A seminar was held at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in August 1987 on the subject, "Illiteracy and the Underclass: Are They Permanent?" The contributions of Chall, Comer, Epstein, Dash, and Rivera identified where illiteracy problems begin--in families with intergenerational patterns of illiteracy. Problems in estimating the numbers of…

Personal narratives were analyzed to determine if a pattern would emerge in the lives of Tucson, Arizona's successful Mexican American adults who had grown up in a traditional barrio without benefit of inherited wealth. Participants in the study were nominated as successful by their peers. Nominees who agreed to participate were given a life…

In developing an ecological theory of teaching, the classroom is viewed as a sociological unit. The unit of interest was the teacher-student learning group. The basic question explored was: What is the relationship between human interactions and the physical and social context of the group. Teams of scholars met in seminars, each member bringing…

This comprehensive training program, Together We Can, involves a cooperative effort to reduce sex-role stereotyping and to expand options in education, work, and life styles for females and males. This packet consists of facilitator and participant manuals designed for use with preschool educators and parents of preschool children. This training…

FORTY-ONE VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION LEADERS AND 23 CONSULTANTS PARTICIPATED IN A SEMINAR TO DISCUSS EXISTING RESEARCH METHODS BELIEVED TO BE USEFUL IN CONTROLLING CURRICULUM VARIABLES. THE SEMINAR WAS ONE OF SIX CONDUCTED IN COOPERATION WITH THE AMERICAN VOCATIONAL ASSOCIATION, U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION, AND CORNELL UNIVERSITY. PRESENTATIONS…

The articles in this double issue of the "IRCD Bulletin" deal with the proposed decentralization of the New York City school system. Edmund Gordon argues that decentralization can provide the best organizational structure--(1) to make the schools accountable to the parents and communities they serve, (2) to place the responsibility for…

The black community is defined in this book as a diversified set of interrelated structures and aggregates of people who are held together by the forces of racism. The need for theoretical perspectives for understanding black-white relations and for analyzing the nature of the black community is explained. The black family, patterns of family…

This document is composed of two studies. The first examines the education of teachers in Germany, Sweden, England and Wales, and Denmark. It looks at the history of teacher education in those countries, focusing on (1) the fact that primary school teachers have tended to be women trained in inferior normal or teacher training schools, and (b)…

This compilation of symposium papers on community power structure research focuses on the theme that community power structure research must shift away from case study methods and move toward aggregate data analysis. Advocating comparative analysis, seven authors present their views under the following topics: (1) Charles R. Adrian, "Several Loose…

The self-images of 407 Anglo American, 157 American Indian, 300 Mexican American, and 52 Negro rural high school students in New Mexico and Texas were compared in this study. Data from an 11-item semantic differential test were grouped in terms of 3 subsets: perceptions of self, feelings about school, and social variables. Although it had been…

Questions aimed at better school-community relations through identification of problems and courses of positive action were pursued at a seminar. Positive statements were presented by a citizen, a businessman, and an educator; and discussions were launched from the propositions, problems, and points raised in these papers. This report consists of…

VARIATIONS IN THE STYLE AND CONTENT OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS, AND IN THE DIVISION OF AUTHORITY AMONG DIFFERING SOCIAL-STRUCTURAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS WERE STUDIED. DATA INCLUDED OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS, INTERVIEWS, AND CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE COMMUNITY PRESS. THE RESEARCH SITES SELECTED FOR THIS STUDY WERE FOUR SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY ELEMENTARY…

A study of drinking behavior at four sites in the upper midwest found considerable variation by site in the reported drinking behaviors of adults and teenagers. The degree of attachment to either parents or friends seemed to be related to drinking among both teenagers and their younger brothers and sisters. (JHZ)

The 2000 American Association of School Administrators Ten-Year Study of the American School Superintendent cites reports from superintendents that the superintendency is a very viable and rewarding career in public service. Despite this, they do indicate that a number of problems and troubling challenges exist; however, not so many as to…

Demonstrates how concepts derived from General Systems Theory can be used to understand and treat families living in impoverished, isolated rural communities in the South. Suggests interventions frequently need to be directed at the community system as a whole if community rules are to be modified for second-order change. (Author)