The Mid-Continent Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) provides an assessment of the technical assistance needs of educators in our region in response to a directive from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. This RAC is one of ten such committees appointed by the Secretary to conduct the assessment over the period of December 2004…

This book addresses issues related to teen mothers and schooling, examining how teen mothers have become scapegoats for social anxieties, how schools respond to these stigmatized students, and what helps/hinders the success of schools attempting to form more inclusive settings for teen mothers. The book links an ethnographic study of two schools…

This qualitative work analyzes selected major literature on self-esteem from the standpoint of urban youth education. It defines and describes elements of self-esteem, and links self-esteem to self-worth, learners' social environmental cues, teacher attitudes, and other variables. At-risk youth carry the additional burden of internalizing…

Compared with other media, computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a relatively new mode of communication that has emerged in the past two decades. In the past decade, there has been a growing body of research on CMC. There are two dominant models of CMC: the task-oriented and the social-emotion-oriented. This review discusses, compares, and…

Minnesota has been the first state to embrace many education reforms, but it is also characterized by low state standards and problematic desegregation and diversity proposals. This report examines why Minnesota is good on some education policies and bad on others. It also draws the lessons with the greatest importance for other states. The…

This study looks at how testing affects critical decisions for U.S. students, focusing on the impact of testing on individual students. It examines common misuses of tests, their political and social contexts, what happens when test issues are taken to court, special student populations, social promotion, and other issues of current interest. The…

Presents statistics that document the status of African Americans in higher education. Much recent progress in the Education Equality Index the journal computes comes from gains made in the past several years that are only now reported by the government. Recent political and social developments, such as opposition to affirmative action, may…

A socially moderated link was established between statewide achievement results and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) by using the same achievement level descriptions in an Iowa Test of Basic Skills standard-setting and an NAEP standard setting study. A statistically moderated link was established through an equipercentile…

Depicts the hostile social, political, and economic environment in which racial and linguistic minorities now live. Demonstrates how educators can become advocates for reform. Educators must be willing to reconfigure public education, redefine their relationship to the community, create radical curricula, and make explicit their moral and social…

Examination of the social contexts and circumstances leading to the Brown versus Board of Education decision (1954) and subsequent events reveals that in spite of the promises of school desegregation, repressed learning opportunities continue for African American children. Changes brought by desegregation have been too fragmented and isolated.…

Identifies issues on the use of computer networks in K-12, business, and university environments, and reviews elements that play a major role in shaping wide-area networking use in elementary and secondary education. Discussion includes the technical and logistical elements, issues related to user attitudes and characteristics, and social and…

Curricular concerns and issues are suggested that encourage prospective teachers to think about the social, political, and institutional context of schooling. Specific issues are considered related to the substantive concerns of (1) teachers' work; (2) achievement of minority students; and (3) gender dynamics and teaching. (SLD)

Discusses the decision to implement a drug and alcohol testing program, analyzing how such programs fit within the traditional functions of criminal and administrative law, pinpoints some messages conveyed by testing programs, and discusses factual premises that should underlay such programs. Reviews recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings and gauges…

Social dynamics of health issues facing today's adolescents are discussed, with attention to the Year 2000 Health Objectives of the Public Health Service. Research on the social context of the adolescent must consider what can be learned from the resilient child who develops well in the face of adversity. (SLD)

Presents a new history of philosophy of education that maintains that dialogs of educational philosophy cannot be understood without reference to the intellectual, political, and social movements of the time. Individuals inside and outside the inner circle of education are considered, and literature only tacitly philosophical is included. (SLD)