A study was conducted by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges to assess student knowledge in the liberal arts in four large urban community college districts (i.e., Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, and St. Louis). The study used both a student characteristics survey and the General Academic Assessment (GAA), a content test designed to…

This paper explores the relationship between low income parents and urban schools. Parent participation in urban schools today is said to have been institutionalized in forms set in motion by the Civil Rights movement. Three types of response to the failure of schools to respond to the 1954 Supreme Court decision calling for desegregation are…

This newsletter describes one college of education's experiences in selecting field placement sites for preservice teachers, examining the possibilities and limitations students faced when sent to suburban versus urban schools. Site selection criteria included school characteristics (size and grade levels, neighborhood, library and computer…

This special issue summarizes parallel studies in five countries (Japan, Greece, Thailand, Republic of China, United States) investigating the causal linkages among socioeconomic status variables, family processes, and school variables on the mathematics achievement of urban elementary school children. Methodological problems in cross-cultural and…

Trends in the growth of the immigrant student population over the last 10 years are traced, and issues and challenges that such students present for the member cities of the Great City Schools are highlighted. About 9.5 million immigrants, representing almost 60% of the nation's entire immigrant population, entered the United States in the 1980s,…

An evaluation of the International Youth Leadership Institute (IYLI), summarized in this IUME Brief, helps fill the gaps in knowledge about how youth programs help Blacks and Latinos negotiate their adolescence and attempt to form an integrated sense of self. IYLI, founded in 1989, is an academic leadership development program for Black and Latino…

Prominent Americans were asked to reflect on the diversity challenge facing America's teacher workforce. The following leaders from several fields voiced their support of teachers and their beliefs America needs more diverse and culturally responsive teachers: (1) Mary Hatwood Futrell, President of Education International; (2) Carol Moseley-Braun,…

Articles in this theme issue explore pathways into teaching, focusing on programs that recruit future teachers, and specifically on programs that target minority future teachers. "Pathways to Teaching: Building Quality and Diversity in America's Schools" by Segun Eubanks introduces a number of programs that are drawing from populations…

Nearly one million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are victims of violent crimes each year, and this has been true since at least 1985. Children are becoming involved in violence at ever younger ages, both as victims and as perpetrators. The threat of firearms is the greatest concern in adolescent violence, but no single factor can be…

The theme of this inaugural serial issue is "Building a Community of Learners." The serial has been designed to address school restructuring and reform and the roles of teachers, administrators, and parents. The first essay, "Constructing Communities of Cooperation" by Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood examines structural change in…

This issue focuses on Latin Americans and the media, with emphasis on portrayal of the Latin American in United States mass media. "Puerto Ricans and the Media: A Personal Statement" (B. Vasquez) recalls the author's experiences as a young girl in the New York City public schools and in an urban college. The critical importance of the…

This collection of short articles, devoted to educational reform at the local level, addresses the issues of improving curricula, expanding educational resources, addressing dropout and discipline problems, and handling increased court involvement in school reform. "The Sceptre, the Rod and the Schoolhouse Gate," by Lawrence Friedman, traces the…

Examines a frequently discussed indicator of child well-being, the high school dropout rate. School-linked services will be successful only to the extent children are in school. First in a feature series ("Child Indicators") that analyzes implications and limitations of key statistical indicators of the well-being of children. (SLD)

This report examines student mobility among California Latino adolescents. Latinos are now the largest ethnic group in the California schools; if student mobility is indeed a problem for both students and schools, it is important to understand the consequences of changing schools for Latino adolescents. Longitudinal data were studied for two…

The dropout problem in the nation, in the Council of the Great City Schools (GCS) school districts, and in the central cities is reviewed. Annual, single-year, four-year, and status dropout rates are examined. During the decade from 1982 to 1992, the gap in dropout rate between Whites and other ethnic groups has narrowed. The majority of the GCS…