In low-income communities, schools often lack the resources to provide children with robust, hands-on science experiences, especially those that utilize green spaces and natural phenomena outside their doors. Out-of-school-time programs are well-positioned to fill this gap, but to do so must address constraints that prevent educators and parents…

This paper describes preliminary results from a study at the Crisis Control Ministry, a poverty relief organization in Winston-Salem (North Carolina). The intent of the study was to explore the nature of and influences on contemporary urban poverty by having the investigator serve as a volunteer interviewer at the Crisis Control Ministry. Another…

The Denver Public Schools have initiated programs to improve basic skills and to respond to a court order for school desegregation. On the elementary level, programs include individually Guided Learning and Mastery Learning instructional approaches. The Diagnostic Teaching Center Project seeks to improve the academic and personal performance of…

This paper analyzes the politics of a fund established to support the development of urban children and youth outside of traditional classrooms. It examines the fund's effectiveness in establishing after school programs that provide safety, opportunities to connect with adults, and engagement with communities and evaluates implications for urban…

This paper describes a methodology for the evaluation of dropout prevention programs, for calculating dropout rates, and for comparing alternative programs equitably. A first step involves developing a hierarchy of criteria for evaluating programs. These criteria are used to obtain dropout risk probability for individuals and groups and types of…

A study examined low-socioeconomic status (SES) urban children's ways of interpreting traditional skills-based literacy instruction in kindergarten and first grade. Subjects, 35 randomly selected children from three inner-city schools, were tested for entering and end-of-first-grade knowledge of six domains of written language. Subjects' scores on…

This study reports grade, gender, and environmental (school structure) differences in self-reported use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana among urban black adolescents. Among the results are the following: (1) an equal percentage of males and females reported having "tried" cigarettes and alcohol; (2) males reportedly smoked more cigarettes…

Evaluation research of the human relations component of a larger project that attempts to bridge the black-white cultural gap in the Louisville school system is the basis of this paper. The overall purpose of this major component is to enhance positive attitudes toward intercultural, racial, and ethnic relations and understandings through…

A study explored the effectiveness of "rap music" as a method of instruction for urban preschool children. It was hypothesized that urban preschool children would learn more new content (10 unfamiliar names of body parts) in a classroom environment through the use of rap music for instruction, than would children who received instruction…

Intercultural education in the Greater Salt Lake City (Utah) metropolitan area seems to have minimal effect on high school students' behavior or attitudes. This study was planned in order to better understand the nature and dynamics of intercultural instruction in Salt Lake City. Information was analyzed from the following sources: (1) interviews…