The attitudes of disadvantaged students in Great Britain toward education in general and public examinations and their views about the most important educational objectives and how well their schools were achieving them were assessed as part of a longitudinal study. These students were not achieving as well as controls. (Author/IS)

In a Canadian program, adult volunteer mentors meet with elementary student mentees for an hour each week during school. An evaluation of five such school-based mentoring programs found that mentored students developed a more positive attitude towards school, achieved higher grades, and improved relationships with adults and peers. Mentors report…

Studies show a positive correlation between parental involvement and academic achievement, but the involvement of immigrant or poor parents is lower than that of native-born, middle-class parents. Reasons may include socioeconomic status, level of instruction, language fluency, status of immigrant community, years of residency, relations between…

Reports a study in which Israeli researchers examined school cultural differences between effective and average secondary schools. The 20 participating schools taught mainly disadvantaged students. Teachers completed the Perceived School Culture Inventory. Results indicated that schools varied in their cultural dimensions, and the variation…

Research findings in England suggest that increased competition among schools, if combined with performance management, may enhance schools' efficiency. But, to prevent greater inequality in access to good quality state education, care must be taken with the regulations governing school admissions and the incentives for schools to admit and retain…

The "Thinking Actively in a Social Context" (TASC) project, currently underway with African-American high school pupils and teachers in KwaZulu/Natal schools (South Africa), stresses the systematic development of thinking and problem-solving skills. The program has been very successful with relatively high achieving students but requires…

This study is a careful review and analysis of recent official statistics and academic studies about children and poverty in the United Kingdom. Kumar fully and succinctly identifies the link between increasing child poverty and economic, demographic, and policy changes and the greater risks of children from ethnic minorities. (SLD)

Investigated whether low-income mothers learned to interact with their preschoolers in ways that fostered narrative skills. Mothers of intervention children were encouraged to elicit questions, encourage longer narratives, and participate in narrative conversation. Assessment of children's pre- and post-intervention narrative and vocabulary skills…

Issues facing historically disadvantaged universities in South Africa are examined, focusing on their impact on the cognitive development of students. It is concluded that students' cognitive development is a strategic matter, requiring the coherent effort of a whole institution rather than being the exclusive province of any specialized units.…

Examined feasibility of using observation, interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, checklists, essay writing, drawing, ranking, activities mapping, and participatory rural appraisal with disadvantaged children. Feedback was provided by children from a capacity-building program on child-centered research, psychologists, and program trainees.…

Identifies five interlinked and interdependent issues characterizing institutional transformation in South African higher education: (1) democratizing institutional governance structures; (2) increasing access for educationally and financially disadvantaged students; (3) restructuring the curriculum; (4) focusing on developmental needs in research…

Interviews and focus groups with rural youth and local policy makers in remote northwest Connemara (Ireland) showed how various social practices and relations encountered in the arenas of education, employment, and housing problematized the choices and opportunities available to young people in transition to adulthood, especially rural youth…

One of the many legacies left to us through ancient Greek literature is the concept of mentoring. The ideal mentoring relationship involves three key components: (1) Continuing to carry out other duties while assuming the care-giving role; (2) Serving as a conduit for the wisdom of others; and (3) Developing a long-term connection. Mentoring can…

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of the Natural Teaching Strategies (NTS) parent training intervention on parent and child behaviour during free play. A pretest/posttest experimental design was used with families recruited from Head Start programs. Measures of observed behaviour were used to determine the use of contingent…

"Rethinking Early Childhood Education" is alive with the conviction that teaching young children involves values and vision. This anthology collects inspiring stories about social justice teaching with young children. Included here is outstanding writing from childcare teachers, early-grade public school teachers, scholars, and parents.…