Taber, Lynn Sullivan (1996). The Role of American Community Colleges in Building Community. The American system of higher education consists of public and private institutions, of which there are three segments: universities, four-year institutions, and two-year colleges. Further, there are three types of two-year colleges: comprehensive community colleges, offering a broad array of programs and services; junior colleges, focusing on transfer courses that apply to degree programs at four-year institutions; and vocational/technical colleges that focus on certificates or degrees or are a part of tech-prep programs. While institutional mission statements vary, the themes of meeting community needs and creating a dynamic, prosperous community appear in many two-year college missions. However, the familial, educational, and social foundations of civil society are currently in crisis, as evidenced by rising divorce rates, low reading rates of minority children, increasing amounts of television watched by school children, and increasing numbers of young people held in juvenile facilities. Specific examples of community colleges working to solve these problems and build community include a child development/child care center at New Mexico's Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute; a science, engineering, and mathematics academy for underrepresented students and a center for applied gerontology at Ohio's Cuyahoga Community College; a mentoring program for at-risk middle school students developed by Oregon's Chemeketa Community College; and a program to enable citizens to participate in community planning at Florida Community College at Jacksonville.  (Contains 20 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: College Role, Community Colleges, Community Development, Community Problems

Duling, John A. (1972). The Use of the Miller Analogies Test as a Screening Device for Mexican-American Graduate Students. The determination of whether or not the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) is a valid screening device to use with a culturally diverse populace was examined. The study was conducted at New Mexico State University (NMSU) using 2 sample groups. Sample A consisted of 560 Anglos and 101 Mexican Americans tested by the NMSU Counseling Center during a 2-year period (1968 to 1970), and sample B consisted of 337 Anglos and 51 Mexican Americans admitted to the graduate school at NMSU during a 3-year period (1967-1970). The 3 hypotheses developed for testing were (1) that there is a significant difference between MAT scores of Anglos and Mexican Americans, (2) that there is a significant difference between earned Grade Point Averages (GPA) of Mexican Americans and Anglos in the first semester of graduate school, and (3) that the correlation of MAT scores and first semester GPAs in graduate school will be significantly different for Mexican Americans and Anglos. The results of the study provided the basis for accepting the first and third hypotheses and for not accepting the second hypothesis. It was strongly indicated that students of Mexican American extraction obtain significantly lower scores on the MAT than do their fellow Anglos, but this fact does not seem to be a detrimental factor which influences performance in class at the graduate level. It was concluded that the MAT does not have much value as a predictive instrument for either group.   [More]  Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Anglo Americans, Cultural Differences, Grade Point Average

Jones, Myron (1974). Indian Education in Public Schools: Confused Responsibilities — Predictable Results. Discussing Indian education in public schools, the paper explains that the new Johnson O'Malley (JOM) regulations will be one of the first major tests of the new Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) administration's resolve to put the interests of the American Indian people first. The first section presents discussions on: Tuition Payments and JOM; JOM and Public Law 874; Title I and the Indian Education Act. Section 2 covers 2 issues that are the most highly supported and least controversial in the Indian community: treaty rights and Federal trust responsibility, emphasizing who is responsible for federally connected Indians in public schools. The appendices, which comprise the majority of the report, cover: (1) Arizona JOM Program FY 70-71; (2) a discussion paper on JOM in relation to PL 92-318; (3) JOM funding outside of schools; (4) Indian Education Act, 1973-74 School Year, Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools (New Mexico); (5) JOM comparison of state funding; (6) expected distribution of JOM funds; (7) Title IV, Part A — Education Committees; (8) an overall summary of the Arizona, Utah, and Oregon JOM Programs; (9) proposed JOM regulations; and (10) a brief conclusion signed by various Indian tribes and organizations.   [More]  Descriptors: Administrative Change, American Indians, Area Studies, Educational Change

Renchler, Ron (1994). Involving Cities in Our Schools: Municipal Collaboration in Urban Districts, Urban Superintendent's Sounding Board. This publication contains three articles that examine the changing role of the urban superintendent. The first presents highlights of interviews with Dr. Walter Amprey, superintendent of the Baltimore City Public Schools, and Dr. Donald Ingwerson, who served 12 years as the superintendent of the Jefferson County, Kentucky, Public Schools. Each superintendent related his experiences with collaborative projects and emphasized the importance of collaboration in educational reform. The second article describes a National Science Foundation grant program for the betterment of urban schools–the Urban Systemic Initiative (USI). The USI is aimed at a limited number of large cities to initiate systemic reform to foster experimentation, accelerate the rate of change, and implement systemwide improvement in K-12 students' achievement in mathematics, science, and technology. The third article summarizes comments made at the January, 1993, meeting of the Urban Superintendents' Network by the mayors of five cities–Albuquerque, New Mexico; Denver, Colorado; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Tacoma, Washington, and Washington, D.C. The final section includes a review of the book "Together We Can: A Guide for Crafting a Profamily System of Education and Human Services." A list of OERI Superintendents' Network members is included.   [More]  Descriptors: Administrator Role, Agency Cooperation, Educational Change, Educational Cooperation

Barefoot, Betsy O.; Fidler, Paul P. (1996). The 1994 National Survey of Freshman Seminar Programs: Continuing Innovations in the Collegiate Curriculum. The Freshman Year Experience Monograph Series No. 20. This monograph presents data from a 1994 national survey on freshman seminars gathered from 1,003 accredited, two- and four-year colleges with student populations of over 100 students. The survey investigated the content and structure of freshman seminars in a mail survey of provosts/vice presidents for academic affairs at 2,460 institutions Among responding institutions, 723 institutions reported they already offered a freshman seminar and 56 institutions were planning such a seminar. The most common seminar types found were: extended orientation, academic orientation with uniform academic content, academic orientation on various topics, professional or discipline-based orientation, and basic study skills-oriented orientation. Many institutions indicated they offered a hybrid of these types. Most freshman seminars had 25 or fewer students. Analyses provide information on seminar goals and topics, enrollment, grading, linkage to other courses, instructional style, instructor training and compensation, and evaluation/assessment. Qualitative analyses illustrate the five seminar types at five particular schools–Longwood College (Virginia), Union College (New York), Carleton College (Minnesota), Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania), Santa Fe Community College (New Mexico). Results are compared to previous surveys done in 1988 and 1991. Appendixes include the survey instrument and a listing of institutions currently offering freshmen seminars. (Contains 26 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Basic Skills, Basic Writing, College Bound Students, College Curriculum

Scoon, Annabelle R.; Blanchard, Joseph D. (1970). The Relation of a Test of English as a Second Language to Measures of Intelligence, Achievement, and Adjustment in a Sample of American Indian Students. This report discusses the types and results of tests used on 142 "reasonably representative" American Indian bilingual students at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Major hypotheses of the study were that (1) there is a factor in the abilities of an English-as-a-second-language speaker which can be isolated as English language ability; (2) a low TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score will occur with poor adjustment scores; and (3) there will be a significant difference in the mean scores of the two intelligence tests used (the Otis Gamma Verbal and the Chicago Nonverbal). Results seem to warrant two conclusions: (1) the TOEFL is a valid measure of English language skill of American Indian students; results are close enough to those of the non-native speakers of English for whom the test was written to suggest strongly that similar abilities are being measured; and (2) since the TOEFL and ITED (Iowa Test of Education Development) do not factor out into different factors, ITED also measures language ability. ITED may be too hard for the students, however. It is recommended that American Indian students be given the same consideration as foreign students, with intensive or semi-intensive instruction in English as need, and adjustment of course load if indicated.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indians, Bilingual Students, Cultural Influences

Casavantes, Edward Joseph (1973). Reading Achievement and In-Grade Retention Rate Differentials for Mexican-American and Black Students in Selected States of the Southwest. Two sets of data from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' Mexican American Education Study were selected for analysis in the areas of (1) comparative reading achievement rates of Mexican Americans and black students; and (2) differential in-grade retention rates of Anglo, Mexican American, and black students. Two separate issues were examined. The first tested the hypothesis that with the dropout rate for Mexican Americans held constant, it is these students who have the lower reading achievement level rather than the black students as most previous studies indicated. The second issue was to show that not only were Anglo students retained in grade at differential rates by California and Texas schools, but that this practice was more prevalent in regard to minority students. The data used was a stratified random sample of 1,166 schools in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. From an analysis of this survey, it was concluded that there is a prejudice and differential treatment against Mexican Americans and that this hurts the students' chances of advancement. It is recommended that Mexican American students be given more of the type of education they need, and less of the middle class, Anglo-oriented instruction now pervasive in the Southwest. Descriptors: Blacks, Doctoral Dissertations, Educationally Disadvantaged, Equal Education

Acuna, Rodolfo (1972). Occupied America. The Chicano's Struggle Toward Liberation. Covering the period from 1819 to the present, this book presents the history of Chicanos in the United States with emphasis on the Southwest. The monograph is divided into 2 parts: (1) the U.S. conquest of the Southwest during the 19th century and (2) the experiences of Chicanos in the 20th century. In Part I, the historical myth that the Anglo American people brought democracy to the Southwest and "liberated" the area from Mexican tyranny is challenged by giving a historical overview of the U.S. Southwest. This overview covers the conquest of Mexico, the Mexican-American War, the methods of colonization in the Southwest, and instances of Mexican resistance against their oppressors. The conquest and colonization of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California are discussed in separate chapters. Part II, "A Radical View of the 20th Century Chicano," discusses the importation of Mexicans, their migration patterns, public opinion towards their immigration, legislation pertaining to Mexicans, and education and religion in relation to the Mexicans. Several labor strikes, such as the Cantaloupe Strike, the Di Giorgio Strike, and the San Antonio Pecan Shellers' Strike, are discussed, along with the attempts by the Chicanos to unionize. The Chicano movement is also reviewed from its beginning to the present. A subject index is provided. Descriptors: Activism, Anglo Americans, Braceros, Catholics

Garry, Eileen M.; And Others (1996). Truancy: First Step to a Lifetime of Problems, Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Truancy is a major problem in the United States that can have negative effects on the futures of young people. Truancy may lead to dropping out of school; may be a precursor to delinquent and criminal activity; and places students at higher risk of being drawn into behaviors involving drugs, alcohol, or violence. Furthermore, truancy has high costs to society. This brief describes seven promising programs that have developed a coordinated response to reduce truancy and juvenile delinquency. All of the initiatives emphasize the need to intensively monitor, counsel, and strengthen the families and communities of truant and delinquent youth. They also recognize that parents must be involved and held responsible for the children's school attendance. The following seven programs are described: (1) Truancy Habits Reduced Increasing Valuable Education (THRIVE) in Oklahoma, City, Oklahoma; (2) the At School, On Time, Ready to Work program in Neosho County, Kansas; (3) Project Helping Hand in Atlantic County, New Jersey; (4) the Ramsey County Truancy and Curfew Violation Center program in St. Paul, Minnesota; (5) the Truancy Reduction Program in Kern City, California; (6) the Save Kids Partnership in Peoria, Arizona; and (7) a curfew program in Chaves County, New Mexico. A list of resources and contact information are included. (Contains 10 endnotes.)   [More]  Descriptors: Attendance, Delinquency, Dropout Prevention, Elementary Secondary Education

Loomis, Charles P.; And Others (1966). Linkages of Mexico and the United States. Study Based on Modified Probability Samples of Rural Michigan, the U.S. General Public, Spanish-speaking Latinos of the Southwestern United States, Urban Mexico, and Rural Mexico. A number of hypotheses derived from sociological theory and from previous research concerning the potential collaboration of citizens of the United States and Mexico were tested. Included in the samples were 1,528 interviews from the United States general public; 306 interviews from rural persons residing in places of 2,500 or less in Michigan; 105 interviews with Spanish-speaking informants in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; 1,126 interviews with informants in urban Mexico; and 288 from rural Mexico, or from villages and towns of between 100 and 2,500 population. The findings are discussed under the following chapter titles: "Factors of Knowledge and Mass Communication,""Actual Behavioral Linkages,""Attitudes Toward the Across the Border Country and Toward Linkages with That Country,""Desire for Linkage and Collaboration: Its Predictability and Explanation," and "The Meaning of the Linkage-Contrasts of Mexico and the United States." It was concluded that in all samples, informants with more formal education had higher mean scores measuring their contacts in across the border and Anglo-Latino relations than did those with low educational attainment. It was also found that higher educational attainment was less frequently concomitant with high interaction between Anglos and Latinos in interaction arenas, such as church, formal groups, neighborhoods, and work places, than it was for other forms of interaction.   [More]  Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Anglo Americans, Attitude Measures, Cross Cultural Studies

Healey, Gary W. (1969). Self Concept: A Comparison of Negro-, Anglo- and Spanish-American Students Across Ethnic, Sex, and Socioeconomic Variables. The purposes of this study were to determine: (1) if differences existed in the self-concept among Negro, Anglo, and Spanish American students; and (2) the extent to which these differences were influenced by ethnic group membership, socioeconomic position, sex, or the interaction among these variables. This study was carried out in a New Mexico public school system and involved students from two junior high schools during the academic year 1968-69. The total group sample was comprised of all ninth grade students in these two schools for which four data indices were available: (1) scores on the "Tennessee Self Concept Scale" (TSCS), (2) scores on the "Hollinghead Two Factor Index of Social Position" (ISP), (3) classification as to ethnic group membership, and (4) sex. The final sample included 607 subjects. The subjects were assigned to categories on the basis of their sex, ethnicity, and social class position. The scores which follow, taken from the TSCS, were separately subjected to a three way classification of variance: (1) Total Positive Score, (2) Identify, (3) Self-Satisfaction, (4) Behavior, (5) Physical Self, (6) Moral-Ethnical Self, (7) Personal Self, (8) Family Self, (9) Social Self, (10) Variability Score, (11) Distribution Score, (12) Total Conflict Score, (13) Self-Criticism Score, and (14) Defense Positive Score.   [More]  Descriptors: Black Students, Ethnic Groups, Junior High School Students, Mexican Americans

Embry, Jonathan D.; And Others (1972). GANDALF: A General Alpha-Numeric Direct Access Library Facility. GANDALF (General Alpha Numeric Direct Access Library Facility) is an information retrieval system designed and implemented at the University of New Mexico for the purposes of retrieving abstracts from large abstract data bases, such as the ERIC system. Previous batch-process information retrieval systems for use with the ERIC data base have been extremely slow, and thus expensive of computer time. Gandalf uses the user request to produce a list of addresses within the overall data base, so that only a small subset of the material is selected, and processing of unreferenced material is avoided. Furthermore, since GANDALF was designed to be used by persons with little or no computer experience, an attempt has been made to make the request statements as simple to use as possible. In comparisons runs, GANDALF was from ten to forty times as fast as QUERY (the currently available ERIC search system) in real time, and four to 77 times as fast in computer time.   [More]  Descriptors: Computer Programs, Computers, Databases, Information Processing

Stratton, Jean A. (1992). Helping Kids To Probe and Ponder: Integrating Higher Order Thinking into the General Curriculum. This paper addresses issues in integrating higher order thinking into the general curriculum. Data are based on a series of telephone interviews conducted in April and May 1992 with six leading thinkers in educational reform. They included: (1) Michael Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; (2) Sharon Johnson, teacher-leader at Horizon High School (Alamo District, Colorado); (3) Gaea Leinhardt, senior scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh; (4) Dan Liston, associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder; (5) Fred Newmann, professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and (6) Ted Sizer, director of the Coalition of Essential Schools. The participants discussed problems in defining "higher order thinking" and policy implications. Two models of higher order thinking were briefly described: the Re:Learning program at Capital High School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and an innovative program at Horizon High School in Thornton, Colorado. Participants concluded that higher order thinking should be more than just a set of skills and that reform programs should provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge to the real world. Higher order thinking classrooms may not look much different from traditional classrooms. However, reform must change not only procedures, but the depth of conversations in classrooms. Finally, educators must not ignore the issue of replicating inequalities in the classroom.   [More]  Descriptors: Cognitive Development, Critical Thinking, Curriculum Development, Educational Change

Medler, Alex (1994). Examples and Summaries of State Initiatives To Develop Goals, Standards and Outcomes. In the United States, education reform has many forms, but one of the most widespread versions is the adoption of performance-based or standards-based education. The basic premise of such reforms is a shift in focus from inputs to outcomes. This publication provides examples and summaries of state initiatives to develop goals, standards, and outcomes. State initiatives are grouped by the type of reform. Under each state is an overview of the effort and, when appropriate, an outline of organizational structure. States that have outlined their state-level objectives in documents called "common cores of learning" include Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Virginia. Other states describe expectations of students through the use of graduation requirements or "certificates of mastery."  These include Minnesota and Oregon. Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida are states that have emphasized the six National Education Goals in their reform efforts. Finally, some states adopt major changes in their education code or enact legislation toward a standards-based system. These include Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington.   [More]  Descriptors: Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Outcomes of Education, Performance

Welch, Nancy; Fisher, Paul (1995). Working Relationships: The Arts, Education and Community Development. This document profiles 11 examples of arts and education institutions across the country that are working to solve community problems. Programs, which reflect a number of purposes, are organized by category. Large Urban Profiles, include: (1) "Bridgemaking" in Chicago: Chicago Arts Partnership in Education; (2) Learning by Working: Young Artists at Work, Arts Commission of Greater Toledo; (3) Arts Education: Local Priority: Arts Integration Program, Tucson/Pima Arts Council; and (4) Communications and Vocations: Arts Talk/Arts Workers, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Small Urban Profiles, look at (5) SPECTRA Plus: Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County; and (6) Art for Science's Sake in Fairbanks, Alaska: Arts & Science Collaboration, Denali Elementary School and Visual Enterprises. The Suburban Profile is: (7) "Strategy for Economic Development and Education: Blue Springs Arts 2000 Partnership. Rural Profiles present (8) Big Ideas in Small Places: Artists in Minnesota Schools & Communities, Minnesota Rural Arts Initiative COMPAS; (9) Parent Power for the Arts: Moms for Fun, Silver City, New Mexico; (10) Art for Every Student: Art in Education Special Project, Idaho's Salmon Arts Council and Brooklyn School; and (11) Theater Development Through Arts Education: Dell'Arte, Blue Lake, California. Common keys to program effectiveness are shown to be: leadership, vision, planning, community involvement, professional development, cooperative relationships, innovation, evaluation, and high quality services. Appendices list additional programs and contacts for the profiled programs.   [More]  Descriptors: Art Education, Audience Participation, Community Attitudes, Community Development