Reviews "One Eight Seven," a film about a teacher working with at-risk students. The film is an indictment of U.S. schooling and a portrayal of the dangers teachers and students face in school with increasing frequency. The misrepresentations in this film reinforce the prevailing myths of urban education. (SLD)

This case study chronicles the lives of 20 inner-city adolescents and their experiences in and out of school. It explores the social construction of reality among these seventh and eighth graders and refutes the myth that these disadvantaged students suffer from cognitive deficits. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "The…

This study examined the relationship between self-concept variables and academic achievement in 72 African American inner-city high school students. The self-concept variable of particular interest was racial self-concept, those perceptions about the self that develop as a result of racial identity. The hypothesis that racial and global…

Compared two single-sex and two coeducational fifth-grade classes (90 students) from inner-city schools for academic achievement. Class grades were consistently higher in the single-sex classes, although the difference was not always statistically significant. Standardized-test data showed no trend, although coeducational groups performed better…

Reports on the achievement of the first Waldorf public elementary school in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). Early experience indicates that Waldorf pedagogy, with its emphasis on the natural rhythms of everyday life, is an effective model for predominantly African American children in an inner city. (SLD)

Examines ties between music and mathematics and how high school students perceive the relationships. Using survey data for 124 high school music students in New York City, the study shows that the majority of the students dislike mathematics and see mathematics as a discipline devoid of creativity or emotion. (JB)

Lorraine Monroe, founder of the Frederick Douglass Academy, a public school that promises inner-city students an education comparable to that of an elite suburban school, tells her own story of overcoming obstacles to become a respected educator. Monroe grew up in Harlem in a broken home after the departure of an abusive father. Following her…

This paper analyzes an understudied dimension of inner-city education--the diverse nature of women's personal experiences and levels of success in school and the kinds of supportive resources they receive. The data are from qualitative interviews with 53 black teen mothers and their nonparent peers who reside in Detroit (Michigan) or Milwaukee…

Catholic schools have had astonishing success in working with inner-city children. Recent research has confirmed that the performance of students in Catholic schools surpasses that of urban public school students, usually at lower cost. A recent survey also indicated that 83% of public school parents and 82% of inner-city poor parents want…

Presents a conceptual framework from Cleveland's (Ohio) George Gund Foundation youth violence prevention initiative to assist planners and funders effectively and creatively address youth violence in their communities. It presents an overview of current approaches to youth violence and treatment and a means for identifying, categorizing, and…

The study reported in this book was designed to address the experiences of educationally disadvantaged young people in English cities. The study, called "Changing Lives," involved a survey of over 3,000 inner-city 16-year-olds from 34 schools in 6 urban areas of England. The young people surveyed were eligible to leave school in spring…

In an ethnographic reflection on 10 years experience working in the high schools of inner-city New York, issues of school safety, discipline, and violence are explored. The central proposition is that the mentality that relies on paramilitary security measures and technological devices, such as metal detectors, to achieve safe schools is only an…

The Erikson Psychosocial Inventory (EPSI) (Rosenthal, Gurney, and Moore, 1981) was introduced into a longitudinal study of 234 previously studied inner-city children as they were scheduled to make the transition from elementary to junior high school. Compared to the EPSI original Australian sample, inner-city African American 12- and 13-year-olds…

A program was developed and implemented to help increase the attendance of potential grade 10 dropouts from a predominantly black urban area. The objectives for the program were to increase the daily attendance rate for the 10 targeted students by at least 40%, to develop positive career and life goals, and, for 4 of the young men, to develop…

Explores the reasons for the persistence of and intense interest in the United States' oldest large-scale transfer of inner-city students to suburban high schools, that of Boston (Massachusetts). This voluntary desegregation program continues to thrive because it offers educational quality without producing a racial struggle for access to…