The use of a variety of specific competency tests that measure skill achievement required for high school graduation are reviewed in this monograph. The successful performance of certain competencies ordinarily is viewed as an important adjunct of course work. They are not seen by most schools as a replacement for course work, but rather as one…

Describes a project guided by the resilience paradigm in which a team of 4 social workers and 17 prevention personnel collaborated on programs serving 2000 inner-city adolescents. The project team concluded that a modified consultation model is essential for implementing new techniques and that positive, supportive relationships are singularly…

Examines the impact of children's attendance at preschool on teaching and learning in 77 low-income Hawaiian families' homes. Data from the families (18 participating in a year-long series of interviews) illustrate the development of 2 parental scripts, 1 for skills used in the home, and 1 for preparation for school. (SLD)

Research findings: Growth across 6 months to 8 years of age, assessed at seven time points, for daily living and cognitive skills was compared for term (n = 122), very low birth weight (VLBW) children of low (n = 114) and high (n = 73) medical risk and lower socioeconomic status (SES). Dramatic declines in daily living skills were found for all…

The capacity of agriculture to act as a familiar vehicle for development of young rural learners' literacy, numeracy, and other necessary life skills was examined through a literature review and case studies of the use of primary school agriculture (PSA) as a contextualizing subject in the following countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon,…

Data were gathered from 154 U.S. programs providing personal assistance services for the disabled. The survey identified approximately 850,000 people receiving community-based, publicly-funded personal maintenance, hygiene, mobility, or household assistance services, with physically disabled individuals being the most often served. The report…

This executive summary reviews results of a survey of 154 publicly-funded programs providing personal assistance services to disabled individuals. Introductory chapters identify the need for a national personal assistance program and policy, the concept of personal assistance and attendant services, the potential user population, and U.S. sources…

The Perceptions of Developmental Skills (PODS) Profile is a rating scale designed to keep standardize and profile subjective perceptions of adults who have frequent contact with handicapped preschool children. It is intended to complement, rather than to replace, standardized developmental assessment procedures, by integrating a diagnostic…

The final report of a 3 year project to improve the quality of life of mentally retarded, cerebral palsied, and epileptic persons in Region III is presented. The first section details the efforts of the project staff in providing competitive employment opportunities or sheltered employment for 40 severely disabled persons. Equipment modification…

The report presents findings from needs assessment studies conducted in three community college areas to examine the extent to which 161 severely handicapped adults in seven disability groups (orthopedic, visual, hearing, mental retardation, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and multiple handicapping conditions) have acquired 22 life centered competencies…

The handbook for special education personnel was written by 18 graduate students culminating a period of intensive work with physically and mentally handicapped adults at workshops operated by the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens and the Easter Seal Society. The first chapter details the steps from contract procurement to work…

Information can play a vital role in assisting inner city residents to cope with major survival problems. The provision of supportive information increases the effectiveness of all types of advocacy. The limited success achieved by recent library outreach programs in the inner city is partially due to the absence of a commitment to advocacy by the…

In accordance with the national aims for adult literacy programs, an Adult Performance Level (APL) project was devised whose primary goal was to produce sequential tests of APL objectives derived from the requirements of adult living in four major areas: reading, writing, computation, and general knowledge. To document these abilities and skills…

Interviews with 28 Hispanic and Black former foster youth in Los Angeles County (California) found that emancipating from foster care placed individuals at risk because of a lack of education, marketable skills, or general living skills. Relationships overshadowed skill development in participants' memories of independent living programs.…

This second follow-up study of seven young adults with mental retardation one year after movement from an institution to a community setting found steady gains in social, communication, and community living skills but relatively few gains in motor and personal living skills. These findings contrasted with the sweeping gains in adaptive skills…