This document is intended to help communities plan and implement initiatives modeled after Making Academics Count, a campaign that was launched in 1997 by the Business Coalition for Education Reform (BCER) to encourage employers to ask job applicants for their school records and thereby help motivate students to achieve at higher levels. The guide…

This document explains how to establish study circles for public dialogue and community problem solving with the aim of building strong neighborhoods. The foreword explains the value of study circles in addressing the challenges currently facing all kinds of neighborhoods and presents 10 specific guidelines for organizing study circles in a…

This guidebook summarizes learning on the role of intermediaries and how to build organizations that perform intermediary functions effectively and efficiently. An introduction defines intermediaries, in the context of youth-serving systems, as staffed organizations that connect schools and other youth-preparation organizations with workplaces and…

This document explains how adult and community educators in the United Kingdom can involve adults as equal partners in the provision and delivery of adult learning. The guide profiles many innovative and imaginative ways in which adult and community learning practitioners are engaging with their communities in increasing the demand for adult…

After a long history as a tool of forced assimilation of indigenous populations, education is now a key arena in which indigenous peoples can reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures and thereby improve the academic success of indigenous students. Community-based education offers a means by which indigenous peoples can regain a measure of…

Reports on a project with five schools in which students and teachers engaged in participatory research of water resources and water quality. Describes the student-teacher interaction, a computer network linking the project to an international conference on water quality, and the impact on local public opinion about water resources. (CFR)

This facilitator's guide explains how to lead a series of five sessions (study circles) designed to foster public dialogue and problem solving among citizens interested in meeting the challenges of community growth and development. The document begins with an introduction to the concept of study circles that examines the following: definition of…

Although consumers are sensitive to purchasing products that are recyclable and biodegradable, which products are truly environmentally sound is not clear. This teacher guide contains activities to help educate students in grades 3-6 about choices they and their families make that may affect their future health and welfare. The lessons may be…

This document reports the findings of Project Respond, a program designed to develop a model for assessing and addressing risk to children in the St. Louis community. Section A concerns: (1) a definition of risk; (2) effects of profound sociological risk on children; (3) social and economic costs of sociological risk. In Section B, the Project…

The goal of the Hispanic Agenda is to enhance the quality of life for Colorado Hispanics and all other Coloradans. Responsibility for the program rests with the Hispanic community and leadership. The Hispanic Agenda Steering Committee began work in January 1986 to develop the structure and process for the Agenda. Program components, identified…

Eight 1980 innovative programs in continuing education are described which won awards from the American College Testing Program and the National University Extension Association. Awards were granted according to programs' transferability, innovativeness, workability, and impact in one of four categories: instructional programs, student services…

SUBSTANTIAL POVERTY IN RURAL AREAS HAS BEEN CAUSED BY UNEMPLOYMENT DUE TO THE TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION WHICH HAS MECHANIZED AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN THE EXCLUSIVE DOMAIN OF THE FARM LABORER. A WELL-ORGANIZED COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM PROVIDES A MEANS OF EFFECTIVELY COMBATING THE RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT WHICH IS ESPECIALLY HIGH AMONG…

Aboriginal educators and economic development practitioners in Canada are developing and implementing initiatives to promote the achievement of "digital opportunities" so that Aboriginal communities can both develop and be in a position to take advantage of economic opportunities without falling deeper into the "digital…

Maintains that civic competence and socially responsible behavior have been among the 10 developmental tasks of adolescence since the 1950s. Contends that the decline of interest in political socialization must be shared by both political science and developmental psychology. Discusses community service as a measure of civic competence. (CFR)

In November 1994 and May 1995, two symposia on stabilizing indigenous languages were attended by U.S. and Canadian tribal educators and experts on linguistics, language renewal, and language teaching. Participants sought to lay out a blueprint of policy changes, educational reforms, and community initiatives to stabilize and revitalize American…