In the past decade, there has been a sharp increase in awareness of how interventions that address multiple risk factors and target both children and their families can help ensure that children grow up healthy and able to learn. In 1995, the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) undertook a project to "map" state initiatives…

The key to developmentally appropriate practices is to let a child construct his or her own knowledge through interactions with the social and physical environment. Because the child is viewed as intrinsically motivated and self-directed, effective teaching capitalizes on the child's motivation to explore, experiment, and to make sense of his or…

This book presents the Contextual Systems Model (CSM), a theoretical framework for the study and education of young children at risk for failing at formal schooling. Chapter 1, "Contemporary Children and Risk," provides a demographic snapshot of the realities of children's lives and introduces formal concepts regarding risk and risk…

This data book for 1994 describes the condition of children in each of Mississippi's 82 counties. The statistical profiles focus on 12 key indicators of child well-being: (1) low birth-weight; (2) infant mortality; (3) poverty; (4) participation in WIC, the special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children; (5) school food…

This data book for 1996 describes the condition of children in each of Mississippi's 82 counties, based on key indicators of child well-being. The first part of the report profiles child hunger in Mississippi, and discusses nutrition programs available to Mississippi's children, such as: the special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and…

This third volume of the Assessment, Evaluation and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS) describes AEPS measurement components for children who are at risk or who have disabilities, from 3 to 6 years of age. Section 1 provides a comprehensive description of the AEPS and how its measurement system functions for children and…

The effects of ethnicity, gender, and risk on locus of control were investigated for gifted children and for high ability nongifted children. Subjects (n=805) in grades 5 through 7 were African-American, Caucasian, Latino/Hispanic, or Fillipino and had been referred for evaluation of giftedness, which included evaluation of intellectual ability…

Literature on the American family that is pertinent to pediatrics is reviewed. Family characteristics considered include fertility, family structure, divorce, maternal employment and child care arrangements, family wealth and poverty, governmental assistance, and adolescent sexuality. Other topics of discussion include problematic effects of…

Annotations of ERIC literature on the learning environment are presented in this document. Materials were selected for inclusion from the ERIC catalogs Resources in Education (RIE) and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). The 10 publications are as follows: "School Is for Teachers: Enhancing the School Environment," by Buck Adams and…

This report is the final in a series designed to assist in the planning and development of a comprehensive, coordinated service delivery system for Arizona infants and toddlers who are developmentally delayed or at risk of developing handicapping conditions, and their families, as outlined in Public Law 99-457. It documents the needs of Arizona's…

Many teaching-learning materials on HIV/AIDS have been produced by government and non-governmental organizations since 1985. But there is a need to develop strategies and methods that train teachers and educators in delivering these materials to students. This manual is part of the project Strengthening and Expanding the Provision of HIV/AIDS Life…

As states respond to major welfare legislation in providing assistance and other interventions to help adults on welfare become ready to work, the challenge of helping these adults in their parenting skills and in promoting resilience in their children has often been ignored. This issue brief addresses the challenge of promoting resilience in…

After more than three decades of development and two decades of evaluation, career academies have been found to be effective in improving the performance of students in high school, particularly for students at greatest risk. Career academies have become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy that includes…

A teacher who teaches General Educational Development preparation to at-risk teenagers in a nonprofit alternative education program called FutureWorks conducted a study to identify those elements of FutureWorks that keep students coming to the program. The study included the following data collection activities: a consensus-building activity to…

Although our society has made substantial investments in research and programs based on the idea that communities affect families and children, significant questions have emerged about the validity of the link between communities, children, and families. This book, presented in four sections, focuses on how communities undergird or undermine human…