The California Special Education Paraprofessional Training Task Force conducted a survey to determine the role and utilization of paraprofessionals in special education and corresponding competencies required, the degree of perceived need for training, and desirability of developing a certification plan for statewide training in the state. A…

A discrepancy score evaluation technique was successfully implemented in California, thereby allowing parents, teachers, and students to provide information regarding the students' needs. However, the same method failed in American Samoa due to the parents' perceptions of teachers as experts and the amount of teacher time necessary for…

The major purpose of the study was to determine the basic reasons for nonparticipation of California vocational agriculture students in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization and to develop strategies for increasing membership percentages. After calculating a 1973-74 FFA membership percentage for each California school, schools were…

Mental retardation exists as a category of thought, a way of classifying people. Traditionally, two models have been used in making such classifications: the pathological model of medical practitioners, and the statistical model of psychologists and other behavioral scientists. Both regard mental retardation as individual pathology characterized…

Identifies salient conceptual and methodological issues involved in cross-cultural research. Surveys principals and teachers from California and the Marshall Islands regarding perceptions of principals' leadership capabilities in three areas: school governance, school climate and culture, and instructional organization. There was substantial…

This fall, about 700 charter schools will be operating in 26 states. Superintendents acknowledge that their own role often depends on a specific state's legislation. Some districts, like two Colorado systems, offer intensive support to charters. Some superintendents find working with charters to be risky and contentious, as staff struggle to…

In 1992, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) grant program was established to provide funded opportunities for first and second-year teachers having completed a preliminary or professional clear multiple/single subject, credential. Matriculating from a teacher preparation program to the classroom, they were ready to "expand,…

This paper is a preliminary report of findings from a study of racial attitudes toward black/white inequalities, conducted as part of the Social Indicators project at the Survey Research Centers at the University of California at Berkeley. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of the adult population of the five county San…

The study takes place in a field setting at three different schools. Each group is composed of two black and two white students assigned randomly to either an experimental or control condition. Fourteen groups were run for each condition or a total of 28 groups. In the control condition both blacks and whites receive the same neutral training…

This ethnographic study of the Japanese American community in San Francisco is stated to be aimed at showing how the cross cultural study of personality changes throughout the life style can enrich the understanding of man. Chapters describe collective life in Japan Town against the background of its history; inspect respondents' perceptions of…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses, discusses men's changing roles. It is designed to provide a framework for exploring how differences in language, laws, and ways for participating in the community and differences in the way…

Recent growth of rural communities and economies will change the role that community developers play. Based on the survey responses of 533 new migrants to five types of California rural communities, data indicate that the major role of community developers will be to coordinate and facilitate organizations in rural areas. (Author/SSH)

Conclusions about public school labor relations advanced in this report are based on analysis of data from a two-phase study. The first phase consisted of case studies conducted during entire collective bargaining cycles in eight school districts--four in Illinois and four in California. The second phase of the research expanded the work into 65…

This handbook outlines the grade 2 course entitled "People as Members of Groups." A statement of California philosophy of history-social studies education precedes the handbook's three sections. The first two sections present major goals of the overall program, an overview of social studies content for grades K-6, and a chart of content…

This handbook outlines the grade 1 course entitled "People at Home and at School." A statement of the California philosophy of history-social studies education precedes the handbook's three sections. The first two sections present major goals of the overall program, an overview of social studies content for grades K-6, and a chart of…