Small town community improvement planning is often subjected to urban type analysis. When concepts applicable to the largest cities are grafted onto small towns, a misunderstanding of small town problems and prospects is often the result. Social ecology offers a framework for understanding what a small town is, how it functions, and what is…

An evaluation of the final year of the Lincoln, Nebraska, public schools experience-based career education (EBCE) program focused on three major components: student outcomes, parent evaluation, and community sites. The Career Maturity Inventory (CMI), the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR), and a locally developed survey…

Replicating the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's (AEL) experience-based career education (EBCE) model, this project had as its objectives increasing students' basic, career awareness, and life skills; developing in students awareness of their abilities, interests, and aptitudes; developing positive student, parent, and community attitudes;…

Over 2,000 interviews, questionnaires, and observations obtained needs assessment information from students, teachers, school administrators, and community members with the 4 major objectives being to help Latino children and parents articulate their educational needs, to help South Bend Community School Corporation interpret these needs in…

TO AID PHYSICIANS AND OTHER SPECIALISTS IN DIAGNOSING CASES OF MENTAL RETARDATION AND IN COUNSELING PARENTS, THE BOOK PRESENTS MEDICAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING RECENT ADVANCES. THIRTY-TWO AUTHORITIES CONTRIBUTE CHAPTERS IN SUCH AREAS AS DIAGNOSIS, METABOLISM, NUTRITION, ETIOLOGY, MONGOLISM, CRANIAL ABNORMALITIES, BIRTH INJURIES, INFECTIONS,…

This needs assessment study obtained data from several groups of Pinal County residents to aid the Board and administrators of the Arizona College of Technology (ACT) in meeting the educational needs of county residents. Survey instruments were designed and distributed among high school students, current and former ACT students, local residents…

Articles treating various aspects of the teaching of Hispanic culture at the secondary and junior high school levels are intended to improve methodology and facilitate the development of teacher-made instructional materials. An overview of the field relating problems and procedures in several areas is developed. Selections cover: (1) bilinguality,…

Gainesville College (GC) administered a Needs Assessment Survey in February 1998 to determine perceptions and attitudes about the college and areas that need improvement. Two groups were surveyed: high school counselors and principals, and community leaders such as Chamber of Commerce presidents and college trustees. There was a relatively high…

An experimental project to combine Indian and White school systems into one system responsive to the needs of both groups is successfully implementing its goals of cross-cultural awareness of students and staff, a Native American Study Resource Center, and preparation of students for immediate training, college, or job placement. (SB)

This book overviews the history of one-room schools in the United States during the 19th century and early 20th century in the midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The book is based on rural school records, correspondence of early school officers, contemporary texts, and…

These nine essays address controversial issues of academic freedom and values at the university level. The book, which was derived from two years of debate and lectures presented to national meetings of the American Association of University Professors, is organized in three sections which address such issues as: the purpose of academic freedom,…

A study examined the current outcomes and future of paraprofessional education provided under the auspices of South Australia's Department of Employment and Technical and Further Education (SA DETAFE). The primary objectives of the study were as follows: (1) determine whether an autonomous middle-level employment base exists in selected…

Visits to nine of the smallest rural elementary schools in Colorado were conducted to gain insights into types of communities served by the schools. No one definition of "rural" covered all nine communities, so they were classified into six types: predominantly agricultural, rural industrial, stable recreational, ranching/railraod, rural…

The amount of support and the degree of satisfaction with available support to rural and metropolitan parents of handicapped preschoolers was studied by analyzing parents' responses to mailed questionnaires assessing family background and demographic characteristics and the mothers' perceptions of the availability and quality of support systems in…

Case studies of high student achievement levels and school effectiveness from three rural Alaska Native schools, all offering some bilingual or bicultural classes, examine curriculum and school instructional practices, school social systems, student outcomes, aspects of school governance, and school-community relations. Chaputnguak High School, in…