The article explores data from the 1979 Canadian survey of public participation in education, focusing on public confidence in education, membership in school board advisory groups, public influence in running schools, school board efforts to inform the public, and public opinion of today's schools compared to those of their day. (SB)

Analyzes the structure of Providence Island Sign Language as affected by the interaction of deaf signers with hearing signers in the Providence Island community. (AM)

This study examined 1993-94 Maine Educational Assessment data to determine factors related to fourth-grade students' health knowledge scores. Results indicated that students' overall ability, community factors, and teachers' perceptions about program quality related strongly to health achievement. Any (versus no) health education affected health…

Using data on variability in West Virginia high school dropout rates, this study examined contextual factors in teen pregnancy. Results indicated that teen pregnancy was explained in a similar way to dropping out. The presence or absence of opportunities and valued participation in a socially, culturally stable community affected both issues. (SM)

Presents several dimensions of students' science perceptions in grades 1-12 in a rural county school system. The pupils' viewpoints are related to school and nonschool experiences and to the views of local adults. The students' perceptions were also used as a basis to explore issues raised by school administrators and teachers. (KR)

Associations between community environment and cognitive ability were studied in 167 adoptive and 175 nonadoptive Colorado families. Seven families were omitted. A proposed model, tested by census measures, finds several aspects of communities showing environmental relationships with child IQ over parental influences. Rural communities have a…

The articles of this special edition on education and development in adolescence share some common themes, raise points for debate, and offer new research ideas. Common themes emphasize the following: (1) diversity among adolescents; (2) simultaneity of multiple forms of development; and (3) multiple environmental influences on adolescents. (SLD)

The significance, purpose, and undercurrents of the Detroit school desegregation case "Bradley v. Milliken" are examined in a look at the 19-year history of Detroit's court-ordered desegregation plan. At present, school desegregation does not appear to be a priority in Detroit. (SLD)

Asserts that the field of moral and values education lacks a comprehensive theory. Focuses on two neglected, but essential, dimensions: (1) community, or widening circles of belonging and group identification; and (2) activity, including formal and informal education in the school as well as youth organizations and nonschool activities. (CFR)

Traces the author's own literacy development to her girlhood in a village in rural Jamaica. Looks at storytelling, singing, and rhymes in the rhythm of the village; reading from the Bible and stories told at home; rhythms of song and language in church; and the rhythm of poems and stories in school. Looks at implications for literacy instruction.…

Presents a lesson that focuses on specific places in Chicago's Black Metropolis and examines the process by which buildings become historic structures. Explains that the lesson is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file, "Black Metropolis Thematic Nomination," and could be used in a unit on 20th-century urban…

To develop a new mission statement for Pima Community College (PCC) in Tucson, Arizona, a "charrette" process was utilized, in which detailed community input was solicited and incorporated as part of the mission statement development. Approximately 100 representatives of the greater Tucson community, together with PCC staff, developed…

Drawing from national and city-based sources, Volume 1 reports the empirical evidence concerning the relationship between children and community. The chapters are: (1) "Neighborhoods and Communities as Contexts for Development" (Martha A. Gephart); (2) "Development in Context: Implications for Studying Neighborhood Effects" (J. Lawrence Aber,…

People act in environmentally sound ways for many reasons, but the best motivation is wanting to act in the public good and knowing how to do it. Education and socialization internalize socially responsible behavior. Land grant university education and extension are based on internalizing the right thing to do and learning the right way to do it.…

The 1984 legislation for public funding of Catholic schools in Ontario exposed two primary conflicting values held by different groups. An analysis of policy change in terms of value conflict, and an examination of the consequences for organizational structure and administrative practice are the themes of this paper. The context in which the…