The guide provides a brief introduction to the culture and language of Mexico, and is designed for visitors, students, and business travelers. It offers practical information on various aspects of daily living, including: money; food; restaurants; drinks and drinking; hotels; tipping; postal and telecommunications services; transportation;…

The book presents the results of a survey of the daily life and attitudes of 90 English families with an adolescent with Down Syndrome (DS). The first chapter reviews the typical development of DS children. Chapter 2 provides demographic data including schooling (94% attended schools for children with severe learning difficulties), residence (83%…

A course in French-derived Kreol is designed for language learning among Peace Corps volunteers assigned to the Seychelles. The materials consist of 36 lessons on topics of daily communication needs. Lessons contain a story, dialogue, and/or list of expressions, exercises, and vocabulary and grammar notes and translations in the margin. Some…

A prefatory section discusses the background of Cameroonian pidgin English and presents the pidgin sound and alphabet. Fifteen lessons cover: greetings and leave-taking expressions; present, future, immediate future, unspecified past, simple past, conditional, and compound tenses; subject, possessive, emphatic, object, and relative pronouns;…

Internal, external and managerial functions of husband and wife, father and mother, and child sub-systems of the nuclear family are identified and discussed. The process of becoming a family is explored. In characterizing an optimally functioning family, emphasis is placed on the ability of family members to negotiate and resolve their roles,…

The article describes a group counseling program in Manchester (England) to prepare physically handicapped adolescents for leaving the school environment. Weekly group sessions led by a social worker and classroom teacher focused on social and life skills training, including such components as student selection of session content, role play, and…

Canada's school-to-work transition efforts have failed too many youth and adults because there has not been a framework for essential life and work skills for all to learn. These skills are needed to complement the academic and technical skills now required for completion of formal education and training. The Blueprint for Life and Work Design,…

The numeracy abilities of adults is now part of the 2002 International Life Skills Survey (ILSS) to be administered to representative samples of adults aged 16-65 in participating countries. The Numeracy Working Group has spent more than two years developing a conceptual framework based on the premise that numeracy is the bridge between…

The Canadian residential school system damaged Native cultures and values and left a legacy of shame and low self-esteem. The government now provides funding to overcome tangible barriers to Native education, such as childcare needs, but ignores mental, emotional, and spiritual barriers. A Six Nations pre-employment training program has achieved a…

Examines the educational issues inherent in transferring educational programs developed in a broad context to a more specific situation. Illustrates this with the case of conductive education, an integrated therapy and education program developed for children with physical disabilities and adapted for children with cerebral palsy. (MJP)

Studied the social networks and daily activities of children and adolescents living or working on the streets of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Found that youngsters who lived at home and worked on the street appeared to be experiencing orderly development despite their impoverished circumstances. Youngsters who lived on the streets, however, showed…

Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) is an instrument for evaluating function in children with disabilities aged 6 months to 7.5 years. The PEDI measures both functional performance and capability in three domains: (1) self-care, (2) mobility, and (3) social function. The PEDI has recently been translated into Norwegian. The purpose…

The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities was fortunate to receive a legacy to improve the lives of people with Down's syndrome. The foundation looked at recent research and talked to people with Down's syndrome, their family members and professionals. One of their greatest concerns was what happens to young people when they leave…

"Pots of Gold" is a family finance research project delivered within Sure Start Children's Centre areas across Newcastle. It is funded by the DfES through the Basic Skills Agency and managed by Newcastle Family Learning Service. This project has been delivered in two phases, running from October 2005 to December 2006. Phase 1 ran from…

This instructional guide is designed for use by Peace Corps volunteers in teaching basic skills to rural residents of Mali through practical activities on school grounds. Four instructional units provide background information, definitions, illustrated descriptions of procedures, data tables, and suggested exercises for teaching in these areas:…