The reports summarized in this paper deal with different aspects of public education. Charles S. Benson discusses the lack of sufficient financial support for all levels of public education by Federal, State and local governments. Francis S. Chase argues that signs indicating the renewal and reinvigoration of urban education are increasing. Lloyd…

This report is based on presentations and discussions at the eighth annual school board conference for trustees and administrators sponsored by the Department of Educational Administration of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Ontario School Trustees' Council. The purpose of the workshop conference was to examine specific…

This paper (Part I of a presentation titled "Early Childhood Education in Urban America") provides information primarily for non-Americans interested in early education as it is related to the management of educational change. The focus is on policy making in early childhood education from a historical perspective, covering the years 1933-1976.…

This study examined the actual and perceived effects of full-day kindergarten on students' growth in play and problem solving, language and literacy, and socioemotional development. Participating in the study were two kindergarten teachers and their classrooms serving similar diverse inner city populations in western Canada, one a half-day program…

Wartburg College (Iowa) and Waterloo (Iowa) Public Schools have cooperated to implement a teacher preparation program designed specifically for minority Teacher Associates who are employed in the Waterloo Schools and to enhance the diversity training of all graduates of the Wartburg teacher education program. The program was initiated and…

This paper reports on an ethnographic exploration of the teaching style and methods of a junior high physical education instructor serving predominantly African American students in an economically disadvantaged Chicago, Illinois neighborhood. Prior to her reassignment, the instructor in question was exceptionally popular among students, despite a…

Some leading students of social stratification in the United States present empirical and theoretical essays about the institutional contexts that shape careers. These 15 essays work toward the goal of identifying and assessing the processes by which a birth cohort is distributed in the stratification system, given its position of origin in that…

The relationship between the university and the city is explored and implications are drawn for the university's role in improving inner-city education. The article assumes that there is such an institution as the "urban university" within a major city and having a significant level of interchange with it. There are tension points between cities…

A longitudinal study described the language and literacy abilities of urban at-risk children at several points over a 3-year period; provided the children with small-group literature-based reading/language arts instruction; and compared these children's progress in literacy achievement to other similar groups. Participants in the study were…

The most widely accepted classification system of institutions of higher education, the Carnegie system, does not provide any sub-groupings for the category of two-year institutions. This lack of precision has inhibited the understanding of the diversity among and between community colleges, their missions, functions, curricula, students, and…

West Chester University (Pennsylvania) set up a project designed to meet the seemingly diverse yet very similar needs of teacher education students and inner city children. Prospective teachers must begin to value and effectively serve more diverse populations, and the relationship between campus and the real world needs to be strengthened.…

The main trends in urban education, particularly in England and the United Kingdom, are reviewed and analysed, along with descriptions of a series of projects and interventions. In particular, the paper: reviews the relevant research evidence about the current state of urban education; considers the scope for change; reports on worthwhile…

An exploratory study designed to analyze the evolution of neighborhood movements in Rio de Janeiro City (Brazil) focuses on actions related to the struggle for public schools. The effort seeks to determine the degree of political autonomy of the neighborhood associations and the nature of the educational demands and their relationship with the…

This study investigated what factors in the experiences of black, inner-city 10th and 11th graders enabled them to succeed in spite of the often debilitating factors and circumstances that surrounded them. Interviews with students, teachers, and administrators at an urban all-black high school selected by the National Center on Effective Secondary…

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…