A growing body of research suggests that school leaders and policymakers should attend to the social conditions within schools that promote instructional improvement and student achievement gains. This dissertation uses theoretical and empirical work on social capital to frame three aspects of the relationships among teachers. The three studies…

Community schools are an approach that has been adopted to respond to this educational crisis. By partnering with local agencies, community schools provide students and families with access to healthcare services, educational enhancement and recreational opportunities, family economic supports such as workforce development and income tax…

The factors involved in the decisions of physicians to locate in Rockford, IL were examined. Questions were asked concerning faculty status, factors influencing practice location decisions, and perceived advantages of association with a medical education center. The medical education center was an important secondary factor. (Author/MLW)

Problems of definition in estimation in evaluation research were studied through a survey of homeless persons in Cook County (Illinois) based on 481 interviews. Differences arising from the following four population definitions are presented: (1) traditional homeless; (2) marginally housed; (3) social isolates; and (4) total of these categories.…

A survey of the number and distribution of women physicians in a nonmetropolitan area of Illinois is discussed. Graduates of foreign medical schools, the majority with physician relatives also from foreign schools, were found to constitute a sizable portion of the women physician pool in the smallest counties. (Author/MLW)

This study surveys student characteristics of age, sex, use of veterans' benefits, employment and enrollment status, and residence for students enrolled in Black Hawk College's cooperative program with the River Bend Library System to offer individualized courses, primarily on videocassette, in area public libraries. It concludes that the program…

The Family Literacy Project at the Dr. Charles E. Gavin School in Chicago Heights, Illinois, brings together a community college adult education program, an early childhood program, and a local school district. This report of the Prairie State College Family Literacy Project assesses the needs for family literacy among the families in the Gavin…

Reports results of a parent survey in a rural K-12 district and an urban K-12 district regarding 2 school choice plans. Data analysis indicated that school choice, whether in-district or in-region, was not perceived as beneficial to local districts' educational systems. Most parents preferred children to attend local schools. (SM)

Addressing the issue of community satisfaction as a viable extension to the search for social indicators, the following hypotheses were tested: (1) community satisfaction is a multidimensional variable; (2) satisfaction with community services is a municipality-oriented phenomenon that will vary according to size of place of residence, i.e., small…

This report examines arts participation in the ten largest metropolitan areas in the United States using data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. These data indicate that, in general, these metropolitan regions tend to be more alike than different with respect to arts participation patterns. Analysis reveals that while…

This report examines arts engagement in ten key states in the U.S. by analyzing data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). It is organized into ten state profiles that summarize key demographic characteristics, the arts landscape, and public participation in the arts. Because the regions profiled here are not a random…