This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Heather Hudson, Jeanette V. Martin, Cynthia Y. Levinson, David L. Williams, T. L. McCarty, Dianne S. Mancus, Austin Southwest Educational Development Lab., Lynn York, R. Rudy Cordova, and Tybel Litwin.
(1983). A Survey of School Administrators and Policy Makers: Executive Summary of the Final Report. Although parental involvement can be important for improving schools, very few parents are involved. This paper explores attitudinal barriers to such involvement from the perspectives of 1,200 superintendents, 664 school board presidents, and 30 state agency officials in six states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), compares results with surveys of teacher educators, parents, principals, and teachers; and synthesizes findings into recommendations for developing training guidelines for teacher-parent cooperation. Subjects were given six-part questionnaires, dealing with items ranging from agreement or disagreement with statements about parent involvement to policy involvement statements and demographic items. Results suggest administrators' and board presidents' responses are very similar to those of teachers and principals. The former support the general idea of parental involvement, indicate moderately strong support for involving parents in traditional school roles, but have considerably less support for power-sharing roles. Results also stress the wide variance in involvement interpretation. Eight recommendations for training elementary teachers and three for improving parent involvement conclude the report. [More] Descriptors: Administrator Attitudes, Community Cooperation, Elementary Education, Inservice Education
(1983). An Examination of the Locus of Control Construct with American Indians from the Southwestern United States. An investigation of the relationship between the locus of control construct and the tribe, sex, and first language of two groups of southwestern American Indian adults (85 Navajo and 50 Pueblo subjects), as measured by the Rotter Internal-External Control Scale, confirmed the prediction that the groups would exhibit similar characteristics for the three independent variables. Purposes were to determine the impact of sex upon a specific Indian geographic sample, to examine the two distinct groups within the sample, and to assess the impact of first language on the locus of control construct for the sample. All subjects in the sample were students at a technical/vocational facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico; 42 were male and 93 female. Responses to the Rotter Internal-External Control Scale were analyzed using analyses of variance with the main effects of tribal affiliation, sex and first language (English or one of the Indian languages). The main effect of tribal affiliation, and the interactive effects of tribe, sex, and first language were not significant. Navajos and Pueblos did not differ significantly in the locus of control construct; there were no significant specific Navajo/Pueblo, male/female, or English/Indian language interactions. Descriptors: Adults, American Indians, Analysis of Variance, Females
(1983). Office for Advanced Research in Hispanic Education: Project Activities and Accomplishments 1979-1983. Final Report. The Office for Advanced Research in Hispanic Education, funded from 1979 to 1983, was established to support research and to disseminate findings that focused on policy formation or policy implications for Hispanic education at all levels. During its 3 years of funding, the Office supported 16 research proposals in Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona, and Virginia. The Office also supported two round table seminars (on bilingual education and Title VII programs) and an invitational symposium on Hispanics in higher education. The report includes a description of 15 of the funded projects, giving the title, the investigators and their affiliations, and an abstract of the project. The projects included studies of immigrant and Hispanic children in public schools, Hispanic administrators, Chicano students in higher education, college attrition, Chicano student retention and achievement, bilingual education, early childhood bilingual education, interdependent/cooperative bilingual education, school district structure and innovation, Mexican American student achievement, health and mental health needs of rural south Texas children, Hispanic females' aspirations, bilingual teacher and student language behaviors, and the impact of mandated enrollment of undocumented students. The report also includes summary information about the round table seminars and the symposium. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Administrators, Aspiration, Bilingual Education
(1983). New Dimensions in Correctional Education. The Penitentiary of New Mexico (PNM) is currently offering the course, Report Writing for Officers, to teach correctional officers how to write better reports. This course focuses primarily on misconduct reports and supporting memos and touches upon the interdependence the course creates between the areas of treatment and security at PNM, helping these two areas to work more closely together for a common client. The teacher strives to remain as neutral and objective as possible, and this attitude often rubs off on officers, giving them a more objective viewpoint toward inmates. The officers learn to write better, more objective reports. Other dimensions of this course are the officers' improved self-image, self-respect, and self-confidence; inmates' realization of a more equitable due process of law as reports become more objective; and inmates' increased respect for officers who write efficacious reports. (The following handouts are attached: course description; spelling, plurals, possessives, capitalization, and punctuation tests; first course assignment; essentials of a well-written report; and examples of poor reports and a poor supporting memo.) Descriptors: Adult Education, Correctional Education, Correctional Institutions, Reports
(1982). Assessing the Educational Needs of an Indian Community. Occasional Paper Series No. 1. Experiences and events are presented on determining a successful way of conducting an education needs assessment on the Jicarilla Apache reservation in Dulce, New Mexico, using the following process: (1) identifying needs to devise questions on expressed concerns; (2) analyzing data; and (3) developing a program to correct the concern. The objective of the survey was to update current needs assessment and arrive at an assessment reflecting educational needs of the school, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the community. Results of the survey created a Language and Culture Committee in the tribe, which appropriated funds for a community-based program in language instruction and the hiring of a teacher-coordinator and two language teachers. Essential points identified to conduct a successful survey were: informing the community on what was happening; utilizing community people; not extending the purpose of the survey; meeting people at their convenience; and carefully selecting interviewers. Events leading to the development of the 67-question needs assessment survey and compiled data from the 530 responses received are fully describes. The complete survey is appended. [More] Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indian Reservations, Community Involvement, Educational Assessment
(1983). Of Mother Earth and Father Sky: A Photographic Study of Navajo Culture. Utilizing 52 black and white photographs, the book tells a story about the Navajo people, their hopes and problems, the strategies they have adopted to cope with the problems, their interactions with each other and with the land, and their feelings about the land which provides a basis for their livelihood. Part of a series of curriculum materials for Navajo and other Native American students, the book commences with a brief narrative of the Navajo's historical background. This brief narrative covers the Navajo's oral account of their emergence from a series of underworlds, presence in Dinetah ("Navajo homeland") in northern New Mexico, expansion into northeastern Arizona, conflicts with the settlers and other tribes, return to and resettlement of 3.5 million acres within their former range, and attempt to develop new economic alternatives. Next, the book provides 48 photographs depicting people, the land, the sky, and plant and animal life (e.g., a Rough Rock moonrise, cacti in bloom, juniper trees, the canyon walls of Rough Rock Springs, homestead of a Rough Rock councilman, a mud oven, goats and cattle, rock formations, and various community leaders). The book concludes with brief information about the photographer and a listing of 12 references. [More] Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian History, American Indians, Community Leaders
(1983). Information and the Economy: Policy Issues for Educators. This report provides an overview of the growth of the information sector in the United States and presents policy issues for educators which arise from trends in the economies and demography of six states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Information work is classified as information creation, organization, handling, technology production, technology distribution, and maintenance. The major federal agencies involved in information policy are classified according to their role in information transmission; i.e., science, research, and technology; dissemination of information for education and training; information and the consumer; and international information policy and international trade. Recent federal legislation proposed to improve education is summarized, and the role of state governments is shown through examples of special task forces that have been established in the region to attract high technology industries. The discussion of policy issues includes an examination of the skills students will need in an information-based economy; applications of information technology (teleconferencing, videotext and teletext, video, and microcomputers) for classroom instruction, teacher training, educational administration, and home learning; strategies for coping with shortages of teachers and funds; and equal access to information technologies. Thirty references are listed. [More] Descriptors: Demography, Economic Factors, Educational Opportunities, Educational Technology
(1980). America's Earliest Revolutionary Voice: Po-Pay–Not Patrick Henry. A full century before Patrick Henry's persuasive battle for the rights of oppressed people, a San Juan Pueblo Indian medicine man known only as Po-Pay was the masterful communicator and agitator who orchestrated the first American revolution to drive the Spanish back into Mexico. Seeking mineral wealth, cheap labor, and the maximum number of Christian converts, the Spanish colonists immediately clashed with their Pueblo hosts in the Rio Grande Valley of northern New Mexico. As Indian-Spanish antagonisms steadily worsened, the period from 1635 to 1665 saw Po-Pay gain considerable renown and respect as a medicine man and leader in San Juan and neighboring pueblos. Po-Pay began to urge unity, establish communication networks, and whisper of armed revolt. He relied on multilingual traders, the strict adherence to Pueblo religious beliefs, and absolute secrecy to spread the word of the planned revolt. Coordinated fury broke out all across the province simultaneously on August 10, 1680, 3 days earlier than the Spanish governor's spies had predicted. Po-Pay proved himself an effective communicator, calling for attacking smaller settlements first to secure horses and weapons and as a psychological boost for the ultimate attack on Santa Fe. He also effectively controlled his followers in victory, ordering them to refrain from further acts of aggression on the long columns of Spanish refugees moving southward from Sante Fe. Many historical assessments of Po-Pay were said again, with modifications, about Patrick Henry's persuasive tactic a century later. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indians, Communication Skills, North American History
(1980). Indochinese Refugees in America: Profiles of Five Communities. A Case Study. Executive Seminar in National and International Affairs (22nd). Five case studies describe experiences in the resettlement of Indochinese refugees in Albuquerque, New Mexico; San Diego, California; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Des Moines, Iowa. The case studies focus on local government and community attitudes toward the refugees; patterns of resettlement; and the nature and extent of health, housing, welfare, employment, and educational services that have been made available to them. It is suggested that there is a wide disparity among the states in their receptivity to the refugees, their management of the resettlement process, and their administration of public assistance. However, it is indicated that there is general resentment of the refugees among other low income groups competing for jobs and housing, and that community attitudes toward the refugees are likely to become less hospitable as competition for reduced Federal funding sharpens. Observing that Indochinese refugee resettlement is widely seen as the Federal government's responsibility, the report emphasizes that Federal policies and funds alone cannot assure successful programs, and that the keys to success in refugee resettlement lie in community education, community-private sector cooperation in refugee employment, and other initiatives at the local level. [More] Descriptors: Case Studies, Community Attitudes, Community Role, Educational Needs
(1982). The Out-of-State Placement of Children: South Central State Profiles. Major Issues in Juvenile Justice Information and Training. This document, 1 in a series of 10, presents state profiles of the results of a systematic examination of child care agencies and their involvement with out-of-state residential care for children. This volume contains profiles of the South Central states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Each state profile contains five sections. The first two sections identify the officials in state government who facilitated the completion of the study and describe the general methodology used to collect the information presented. The third section offers a basic description of the organization of youth services as they relate to out-of-state placement policies. The fourth section offers annotated tables about that state's out-of-state placement practices. The discussion of the survey results includes: (1) the number of children placed in out-of-state residential settings; (2) the out-of-state placement practices of local agencies; (3) detailed data from agencies that placed five or more children; (4) use of interstate compacts by state and local agencies; (5) the out-of-state placement practices of state agencies; (6) state agencies' knowledge of out-of-state placement. The final section presents observations and conclusions about state and local out-of-state placement practices that were gleaned from the data. (Data reported are for 1978.) [More] Descriptors: Adolescents, Agency Role, Child Welfare, Children
(1983). Parent Involvement in Education Project (PIEP): Annual Report. This survey is the fifth in a series conducted to gather information about attitudinal barriers to parent involvement and to examine their implications for teacher training. In six states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), school superintendents, school board presidents, and state agency officials were asked about their attitudes toward parent involvement and the extent of parent activities in their schools. Respondents indicated positive feelings about having parents involved in traditional roles which support schools, but were less favorable toward having parents in co-learner roles, and negative toward parents being involved as partners in making school decisions. These views corresponded to data collected from teachers, principals, and teacher educators, but contrasted with responses of parents, who reported interest in being involved in decisions even though opportunities were almost non-existent. The report includes responses of three groups of policymakers, and, with the information collected in previous surveys, has been used to describe current attitudes and practices and to make recommendations about training teachers to work with parents. [More] Descriptors: Administrator Attitudes, Community Cooperation, Elementary Education, Inservice Education
(1982). Youth in Adult Courts: Between Two Worlds. South Central Region. Major Issues in Juvenile Justice Information and Training. State profiles of youth in adult courts were compiled for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Federal District Courts. This volume contains profiles for the South Central states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The first part of each state profile describes the process by which youths are referred to adult courts and what can happen to them after conviction. Included in this part are descriptions of (1) the court organization, (2) the pertinent statutory provisions in the state code, (3) the relevant cases tried in the state supreme court and the federal courts since 1950, and (4) the correctional placement options for juveniles convicted in adult courts. This information was obtained through a search of the statutes and case law and through telephone interviews with court and correctional officials. The second part of the profile presents data collected from every county in the state on the frequency of referral of youths to adult courts through each of the mechanisms permitted by state law. In addition, demographic information, offense characteristics, and the judgments and sentences received by these youths are described for the most populous counties and for those counties referring five or more juveniles to adult courts in 1978. [More] Descriptors: Adolescents, Court Litigation, Court Role, Courts
(1982). Public Hearing on Excellence in Education (Dallas, Texas, October 4, 1982). Perspectives on excellence in education are addressed in a 1982 public hearing. Representatives from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico are among the witnesses. Attention is directed to federal policy toward excellence in education and signs of improvement. It is noted that many school districts have set rigorous standards for promotion and graduation. The Reagan Administration has reduced paperwork and reporting requirements, proposed legislation concerning vocational and adult education and the education of children with limited English proficiency, and enhanced state and local capacities through the Commission on Educational Excellence and through a new technology initiative. It is also suggested that the federal government should choose some priorities such as the effort in foreign languages. Additional topics include the following: social changes that have affected student achievement, factors that have influenced student achievement, the importance of teacher education to improve schooling, the need to promote competence in the basic skills, developments in southeastern states and implications for the pursuit of excellence in public education, needs of the disruptive child, discipline in the schools, declining parental involvement in the schools, the pursuit of equal educational opportunities, and the problem of school financing. [More] Descriptors: Change Strategies, Educational Needs, Educational Quality, Educational Trends
(1984). The Information Economy: What's an Educator to Do?. In order to learn more about the problems of educating students to adequately prepare them for jobs in today's information economy, leaders in education, government, business, and civic organizations met in June 1983 at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) in Austin, Texas. The symposium participants came from and research focused on the six states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. As a result of the presentation of research and trends and the discussions following the presentations, the participants suggested the following recommendations for the future: (1) conducting research on the effects of regulation and deregulation of information technology policy on education; (2) consideration by state and federal policymakers of the needs of education during the development of information and communications policy; (3) equitable allocation of resources, including equipment, materials, and assistance; (4) development of curricula promoting skill in communication, synthesis, and quantification; and (5) decisionmaking by representatives of industry, community groups, and pre- and post-secondary educators regarding the responsibility of each segment in the general education and career training of youth. It is concluded that a multi-pronged approach must be taken to ensure that the needs of learners in the current information economy are met. Descriptors: Community Organizations, Curriculum Development, Education Work Relationship, Educational Needs
(1980). Self Knowledge and Student Teacher Effectiveness. Little research on the relationship between self knowledge and teacher effectiveness seems to exist. The Self Knowledge Project, a study of more than 1,000 people of various ages, identified 4 distinct stages of self knowledge development: (1) elemental; (2) situational; (3) pattern; and (4) process. The Self Knowledge Project created the Experience Recall Test, which was designed to identify a person's stage of self knowledge. To investigate the relationship between self knowledge stage and teaching effectiveness, 64 student teachers at New Mexico State University and its branch campuses took the Experience Recall Test. Results of this test were compared with the student teachers' evaluations by their college supervisors. It was hypothesized that, if a correlation could be demonstrated between stage of self knowledge and teaching effectiveness, it would be appropriate to utilize this knowledge when planning activities for the preparation of teachers. It is stated that, because of study sample size and other problematic areas, study results appear inconclusive. However, seven conclusions are offered and problems with the self knowledge measure, identification of exceptional teachers, and self knowledge and process education are discussed. Descriptors: Developmental Stages, Higher Education, Knowledge Level, Preservice Teacher Education