1996-97. This annual publication (published separately in English and Spanish) examines political, legal, social, and educational issues concerning indigenous peoples around the world during 1996-97. Part I highlights news events and ongoing situations in specific countries. In North America, these include threats of proposed oil drilling on sacred sites of the Blackfeet Nation and associated wilderness environment, the Leonard Peltier case, international boycotts of lumber and oil companies threatening the proposed Lubicon Cree territory in Alberta, the choice of an Ojibwa activist as 1996 Vice-Presidential candidate of the U.S. Green Party, intrusion of mining activities on the sacred sites of the Western Shoshone, and conflicts between the National Park Service and the Timbisha Shoshone and other tribes. Other sections cover the Arctic, Mexico and Central America, South America, the Pacific and Australia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa. Indigenous issues in these regions include violations of human rights, harassment of indigenous leaders and activists, colonialism, exploitation of indigenous territories by national and multinational companies, lack of land rights, and forced relocation and settlement. Many sections comment on the status of bilingual education or native language instruction, the lack of health and educational services in rural villages, and efforts aimed at cultural maintenance. Part II describes international work on behalf of indigenous rights and includes two articles: "Indigenous Peoples Keep the U.N. Declaration Intact for a Second Year" (Jens Dahl, Andrew Gray); and "The 53rd Session of the Commission on Human Rights" (Inger Sjorslev). Descriptors: Activism, American Indians, Civil Liberties, Conservation (Environment)

Designs for Change, Chicago, IL. (1987). Todos Nuestros Ninos Pueden Aprender a Leer: Guia para la Accion de Padres y Residentes (All Our Kids Can Learn To Read: Guide to Parent and Citizen Action), Chicago SCHOOLWATCH. Intended for parents and all citizens concerned about improving Chicago's 592 public schools, this handbook, a Spanish language version of "All Our Kids Can Learn To Read" (1985), explains how important reading is to a decent education and future employment. Chapter one describes the school improvement campaign called "Schoolwatch," the problems in the Chicago public schools, and the components of effective schools. Chapter two analyzes what it means to know how to read; it explains how reading is tested and evaluated in the Chicago public schools and what the scores mean. It also shows how to look at reading scores for the school system as a whole, for one's own school, and for a child. Chapter three describes in depth the ten ingredients that researchers have identified as crucial for an effective school. For each one, a "report card" gives parents specific things to look for to help them decide whether their school measures up and where there is room for improvement. Ingredient ten, where bilingual education is discussed, has been expanded to reflect recent research and opinions on the subject. Chapter four describes how decisions made "downtown" affect the way that children learn (or do not learn) to read in Chicago, and tells what changes are needed so that the school system's bureaucracy serves the local school. Finally, chapter five tells exactly how parents and community members can work together in Chicago's "Schoolwatch" program to improve the schools.   [More]  Descriptors: Community Involvement, Educational Improvement, Elementary Education, Evaluation Criteria

Indigenous Affairs (1997). Indigenous Affairs = Asuntos Indigenas, 1997. This document contains the three 1997 English-language issues of Indigenous Affairs and the three corresponding issues in Spanish. (The last two quarterly issues were combined.) These periodicals provide a resource on the history, current conditions, and struggles for self-determination and human rights of indigenous peoples around the world. Articles on Canada discuss regional agreements that protect land rights and promote indigenous self-determination; opposition of the Innu Nation to Canadian military training flights that are adversely affecting their health, cultural revival, and environment; and the defeat of a Nunavut plebiscite that would have guaranteed equal numbers of male and female legislators in the new territory. Articles on Latin America discuss the presentation of the 1996 Bartolome de las Casas Award to the Federation of Natives of Madre de Dios (FENAMAD) for the defense of isolated and "noncontacted" indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon; legalization of gold prospector enclaves on indigenous lands in Raposa-Serra do Sol, Brazil; indigenous politics and elections in Ecuador and Bolivia; negotiations on construction of a naval base in Kuna territory, Panama; assassination by Brazilian youths of Galdino Pataxo, a councillor negotiating land boundaries; indigenous mobilization in Argentina seeking implementation of constitutional guarantees concerning bilingual education, land rights, community land ownership, and control over natural resources; and human rights violations and murders of indigenous leaders in Colombia. Other articles cover politics, human rights, environmental issues, and cultural and linguistic rights in Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Russia, the Philippines, Botswana, Namibia, Australia, "French" Polynesia, and the United Nations and its agencies. Descriptors: Canada Natives, Civil Liberties, Conservation (Environment), Cultural Maintenance

Gamse, Beth C.; Conger, Dylan; Elson, Dean; McCarthy, Maria (1997). Follow-Up Study of Families in the Even Start In-Depth Study. Final Report. The federal Even Start program was implemented to improve the educational opportunities of low-income children and adults by integrating early childhood education, adult education, and parent education into a unified family literacy initiative. This study was designed to assess the impact of Even Start on children's early school performance several years after their participation in the program and, secondarily, to characterize the schools in which the Even Start and comparison children were enrolled. Data were collected on a subset of children from the In-Depth Study of the first national evaluation of Even Start. Of the 179 children included in that study, 128 (72%) were involved in the Follow-Up study. The majority of the students were in the first and second grades during the 1994-95 school year. The medium-term effects of Even Start participation were assessed using the following measures: school grades; achievement test data; school attendance; special education placement; Title I placement; participation in transitional classrooms, summer school programs, and bilingual education; and grade retention history. The study found little difference between former Even Start participants and a control group except that Even Start participants were less likely to be tardy arriving at school. Given that previous research has demonstrated the positive long-term effects of early childhood education programs, these results might be explained by the absence of the following features in this study: (1) a longer interval between the treatment and subsequent follow-up; (2) the use of comparable grade data or achievement test scores; and (3) the capacity to collect new data from children as well as from teachers or parents. While it is possible that the Even Start program does not have medium- or long-term effects, it is also possible that these features needed to be included in the study design to detect meaningful differences. (Contains 24 references and 3 appendices which detail methodology and family characteristics.)   [More]  Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Disadvantaged Environment, Disadvantaged Youth, Early Childhood Education

Department of Education, Washington, DC. Indian Nations At Risk Task Force. (1991). Indian Nations At Risk Task Force Business Meetings, 1990-91. This document contains detailed reports of the five business meetings held by the Indian Nations At Risk Task Force during 1990-91. At the initial meeting, Task Force members and interested parties clarified the goals and guiding principles of the Task Force's work. This work would include gathering data on the educational status of Indian children, youth, and adults; finding and publicizing programs that work; identifying misconceptions about Indian education; and recommending ways to improve education for Native Americans. Possible topics for exploration were discussed, particularly Native American education goals and their relevance to national education goals. At subsequent meetings, wide-ranging discussions covered such topics as parent involvement; racial bias; special education; deficiencies in federal funding; the need for expanded state government involvement; major problems at Bureau of Indian Affairs schools; educational responsibility and role of governments, tribes, and Native people; educational finance issues related to improving Native education; alternative certification for Native teachers; task force efforts to make a political impact; the nature of the Federal Government-Indian relationship; and higher education issues. Recommendations for the Task Force's final report were formulated and amended for numerous "partners" concerned with the education of Native American children and adults: parents, educators, tribal governments and Native communities, local and state governments, the Federal Government, and colleges and universities. The greatest number of recommendations were directed to the Federal Government and included the following: (1) establish an Assistant Secretary for Indian Education in the U.S. Department of Education; (2) authorize the establishment of a national research and school improvement center for Native education; (3) amend the Bilingual Education Act to allow for the retention and continued development of Native languages in accordance with the Native American Language Act of 1990; and (4) promote as a national priority the training of Native professionals and Native educators for all levels of teaching.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indians, Data Collection, Educational Needs

Ramona Unified School District, CA. (1983). Public Information on Education (P.I.E.). THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: A well-rounded story of the strength of education is being presented by the staff and students of the Ramona Unified School District in Northern San Diego county. Select audiences of service clubs and community groups that have influence on public attitudes are visited by an educational team. Each academic team is composed of 12-18 students representing various grade levels plus select teachers and other staff members. Every academic team gives demonstrations of each major curriculum area during a 30-40 minute presentation. Materials about education are distributed and an invitation is extended to visit the neighborhood school. Benefits of our P.I.E. program have been summarized. It appears that academic team members take more pride in their school and personal achievement after having participated on a team. Parents seem to be spontaneous advocates for quality education after having been involved in a team effort. (We rely on our parents for transportation to community groups meeting in the early morning or the evening and they stay for each presentation.) The community continues to welcome each team and responds with a greater appreciation for our use of resources. At the same time, support is built for programs that are not well understood, such as bilingual education remedial or enrichment classes. We like being part of a rising tide that renews public confidence in our public schools. This document was selected by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Task Force on Public Confidence as descriptive of a promising practice or exemplary project worthy of highlighting for the California educational community. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Community Organizations, Elementary Secondary Education, Group Activities

Walker, Doris Kay Parker (1988). Strategies for Increasing Retention of Hispanic Students in Community Colleges. A study was conducted to determine the strategies used by 145 community colleges in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas to meet the educational needs of Hispanic students and to investigate the relationship between these strategies and Hispanic student retention rate. Questionnaires were sent to the presidents of Southwestern community colleges with a 5% or greater Hispanic enrollment, requesting information on retention rates and strategies in effect. Study findings, based on responses from 88 colleges, included the following: (1) 50% of the colleges actively recruited Hispanic students; (2) 37.5% offered financial aid; (3) 92% provided academic advising about transferability of courses, 70.5% career counseling into selective programs, 88.6% academic support services, and 21.5% special orientation; (4) 38.6% offered bilingual courses, 55.6% English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, 50% Hispanic studies courses, and 100% developmental courses; (5) 89.8% had mandatory assessment, and 64.8% had mandatory placement; (6) 31.6% provided staff development to increase sensitivity to the problems of Hispanic students; and (7) 2.6% had a proportional ethnic composition of faculty and staff. An analysis of retention rates showed that retention was improved by proportional financial aid, career counseling into selective programs, bilingual education, ESL classes, and Hispanic studies classes. The study report includes an extensive literature review on population trends, the Hispanic socioeconomic cycle, Hispanic participation in higher education, and recruitment and retention programs and strategies. The study instrument and a list of 111 references are appended. Descriptors: Academic Advising, Affirmative Action, Community Colleges, English (Second Language)

Spring, Joel (1994). Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States. This book provides background for understanding contemporary issues and problems in multicultural education by examining the history of education of four dominated groups in the United States: Native Americans, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican Americans. The book focuses on three concepts: deculturalization–attempts to strip away the cultures of conquered peoples and replace them, through education, with European American culture; segregation; and resistance and activism by dominated cultures in response to deculturalization and segregation. Chapter 1 outlines the history of education of Native Americans, including early federal Indian education policies; the Civilization Fund Act of 1819, which supported missionary schools; the success of Cherokee and Choctaw tribal educational systems; the development of reservations and boarding schools; and the Meriam Report. Chapter 2 discusses the colonization and Americanization of Puerto Rico, public school practices to build loyalty to the United States, and Puerto Rican resistance. Chapter 3 examines Black education during slavery and the Reconstruction Era; segregation of public schools to reconcile southern Whites and as a means of maintaining an inexpensive source of labor; and resistance to segregation by W. E. B. DuBois, a founder of the NAACP. Chapter 4 describes the treatment of Mexicans in conquered Mexican territories, the great Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, development of segregated schools with English-only policies, and support for bicultural bilingual education by LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens). Chapter 5 discusses educational aspects of the Great Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-70s; effects on the four minority groups; and development of bilingual, ethnocentric, and bicultural education. Contains references and an index. Descriptors: Acculturation, American Indian Education, American Indians, Black Education

Purvis, Johnny R.; Kramer, Patsy (1980). Teacher Concerns: A Position Paper. Prospective teachers must face numerous pressures and difficulties during their training and subsequent negative factors in their lives as professionals. Among the conditions that exist for the prospective teacher, economic constraints play an important role. Pressures also exist during student teaching, when students must attempt to please both a cooperating teacher and a college supervisor who may have divergent approaches. Another stressful factor may be the anxiety caused by the necessity of passing the National Teacher's Examination. Practicing teachers also face conditions that affect morale and can sometimes cause them to abandon the teaching profession. As it was in student days, economics is again an important factor in the teacher's working life. Salaries are low and not comparable to those in other professions, and social status is not high. The demands of the classroom involve not only the problem of discipline; along with coping with disruptive or difficult students, teachers are also required to accept responsibility for social programs such as sex education, mainstreaming, family living, and bilingual education. Teachers are also frequently required to assume a larger teaching load as schools are closed and students transferred. Steps for ameliorating these negative conditions include: (1) careful screening for entrance into teacher education programs; (2) maintaining high standards for retention in schools of education; (3) providing additional professional education courses and/or extensive work in current courses in the areas of social concerns; (4) basing teachers' salaries upon competence as well as degrees earned; (5) reducing student teacher ratio; (6) improving school facilities, equipment, and teaching materials; (7) expanding benefits for teachers, such as sabbaticals and improved pension plans; and (8) more supportive school administration. Descriptors: Administrator Responsibility, Admission Criteria, Economic Status, Labor Turnover

IDRA Newsletter (1997). Parent, Family and Community Involvement. IDRA Focus. This theme issue includes six articles about nurturing parent and community involvement in schools, particularly schools serving Hispanic, immigrant, or economically disadvantaged students. "Thinking about Learning: The Community and Academic Standards" (Oanh H. Maroney, Aurelio M. Montemayor) describes a Corpus Christi (Texas) project in which workshops for parents of middle-school students increased parent awareness of academic standards and their implications and fostered parent empowerment and leadership. "Two Innovative El Paso Schools Bring Together Teachers and the Community" (Pam McCollum) describes a community event in which parents and teachers walked through El Paso (Texas) neighborhoods and shared a lunch, thereby increasing teacher-community interaction and teacher awareness of their students' background. "School Improvement, Parent Involvement and Prevention" (Dorothy L. Knight, Joseph L. Vigil) discusses strategies to involve parents and communities in school improvement initiatives, particularly violence and drug abuse prevention programs. "What It Means To Be 'Una Persona Educada'" (Carmen Prieto Cortez) discusses the devastating effects of poverty on Hispanic student outcomes and how such effects are prevented by traditional Hispanic cultural values: dignity, respect, trust, and love. "The Nurturing of Parent Leadership" (Aurelio M. Montemayor) describes the development of a Texas network of limited-English-proficient or economically disadvantaged parents through a four-stage model involving parents as teachers, resources, decision makers, and peer trainers. "Parents Speak Out: Quality Education for All Children" includes an excerpt of parent interviews about the education of immigrant children and bilingual education. Includes addresses of 29 World Wide Web sites for parent, family, and community involvement.   [More]  Descriptors: Community Involvement, Economically Disadvantaged, Elementary Secondary Education, Family Influence

de la Garza, Rudolfo O.; And Others (1992). Latino National Political Survey. Summary of Findings. This study surveyed political values, attitudes, and behavior of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans in the United States. This report describes U.S. Latinos as foreign-born, native (U.S.)-born, non-U.S. citizens, and U.S. citizens. The study used a household, in-person survey, in English or Spanish (interviewee's choice), of 1,546 Mexicans, 589 Puerto Ricans, 682 Cubans, and 598 non-Latinos. The survey was conducted between August 1989 and April 1990. Findings indicate that: (1) the U.S.-born have significantly higher levels of education, income, and job status than the foreign-born; (2) only the foreign-born speak mostly Spanish; (3) it is difficult to place any subgroup at any one point on the political spectrum; (4) ideologically, U.S. Latinos identify themselves as moderates or conservatives, although they support increased spending on many domestic issues; (5) Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans express strong commitment to and identification with their own national-origin groups, although the three together do not identify as one community or see themselves as similar culturally or politically; (6) despite widespread perceptions among Anglo political leaders, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans are generally well-incorporated into U.S. society; and (7) all U.S. Latinos are much more involved in general political activities and school-related activities than in voting. Four figures and four tables are included, among which are: "Education by National Origin and Nativity"; "U.S. Citizens and Residents Should Learn English" (reactions tabulated by national origin); "Objective of Bilingual Education" (reactions tabulated by national origin).   [More]  Descriptors: Cubans, Economic Status, Ethnicity, Immigrants

Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington, DC. (1993). Restructuring Learning: 1990 Summer Institute Papers and Recommendations by the Council of Chief State School Officers (Mystic, Connecticut, 1993). In 1990, the work of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) focused on restructuring learning–fundamentally changing the relationship among student, teacher, knowledge, and other students in ways that support the development of higher order learning for all students. This publication is part of CCSSO's effort to support attempts to restructure learning for all students. The chapters were commissioned by the council for its 1990 Summer Institute. Following the introduction, papers include the following: (1) "Working, Thinking, and Assessment" (Lauren B. Resnick); (2) "The Metacurriculum" (David N. Perkins); (3) "Styles of the Mind" (Robert J. Sternberg); (4) "Cultural Ways of Knowing: An Afrocentric Perspective" (Barbara J. Robinson Shade); (5) "Gender, Mathematics, and Science: Trends and Recommendations" (Marcia C. Linn); (6) "Teaching Science To Support Higher-Order Learning" (F. James Rutherford); (7) "Restructuring Mathematics Learning: Two Issues Beneath the Surface" (Kenneth M. Hoffman); (8) "Collaborative Research Classrooms: Grade School Environments That Promote Scientific Literacy" (Ann L. Brown and Joseph C. Campione); (9) "Work, Skills, and the Future of the American Economy" (Marc Tucker); (10) "Literacy as Reasoning Within Multiple Discourses: Implications for Restructuring Learning" (Sarah Michaels, Mary Catherine O'Connor, and Judith Richardson); (12) "Second-Language Acquisition, Bilingual Education, and Prospects for a Language-Rich Nation" (Kenji Hakuta); (13) "Evaluating Writing: The Promise of Portfolios as a Link Between Large-Scale Testing and Classroom Assessment" (Sarah Warshauer Freedman); (14) "Thinking Skills and Students Placed at Greatest Risk in the Educational System" (Asa Hilliard III); and (15) "Policy Statement: Restructuring Learning for All Students" (CCSSO). References follow each chapter. Descriptors: Cognitive Processes, Educational Innovation, Elementary Secondary Education, Learning Processes

Education Turnkey Systems, Inc., Falls Church, VA. (1992). The Educational Software Marketplace and Adult Literacy Niches. Contractor Report, Adult Literacy and New Technologies: Tools for a Lifetime. Over the past 10 years computer technology has come to occupy a central place in American life and has caused a redefinition of the level of literacy skills needed to participate effectively in American society. At the same time, some 20 to 30 million adults have serious problems of basic literacy. Within this context, the Office of Technology Assessment has undertaken a comprehensive assessment of literacy in America and the application of technology to literacy improvement. This report is specifically focused on examining the long-term economic viability of the adult literacy software market, and exploring policy options and their potential impact on the marketplace. The first two of the report's four major sections concern the educational technology market including the structure of the K-12 software market and niche markets in the larger adult literacy market (including job opportunities and basic skills, correctional education, university/college literacy, adult education, and English-as-a-Second-Language/bilingual education), and the economic viability of the literacy marketplace. The third section describes case studies of nine literacy software companies, followed by an analysis of patterns among the case study participants. In the final section, on the economic viability of the literacy marketplace, it is established that, because of the fragmented nature of the literacy market, the current economic recession, and other factors, the health of the industry supplying software and related products to literacy markets is not good. Software publishers committed to the literacy marketplace for the past 3 years are only now beginning to show small profits, and few corporate profits have been invested in the development of new products. The major barriers faced by literacy software publishers and coping strategies are identified, and several federal policy intervention strategies are considered, including increased stable federal funding for literacy service providers, investment in professional development and technology, and increased federal support for research and development.   [More]  Descriptors: Adult Literacy, Adult Reading Programs, Case Studies, Computer Software

Bess, Fred H., Ed.; And Others (1986). Concerns for Minority Groups in Communication Disorders. ASHA Reports No. 16. This monograph addresses topical issues in training, service delivery, and research for minorities in communication disorders. It presents extended versions of papers that were delivered at the conference, "Concerns for Minority Groups in Communication Disorders," held in Nashville, Tennessee on September 17-19, 1984. Papers include: "The First Thomas E. Poag Memorial Lecture" (S. Allen Counter); "Valid Predictors of Minority Student Success" (Harold Powell); "Effective Counseling of Minority Students" (Elaine J. Copeland); "Opportunities and Responsibilities for Developing Positive Minority Initiatives in Higher Education" (Frank W. Hale, Jr.); "The Aging Minority: American Indian Perspective/Community-Based Rehabilitation Solution" (Gail A. Harris); "The Difference That Differences Make: Class and Culture as Components of Black Self/Group Awareness" (Thomas Kochman); "Theoretical Frameworks and Language Assessment" (Fay Boyd Vaughn-Cooke); "The Non-Native Speaker: Testing and Therapy" (Florence D. Wiener); "Assessment Instruments for Minorities" (Mary Ann Acevedo); "Alternative Strategies for the Teaching of Language to Minority Individuals" (Harry R. Seymour); "Language Policy for Immigrants and American Citizens Whose Native Language Is Other Than English" (Sarah E. Melendez); "Need and Justification for Bilingual Education for Minority Groups with Communication Disorders" (Ramon L. Santiago); "Sickle-Cell Anemia and Hearing Loss" (Diane Scott); "Verbal Communication of Minority Adolescent Mothers" (Bertha Smith Clark); "Backpacks or Parachutes: Management's Challenge of the Future" (Ronald E. Galbraith); "Legal Issues Affecting the Delivery of Services to Minorities" (Donald W. Fish); "Research Needs for Minority Populations" (David Satcher); "The Social Responsibility of the Minority Researcher" (Lorraine Cole); "The Development of Linguistic Norms for Nonmainstream Populations" (Ida J. Stockman); "Pragmatic Aspects of the Language of Speakers of Black American English" (Elaine Bremer Lewnau); and "Communication Disorders in Africa and the Caribbean: Some Implications for Black Americans" (Orlando L. Taylor).   [More]  Descriptors: Communication Disorders, Cultural Differences, Delivery Systems, Educational Strategies

Illinois Commission on Children, Springfield. (1980). Report of the 1980 Illinois White House Conference on Children. Concerns of this report are adolescence and juvenile justice, the role of families in nurturing children, educational services, health services, and the provision of a continuum of services. The section on adolescence and juvenile justice focuses on six issue areas: youth development, prevention and support services, teen sexuality, substance abuse, juvenile justice, and education and employment. The section on the nurturant role of families deals with reinforcing the inherent strengths of families, environmental influences on families, and families that need additional supportive services such as supplemental child care, protective services, permanency planning, and assistance to pregnant teenagers. The section on educational services focuses on five comprehensive areas of responsibility that society asks of schools: prepararing students for life tasks, teaching personal and social skills, providing a safe and effective learning environment, providing special education services, and being involved in the community. Single living; children and the arts; the preservation of a democratic society; absenteeism and dropouts; substance abuse; violence and vandalism; discipline procedures; participation in and transportation to athletic events; and gifted, vocational, career, and bilingual education are among the issues addressed in the education section. The final section, on health services, focuses on prevention and delivery. Under the category of prevention, special emphasis is placed on health education, immunizations, nutrition, accident prevention, and environmental health services. Under the category of delivery, consideration is given to prenatal care, access to health services, mental health, and dental health. Concluding remarks address the problem of providing a continuum of services. Throughout the report, recommendations for each area are provided. Also included is a statement of recommendations of the Illinois Council of Youth, a brief description of the Illinois Commission on Children, and lists of names and addresses of persons associated with the report. Descriptors: Adolescents, Committees, Day Care, Delivery Systems