Focusing on the period from June, 1984 through November, 1984, this report summarizes the activities of the Gulf Coast Future Issues Council (GCFIC), a non-profit corporation organized as a coordination center of community research, forecasting, trend analysis, and educational activities. After introductory material that highlights the role of the…

This handbook was prepared to provide guidance and suggestions primarily for school officials who are developing a plan for school desegregation or who are trying to revise an existing plan. Indications of what has and has not worked in other districts are based on experts' recommendations, on case studies from other communities, and on the…

Guatemala's school completion rates are among the lowest in Latin America and are particularly low in rural indigenous areas ravaged by 36 years of civil conflict. In 1997, USAID launched the Girls' Education Activity, known as Proyecto Global in Guatemala, to increase the percentage of girls who complete fifth grade, especially in rural areas and…

An 8-year ethnographic study in two rural Iowa towns examined the incorporation of recently arrived Mexicans and Mexican Americans into the social, economic, and political life of the community. Relocating to work in a nearby food processing plant, the newcomers altered the ethnic composition of this formerly homogeneous area. Data were gathered…

A counselor at a rural high school in New York reflects on her career and addresses issues facing rural school counselors. She chose a career in school counseling based on her interests in education, community involvement, and adolescents. As the only high school counselor for 280 students, she soon realized that rural youth faced many of the same…

Developed and implemented through four regional educational laboratories, Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE) provides secondary students with an alternative education program combining academic learning, community resource career experiences, and life skill development. Program evaluation of data from sixteen pilot sites indicates that EBCE…

The role of female educators in the Brazilian Amazon community of Itaituba (population in 1970: 12,690) has fallen short of that envisioned by the policymakers and social scientists in the early 1970s, as indicated by research conducted in 1976-77. Based on the "human capital" theory, better-trained local teachers were to train the local…

This is an ethnographic report on a poor, black-populated, inner city school that is considered effective in an environment where others are failing. The study sought to provide a qualitative account that would allow identifying what factors make for school success. Positive community perceptions of the school and data on student achievement…

From 1950 to 1970, the shift from agriculture to industry dominated Ashe County, North Carolina, isolated on the Blue Ridge by rugged terrain and severe weather. Rural farm population declined by 2/3 but rural non-farm population tripled. Many new industries helped shift the bulk of the work force to industry. In 1950, 45% of the work force farmed…

Presents an overview of the field of school social work, discusses some problems commonly encountered by teachers, administrators, and social workers attempting to work together on behalf of students, and presents some guidelines for educators to facilitate the use of school social work. (Author)

Community education programs have seldom presented quantitative data to validate the usefulness of the program. This study was an attempt to establish a beginning community education program while planning for quantitative evaluation from the initiation of the project. Based on a group process, community residents were involved in the development…

Most people see a tactical barrier to implementing service learning (SL), which is how to create the infrastructure that makes SL possible without placing undue burden on schools, people, and teachers. Teachers must be shown how SL can be seamlessly incorporated into their teaching. The media are not especially concerned with SL, but coverage is…

In an attempt to formulate a set of testable propositions about the dynamics of Hispanic life that will be valuable pedagogically and as a basis for public policy formation, this study assesses the impact of Hispanic Americans on Wichita, Kansas. Chapter 1 identifies the Hispanic origins of Kansas' 63,339 Hispanics who represent 2.7% of the…

Sage Institute of Canada, Inc. measured the priorities for improving education that are held by professional staff, the boards, and the public in the Alberta counties of Newell, Vulcan, and Warner. Over 1,800 people participated in identifying issues, conditions, and suggestions for improvement. They then assisted in validating the information and…

Rural school districts in five Arkansas towns set up school-based development corporations (SBDCs) to provide vocational and career training relevant to the needs of rural high school students and the community and to improve the economic and social welfare of the community as a whole. Each SBDC owned and operated businesses using student labor…