Since the 1970s, federal legislation and public and private sector initiatives have attempted to increase the numbers of women employed in occupations considered nontraditional for females. In 1998, women accounted for 20-25% of employees in a handful of nontraditional occupations (NTOs) but less than 10% of employees in many other NTOs. Secondary…

New teaching methods and curricula that show promise in their ability to provide limited English proficient (LEP) students with a good education in both science and English are discussed and illustrated. Discriminatory practice has led to the clustering of LEP students into low ability tracks without consideration of their actual abilities and…

The assessment and placement of language minority students remain among the most serious problems facing schools today. As of 1990, 14 percent of the school-aged population in the United States comes from language minority backgrounds. Significant numbers of these students are not being properly identified by educators. Assessment procedures in a…

The Families, Technology, and Education Conference was held in late 1997, when computer technology and the Internet were raising concerns as well as presenting new opportunities for parents. The conference papers in this collection are organized into six sections. Papers in the General Sessions section are: (1) "Reading the President's…

A variety of community college programs and services designed to enhance minority student participation and success in higher education are described in this volume. Issues related to minority student recruitment, retention, and transfer to four-year institutions, and to minority staff professional development are explored in the following 15…

The 1983 publication of "A Nation at Risk" began a new reevaluation of American schooling. The issues raised in that and several more recent reports are summarized and discussed in this preface to the ERIC volume, "Trends and Issues in Education, 1986." This paper offers observations and reflections on the issues presented in that volume and…

Over the last thirty years access to higher education has expanded markedly. Remediation and support programs, including summer bridge programs, have grown in response to the needs of international students, non-English speakers and disabled students, and others who need help in gaining an equal footing with other students. The other main thrust…

The purpose of this paper is to help educators and other interested individuals find their way through the plethora of reform reports published in the early 1980s. The early historical context of the reports is set out through a discussion of secondary education and proposals for reform since the 19th century. This is followed by a discussion of…

A survey of the literature on the issues and problems related to the preparation and survival of black public school teachers in the United States resulted in findings and recommendations in five areas. The first area considers literature on the underrepresentation of black teachers in public schools, studies on pupil/teacher ratios, expanded…

The career and technical education (CTE) system before Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 has been characterized as traditionally dominated by gender segregation and discrimination. The most damaging consequence of such gender bias is to limit females' access to the benefits of CTE--the living wage that provides females the same economic…

This digest reviews educational policies and practices that have been proven effective in closing the achievement gap, offering a list of resources with detailed information about them. The digest focuses on state and district roles (e.g., developing and implementing educational goals, rigorous standards, and accountability standards and providing…

This collection provides an overview of literature entered into the ERIC database in 1990 on computer applications in elementary and secondary education, adult education, and special education. The first of four sections contains a list of overview documents on computer assisted instruction. Focusing on special applications, the second section…

Summaries of current research on aspects of urban and minority education are compiled in these fact sheets. The first report provides guidelines for counseling in a multicultural educational setting, and outlines what counselors should know about and what they can do for students of culturally different backgrounds. The second report, which…

This book examines the promise and some of the perils of the new digital age in higher education. It addresses how cost and affordability impact on universal access, noting that current virtual and distance education options will result in a digital divide. The book advocates removing barriers to higher education in order to make digitized…

The Perkins Act and the Workforce Development Act (WIA) brought major changes to the arena of nontraditional employment and training. Perkins eliminated set-asides for displaced homemakers, single parents, and single pregnant women but mandated increased enrollment in high-wage nontraditional training. With the WIA, the Nontraditional Employment…