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Changes in the philosophy of education have given rise to problems of articulation of occupational education. While many of the problems have been present since the founding of the U.S., the expansion in numbers of and need for occupational institutions and community junior colleges have emphasized the problems. A status study of occupational program articulation efforts between vocational-technical schools and junior colleges in four Southeastern States (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee) was made to determine institutional characteristics (geographic proximity of the two types of school, a comparison of occupational programs offered, credit offered, and the administrator's view on program design which could affect the perceived need for articulation); the nature and extent of present articulation practices; and suggestions for their improvement. The study was limited to public post-secondary vocational-technical schools and junior colleges in the four States. A 90 percent return of usable questionnaires indicated considerable duplication of programs with little articulation realized. Articulation at the local level was apparent, but insufficient in terms of the magnitude of the problem. It was recommended that each institution exert an effort to overcome the identified deficiencies in articulation practices. (AG)

Much legislation on child protection has been enacted in the past decade, largely because of the wide public interest that was attracted by the complex and emotional problems related to protecting children from physical maltreatment by their own parents. This paper, one of a series sponsored by the governor's office of education and training, presents the text of Mississippi law on the subject; discusses the statutory provisions in other selected States; examines significant case law in Mississippi and other States; presents model acts that have been adopted by a number of States; and makes specific recommendations for improving Mississippi State Law. (JF)

The laws in many States concerning institutional commitment for mental health problems are antiquated in many ways. This paper, one of a series sponsored by the governor's office of education and training, presents the Mississippi law on the subject; discusses the statutory laws in selected States; examines significant case law in Mississippi and other States; presents a model act that has been adopted by a number of States; and makes specific recommendations for improving Mississippi State Law. (JF)

Since it has repeatedly been made clear by the United States Supreme Court that the provision of education is not a function of the Federal Government, the constitutions and laws of the 50 States become of primary importance in determining what rights, if any, are available to children and others for an education. This paper, one of a series sponsored by the governor's office of education and training, presents the Mississippi law on the subject; examines some significant cases; and makes specific recommendations for improving Mississippi State Law. (JF)

Statutory laws, case laws, and model laws have been provided in this report as a basis for comparing Mississippi's juvenile laws with other juvenile laws. Since legislation concerning juvenile courts is vast, complete legislation is only provided for the State of Mississippi and two model juvenile court acts. Discussion, however, is provided which depicts the status of legislation of other States concerning certain areas of juvenile court law which appear to be of concern to many State legislators. The areas of concern discussed include right to counsel, admissibility of statements, right to trial by jury, right to pretrial release, fingerprinting, publicity of juvenile proceedings, inspection of juvenile records, and expungement of juvenile records. Mississippi case law and other case law are also discussed, and recommendations for legislative action presented. (Author/JF)

To encourage children of migrant agricultural workers to remain in school and to persuade children who had never attended to begin, the Leflore County Schools in 1966 began a program of Visiting Teachers, funded under Title I, Elementary Secondary Education Act. At the close of the 1968 school year, a decision was reached to revamp the existing program into an Attendance Counseling Department. Working throughout the County as liaisons between school and the children's home, the Attendance Counselors attempt to work out problems which may be preventing children from attending school. Leflore County Schools presently employ eight full time counselors and one full time director. Each counselor is located in a particular school within the county and serves as part of the staff of that school. As a member of that staff, the counselor receives referrals of children who are exhibiting symptoms of social or emotional difficulties which are interfering with their learning, their attendance, or their social adjustment. If a child misses two consecutive days, an attendance counselor visits the home and discusses with the parent the child's problem. During the last five years Average Daily Attendance has risen nearly six percent over that of the 1965-66 school year. This represents an average of 360 children attending school each day who otherwise would have stayed home. (Author/JM)

A Cooperative Extension Service action program in seven Mississippi counties, utilizing a nonprofessional approach to reach disadvantaged families with educational programs, is reviewed. Subprofessionals were utilized as systemic links between professional adult educators (home economists) and disadvantaged clientele. The report is divided into four phases. They are: (1) a socioeconomic description of home economists, Extension aides, and selected families being assisted in the pilot counties; (2) level of living index for the three groups; (3) an attitude study of home economists and Extension aides toward the poor; and (4) measurement of any changes in the practices of participating families as a result of the Extension aide efforts. The results indicated that behavioral changes did occur, and it is felt that these changes plus the establishment of working relationships are indicative of the effectiveness of systemic links as a means of creating change. It is suggested that these pilot study results indicate that action agencies should consider the use of aides as a means of expanding and strengthening program efforts for the disadvantaged. This type of program is thought to have meaning for rural sociologists by providing an opportunity to apply principles of the experimental design in a laboratory setting. (Author/JS)

To aid in the successful interdisciplinary team planning of vocational education, this study sought to determine: (1) which of certain selected skills in agricultural, distributive, home economics, office, and trade and industrial occupations are being taught at the secondary level, and (2) the similarities in selected instructional content in the various vocational education courses in the secondary schools of Mississippi. Data pertaining to the skills taught were obtained from 278 high school vocational education teachers. Analysis of the data revealed little similarity of instruction among the vocational education areas for the skills studied. However, 15 of the skills were taught at similar levels by teachers of two, three, or four of the vocational areas. The study further notes that the small number of similarities of instruction tended to support the establishment of comprehensive vocational education programs in local attendance centers. (JS)

In order to help vocational agriculture teachers develop competencies needed in giving instruction in off-farm agricultural occupations, 10 teachers were selected from Mississippi schools to help develop training programs, to conduct a home community survey, and to engage in a work experience program. After completion of their training, each participant initiated a program in his own school to train workers for agribusiness occupations. However, the placement of students in the training stations was not completely successful due to a lack of student interest and work scheduling problems. (JS)

The purpose of this project was to help implement the change from traditional instructional programs in teacher education at Jackson State College, Mississippi, to programs which are competency-based, starting with the faculty and interns of Jackson State College-Hinds County Teacher Corps Program. From July 1970 through July 1971, 36 interns (black liberal arts graduates), assigned to three school systems in the County, were given eight courses in early childhood education as well as six hours of internship, which will count toward a master's degree; the eight courses were converted to competency-based instruction to extents varying from 50 to 100 percent. When students were requested to evaluate the program, they reacted positively toward competency-based instruction; the majority felt that they were under less pressure, would achieve more, and would receive higher grades. Faculty members also reacted positively and expressed a willingness to use the method in their own classes; but that the traditional grading system would need to be changed to a pass-fail system. All of the faculty members felt that the end-product of such a system better prepared teachers, was worth the effort to overcome such problems as do exist. The initial recommendation was to involve the total teacher education faculty in an effort to implement further competency-based instruction within the Jackson State College education program. (Author/RJ)

This study attempts to view some of the historical and social factors that may affect the development of self concepts and racial attitudes of black children in a Northern and Southern environment, and to examine the differential effect of growing up in a female-headed household on the relationship between the self concept and racial attitudes of black preschool children. Comparisons were made between the demographic groups and between children who have grown up in a nuclear or mother-headed household. The Northern sample was located in a working class, urban center outside the Detroit. All were attending a year long child development project under Head Start. The staff and children were about evenly mixed black and white. The Southern sample was located in a working class, rural area in Bolivar County in the Mississippi Delta area, where there is little contact with whites. The children were enrolled in two Head Start Centers in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. The subjects were 63 black children in Michigan and 58 in Mississippi. Four sets of materials were used: Peabody Pictures Vocabulary Test, Williams and Roberson Pre-school Racial Attitude Sex-Role Attitude Picture Series, Thomas Self Concept Values Test, and Racial Identification procedures. (Author/JM)

Einstein, translated into a philosophy of education, views the factors governing man's qualities--his genes, his parents, his neighborhood, his church, his country, his world--as relative forces in his development, susceptible to infinite growth, and depending upon various combinations of experience. These experiences, in turn, depend upon nature of the social structures within which he lives--upon the quality of his neighborhood, his school system, his church, and his government. Recognition of the differences among these life styles determines the quality of educational planning, of testing programs and student assessment, of teacher attitudes, of curriculum subject matter, of classroom structures and student groupings, and of educational life in the community, as well as in the self-contained classroom. What follows in this book is an attempt to describe such educational processes as comprehensive planning, student assessment, school and classroom structures, and teacher attitudes, in the light of this rationale, as such innovations have been noted across the country by one observer during the years since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (Author/JM)

The State plans for professional staff development and training presented in this publication are those developed over a two-year period by eight Southeastern states participating in a cooperative regional project. The plans are indicative of the progress toward building institutionalized systems for training adult basic education personnel within each state. Training opportunities were increased, and adult education programs began or were expanded at 22 different colleges and universities. Teacher training institutes were held in six states and many were followed by regular in-service training. Workshops and seminars held in each state allowed all ABE personnel to attend at least one training program each year. A training system developed by all participants has made continuing staff development a regular feature of ABE in the Southeast. States involved in the regional project were: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. (DB)

The purpose of the Dyslexia Association, established by school officials, teachers, and parents of the Natchez-Adams County School District, was to explore the nature, diagnostic techniques, and remediation of this learning disability in order to establish a specific program in the public schools. Procedures were developed which could be used by para-educational personnel as instructors under supervision. In addition, the members of the association were concerned with the development of programs which might reduce treatment time, be incorporated into the ongoing school operation, and, be economically feasible. The point of view of the project director, in making final decision on the program model, was that specific development dyslexia was a neurological dysfunction and that there was strong evidence that this dysfunction was hereditary. Further, that there were related disorders to the specific reading dysfunction, which were probably not of a hereditary nature but resembled dyslexia and included other characteristics as well. The Alphabetic-Phoenetic-Structural Linguistic Approach to Literacy were the materials and methods used. (Author/JM)

Results are presented of an analytical study of journalism instruction in Alabama junior colleges, senior colleges and universities, State junior colleges in neighboring States; of student publications, their staffs and advisors on all Alabama campuses; and of regional and national norms for junior college journalism education as a pattern for definition of goals in Alabama. Questionnaires on journalism instruction were mailed to the 21 public and private junior colleges and to the 29 public and private senior colleges and universities in Alabama. The same questionnaire was sent to the State-supported junior colleges in the four adjacent states of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. A second questionnaire on student publications was sent to all junior and senior institutions in Alabama. All Alabama institutions responded to the first questionnaire, and all Alabama junior colleges and 24 of the senior institutions responded to the second questionnaire. Sixty tables present the response data. Results of the study, which relate to journalism programs in Alabama junior colleges only, show that junior college journalism education in Alabama is virtually non-existent. Of the 21 junior colleges, only 5 identified journalism as a course of instruction. Student publication production is, in every case, related to classwork. Only one school has more than one course identified in the catalogue, and in only one of the 5 colleges is the journalism instructor educated primarily in journalism. A number of recommendations are made with respect to State-wide definition, journalism curriculum initiation, journalism curriculum, faculty, and "terminal" courses. An appendix presents a resolution of the Junior College Journalism Association. (DB)

In order to meet the primary goal of providing students in the public elementary and secondary schools of Mississippi with a career-centered curriculum, these objectives were developed: (1) to develop and integrate career education activities into the curriculum; (2) to include guidance, placement, and follow-up programs; (3) to provide students with salable skills or college preparation; and (4) to establish a local planning and evaluation program. A sequential approach features innovative teaching techniques, such as job simulations, which utilize role playing, resource speakers, occupational songs and games, and self-awareness activities. Also included are skill training programs in nine specific occupational areas, an open-ended continuing education program, and both general and specific career exploration activities. Inservice teacher training programs, a school-community public relation program, decision-making activities, and the fused curriculum increased student interest, motivation, and program relevance. Continuation of the program was recommended. Extensive resource materials are included, as well as various suggestions for program improvement. (AG)

This annual report for fiscal year 1972 describes the major activities and accomplishments of the Mississippi Research Coordinating Unit for Vocational-Technical Education. During the report period special effort was given to assisting local school systems in implementing programs of career education. Other major programs are summarized and conclusions given. Long-range objectives are progressing on schedule but the uncertainty of funding from year to year presents some planning problems. (MF)

Racial attitudes were an issue in the 1972 Mississippi gubernatorial campaign between Charles Evers and William Waller. This conclusion is supported by test evidence consisting of content analysis of candidate speeches, news coverage of speeches in the form of direct quotations, printed issue position papers, and printed campaign advertising. A biracial group of college students was tested for connotations and denotations within sample prose works to form control data from which contrasts to Evers' and Waller's writings were drawn. Evers' rhetoric did not ignore this racial element found in the campaign; Waller's did. (CH)

The objectives of this study were to: (1) compare perceptions of administrators, school board members, students, and vocational agriculture teachers concerning the vocational agriculture programs in Mississippi, (2) determine program strengths and weaknesses in order to improve present programs and plan future ones for Mississippi, and (3) provide feedback from students in the secondary grades concerning the program components. A 3-part questionnaire was developed, which dealt with policy, curriculum, and personnel abilities of the State vocational agriculture programs. Usable instruments in a random stratified sample that included six counties in Mississippi were returned from 11 principals, six school administrators, 28 school board members, 11 vocational agriculture teachers, and 101 of the students at the secondary level. Analysis of results indicated that local attitudes are important for implementing program objectives. The vocational agriculture curriculum was seen as adequate, though the agribusiness component was least sufficient of those rated. Suggestions for program improvement and generalizations which were inferred from the data concerning program attitudes are included. (AG)

The purpose of this year-length project was to provide the structures and procedures which can enable administrative and teaching personnel to update their business education programs in Grades 9 through 12 to fit local needs currently not being met in existing curriculums. To reduce the dropout rate, develop options in vocational education, and utilize existing resources more fully, an investigative team of 26 vocational teachers and counselors representing business education and related fields at the secondary and post-secondary level used questionnaires and interviews to gather data on six occupations: (1) accountants-bookkeepers, (2) office clerks, (3) sales clerks, (4) secretaries, (5) stenographers, and (6) administrative-management trainees. Covering 428 interviews involving 160 jobs with 112 employers in a 21-county North Mississippi area, a nation-wide research advisory committee of educators provided positive and valuable business and community feedback for the project. Recommendations presented include: (1) career guidance for Grades 7 and 8, (2) general and specific responsibilities for program initiation in Grade 9, and (3) the encouragement of the development of essential materials through research grants. (AG)

To predict the educational quality of programs in 150 school districts, this study used 34 predictor variables in a multiple regression analysis. Dependent variables used to represent educational quality in a district were (1) the percent of rejections by the local Selective Service Boards for mental reasons, (2) the percent of elementary and secondary dropouts, (3) the mean scores on various portions of the American College Test, (4) the percent of graduates that enrolled in college, and (5) a holding power index. Included in the predictor variables used were (1) seven measures of the nature and socioeconomic status of the community, (2) six measures of the instructional program, (3) ten measures of the nature of the school staff, (4) four measures of the structure of the school district, and (5) seven measures of noninstructional expenditures. The authors summarize the results of each regression and present a general summary of their findings. The implications of the study and some recommendations for those school districts desiring to improve educational quality conclude the presentation. (DN)

Intended as a basis for vocational curriculum development useful for educators working with educable mentally handicapped high school students, this research study of work aptitudes necessary for the educable retarded includes extensive data resulting from a 5-year investigation of unique factors important for their vocational adjustment. The first four chapters consist of literature reviews in these areas: (1) general reviews in vocational education, (2) psychomotor goal implications, (3) social development implications, and (4) work experience, community, and society relationships. Cooperative demonstration programs are discussed in the fifth and sixth chapters, in an attempt to isolate characteristics leading specifically to vocational success for the retarded. Interpretations of structured interviews of vocational education personnel in Mississippi who work with the educable mentally handicapped are presented, and a summary of the research findings indicates that the general goals of social maturity, psychomotor skills development, and environmental comprehension appear most relevant to the vocational needs of these students. A wide range of tables presents the data. This document is related to three others, available as VT018 483, VT 018 485, and VT 018 478 in this issue. (AG)

In order to develop a curriculum especially for educable mentally retarded students at the high school level, this federally funded 1-year research project aimed to establish unique parameters involved in vocational adjustment for these students and to develop a tentative curriculum with this information. A literature review was conducted, and a research team interviewed supervisors, vocational counselors, students, former students, parents, employers, and teachers, collecting data from seven areas in Mississippi. A lack of adequate data for formulating appropriate vocational education curriculums for the mentally handicapped indicated a need for course development. A curriculum model was organized and learning activities developed around these three major areas: (1) the psychomotor domain, (2) social maturity, and (3) environmental factors. The research reports of this project are available as VT 018 484 and VT 018 485 in this issue. (AG)