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In Nepal, Girls' and Women's Education Initiative and the Girls' and Women's Education Policy Research Activity (GWE-PRA) investigated the impact of women's integrated literacy programs in the country's development by examining measures of socio-economic status, as well as indicators of women's social and economic development, including" (1) literacy and education; (2) children's education; (3) family and reproductive health; (4) participation in income-earning activities; (5) community participation; and (6) political participation. This research presents cross-sectional comparative analyses of these indicators in the baseline year (or Year 1) and measures changes in the indicators over a period of three years. Two integrated literacy programs were examined: (1) Basic and Primary Education Project (BPEP); and (2) the Health Education and Adult Literacy (HEAL) Program. Research design used quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were collected annually for three years from an experimental and a control group chosen from the Terai region. Survey data were collected from more than 1,000 women entering one of the two integrated literacy programs. The same women were followed for 3 years through an annual survey. Research sought to determine the extent to which persistence in literacy classes differed by program, previous literacy classes, age, language spoken at home, socio-economic status, and district. Findings revealed that women in the HEAL program had significantly higher levels of literacy class participation than women in BPEP. Age also appeared to be a factor affecting persistence in the program. Experimental group women had a significantly higher mean socio-economic status (SES) composite score than women in the control group. Three policy implication factors are identified and discussed. Additional information and data are appended. (Contains 103 notes, 28 tables, 54 figures, and 100 references.) (BT)

An important feature of the Annenberg Rural Challenge (now the Rural School and Community Trust) was the insistence that all funded projects be organized around networks and clusters. These networks/clusters aimed to help overcome the isolation of rural schools and communities and to multiply possibilities for sharing resources and enlarging the work on place-based education. This report synthesizes information gathered on network and cluster formation, structure, and function over the 4 years of the Rural Challenge grant. An introduction discusses theories on networks in educational settings, the Rural Challenge's vision of rural school reform, earlier rural reform movements, and the Rural Challenge's networking strategies and goals. The 35 distinct projects of the Rural Challenge are then sorted among three types of networks/clusters: large statewide networks that serve as intermediary organizations to smaller clusters of schools and communities; specific program networks that develop and implement fairly well-defined programs in clusters of rural schools; and small clusters that are geographically contiguous, frequently within one county. The three types of networks/clusters are discussed in terms of networking tools and strategies for communicating among members; network evolution; specific missions related to place-oriented curriculum development, community economic development, revitalization of languages and cultures, educational policy reform, and social justice advocacy; their effects on school-community relationships; and implications for the future of the Rural Challenge/Rural Trust. An appendix details 29 projects/networks. (Contains 23 references.) (SV)

The Rural School and Community Trust has made place central to its educational and community-building work. Because the understanding of a place is fundamental to building sustainable communities, Rural Trust schools and communities are committed to providing their children and young people with opportunities to explore, analyze, and contribute to their places. This report explains what learning about place entails and shares practical suggestions and examples of place-based curricula from Rural Trust sites. An introduction sets these efforts in their current and historic social, economic, and political context; outlines common elements that make place-oriented work deep, engaging, and challenging for students; and discusses the design process for a place-based curriculum. Detailed examples are presented: (1) the Selborne Project, in which students focus on many aspects of the square kilometer around their school; (2) cemetery studies in South Dakota and Virginia; (3) interdisciplinary studies, such as a family heritage project in Tennessee, the study of a local stream and its water in Maine, and the Kickapoo River Institute in Wisconsin; (4) studies of the local economy, history, and natural environment in Howard, South Dakota; (5) studies of local renewable energy resources and local artists and artisans in Mendocino, California; (6) development from an oral history project to place-based projects across the curriculum in a south Texas school; and (7) local history projects in Virginia. Some principles are offered for keeping this work going. (SV)

The Annenberg Rural Challenge seeks to create an effective and sustainable rural school movement that actively involves families, communities, and educators in supporting good rural schools in reciprocal relationships with their communities and local environments. Twenty-six projects, involving hundreds of schools and communities, have been funded. This report focuses on observed "community-school exchange" at Rural Challenge sites while providing insight into the underlying goal of community-school integration through a "pedagogy of place." The following conclusions are drawn: schools most often initiate the exchange; there are mutually beneficial interactions between community and schools; younger and older people become collective resources to local communities; negative (school-community) histories create challenges to exchange; learning to interact is an educational process; diversity can be an asset; competing cultural views need greater recognition; and standards and tests need careful consideration. Appendixes include the views of the Annenberg Rural Challenge leadership; an evaluator's thoughts and observations on the Rural Challenge; background and context of the research and evaluation project; defining community and school exchange; and survey responses from students, teachers, and parents at seven evaluation sites. (SAS)

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is exploring the possibility of conducting a large-scale multi-year study of teachers' careers. The proposed new study is intended to follow a national probability sample of teachers over an extended period of time. A number of methodological issues need to be addressed before the study can be initiated. In considering these issues, this report offers critiques of a variety of alternative designs. Section 2, following an introduction, reviews the research content and goals of the proposed study, identifying four principal substantive gaps in current knowledge about the teaching career: (1) teacher quality; (2) teachers' work contexts; (3) teachers' work lives; and (4) teachers' career paths. The following sections offer both general and specific recommendations on the design of the proposed study. Section 3 sets forth general proposals, identifying a set of important design principles. Sections 4, 5, and 6 provide concrete recommendations for specific aspects of the proposed design. A particular focus is designating the target population and the specific sample to be tracked. Other points of interest are the length and periodicity of data collection. Section 6 comments on some survey implementation issues that will arise as NCES expands its data collection beyond current cross-sectional and 1-year follow-up studies. (Contains 2 tables, 9 figures, and 52 references.) (SLD)

This report is one of a series exploring the way several important school districts across the country are dealing with the problems of separate and unequal education for minority students. The working of the choice and magnet school program of the Montgomery County (Maryland) public schools, a system that has never been under a court order to desegregate and in which desegregation has always been under the complete control of local officials, is profiled. Montgomery County is an affluent and highly educated community. A variety of data-collection methods were used to examine levels of segregation and concentrated poverty and the effectiveness of the county's 14 elementary magnets, 2 middle school, and 1 high school magnet, as well as to analyze schools' transfer requests and achievement trends. The study shows that choice plans and policies that are not well supervised and lack some key components to promote equal access may create merely the appearance of solving racial problems, and they may actually foster growing segregation over time. Some policy options for equal education are explored. Seventeen tables present study findings. (SLD)

In 1974, the Supreme Court in "Milliken v. Bradley" blocked a major effort to desegregate isolated urban areas by establishing stringent legal standards that made it very difficult for plaintiffs to include suburbs in desegregation remedies. Three years later a second Milliken decision (Milliken II) authorized lower Federal courts to order state governments to pay for curing the educational harms of racial segregation. Millions of dollars have been spent on Milliken II orders but there has been little serious study of the results. Researchers from the Harvard Project on School Desegregation examined four school districts that have implemented significant compensatory education plans in segregated schools and found that the promises of the Milliken II decision have not been fulfilled. The segregated, or resegregated schools, have usually gained only programs that the district wanted to implement anyway, and no real accountability for improvement has been required. The rights of intentionally segregated children seem to have been traded for temporary increases in district funding. The districts studied are (1) Detroit (Michigan); (2) Little Rock (Arkansas); (3) Prince George's County (Maryland); and (4) Austin (Texas). Eight charts illustrate the discussion. (SLD)

A descriptive study examined the relationships between what young children learned about written language in the home and their parents' levels of literacy ability and their uses of print in their lives. Twenty-four children, aged 4-6, in 20 families of low socioeconomic status were observed during their waking hours in their homes and communities for an aggregated week. Researchers in participant observer roles noted all instances of uses of print within the homes and families and administered a series of tasks to the children that were designed to measure critical written language concepts found to influence the degree of success young children experience in beginning literacy instruction. Analysis revealed that overall there was a low level of print use in the homes. Families tended to use print mainly for entertainment purposes and daily living routines. The greatest proportion of text used in the homes was at the clausal/phrasal level. The children, as a group, displayed a below-average knowledge of written language concepts. Children whose parents read and write at more complex levels of text and who read and write with their children began formal literacy instruction knowing more about critical written language concepts. Adult education programs that focused on family literacy positively influenced both the frequency of literacy events and of mother/child interactions around literacy. (Appendixes include observers' narratives.) (YLB)

This study shows where school segregation is concentrated and where schools remain highly integrated. It offers the first national comparison of segregation by community size and reveals that segregation remains high in big cities and serious in mid-size central cities. Many African-American and Latino students also attend segregated schools in the suburbs of the largest metropolitan areas, while rural areas and small towns, small metropolitan areas, and the suburbs of the mid-size metro areas are far more integrated. States with more fragmented district structures tend to have higher levels of segregation, particularly in states having relatively small proportions of minority students who are concentrated in a few districts. Based on these and other study findings, the country and its schools are perceived as going through vast changes without any strategy. It appears that the civil rights impulse from the 1960s is dead and racial segregation is reemerging. This report recommends policies to school districts, state government, and federal civil rights and education officials to foster integrated education and to make interracial schools function more effectively. It calls for: (1) resumption of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department; (2) restoration of federal aid for successful integration strategies; (3) basic research on the consequences of segregation by race, ethnicity and poverty; and (4) an examination of the ways in which multiracial education functions most effectively. (GLR)

Longitudinal data were used to track 2,695 special educators who were hired by the Michigan public schools between 1972 and 1981 and stopped teaching between 1973 and 1983, to determine their rate of reentry into Michigan public schools by 1985. An estimated 34 percent of the former educators reentered Michigan classrooms within 5 years of leaving, and an estimated 58 percent of those who did so then stayed for more than 7 years. The longer a former special educator had taught, the more likely he or she was to return. A teacher's sex or age was unrelated to the rate of reentry, though a race differential was found, with former educators who were black being more likely to return. The paper concludes that these patterns demonstrate that a return to teaching after a brief interruption may be a common career path and that the pool of former special educators is a viable and vital source of teacher supply. (Approximately 80 references) (JDD)

This document is a report of a symposium whose participants are involved with the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development, a project engaged in a longitudinal study of 80 low-income families with preschool-aged children in Boston (Massachusetts). The project was designed to identify possible success factors for children from low-income families who develop appropriate literacy skills by the third or fourth grade. The first paper, by Catherine E. Snow, discusses current research on reading development; differences between the project's work and previous research on the determinants of literacy development; the theoretical basis for the larger research plan; information about the families and children in the sample; and an overview of data collection and analysis procedures. The second paper, by Jeanne M. De Temple and Diane E. Beals, focuses on social supports for literacy development in the home and examines data drawn from talk that occurred during four activities involving children and their mothers. The third paper, by David K. Dickinson and Miriam W. Smith, concerns typical language and literacy experiences of children in preschool classrooms at the ages of 3 and 4 years. The fourth paper, by David K. Dickinson and Patton O. Tabors, analyzes a series of tests that were developed for the project and administered to children to assess aspects of their language and literacy development. A reference list cites about 50 items. The protocol for the School-Home Early Language and Literacy Battery--Kindergarten (SHELL-K) is appended. (SH)

Focusing on the call for changes in school administration, this document reviews the nature of the educational reform movement in the 1980s before describing four trends that have fueled reform proposals. Trends described include general conditions such as the larger reform debate and the new conceptions of the appropriate organizational structure for schools as well as conditions specific to school administrators such as lessons learned from successful schools and dissatisfaction with the status quo. With reference to existing reform reports, this document explores the need for reform in the leadership, professionalism, and standards of educational administration by discussing the following areas of concern: (1) the direction of reform efforts; (2) the need for instructional focus; (3) the establishment of a professional knowledge base; (4) the need for a professional model of delivery; (5) administrator recruitment; (6) preparation program content; (7) preparation program structure; (8) monitoring progress; (9) certification standards; (10) employment standards; and (11) standards of professional development for practicing school administrators. Last, the necessity of bringing administrative programs and educational leaders' views in line with a child-centered educational agenda is discussed. Appended is a list of the 32 reform reports and studies analyzed. (108 references) (CLA)

This report focuses on the formulation and implementation of family support and education policies in four states, all of which have established programs that provide the core services of parenting education, early childhood development activities, parent support groups, and information about other community agencies. The initiatives are family-centered; preventive, as opposed to interventionist; nonbureaucratic; and community-based. This report is based on field and documentary research carried out over two years. Findings of the research are discussed in terms of placement of family support and education in policy agendas, funding, definitions of state and local roles, and suggestions for future research. Missouri's Parents as Teachers Program, Minnesota's Early Childhood Family Education Program, Connecticut's Parent Education and Support Centers, and Maryland's Family Support Centers are described in detail. Descriptions in each case include a historical overview, a discussion of program development and implementation, and a program evaluation. Appendixes provide a chronology of events for each program's development, and an overview of the states' evaluations. (BC)

This document presents a basic model of the relationship between leadership, situation, and outcomes. Following a discussion of questions on the nature, origin, and future significance of good school leadership, the conceptual, empirical, and practical tasks of a systematic approach to school leadership are explored. Multiple constituents, school structure, and the technology of instruction are described as three features of public schools that must be recognized in designing a research strategy. The influence of changing social problems, public problems, demographics, fiscal constraints, student populations, and expectations on school leadership is discussed. Next, conceptions of leadership are explored in terms of: (1) the significance of school contextual variables; (2) the relational nature of leadership; and (3) the difference between leadership and position. Last, our current understanding of educational leadership is summarized through a review of related literature, and needs related to promoting good school leadership are discussed. (113 references) (CLA)

The current report explores what is available to superintendents after they assume their positions: what the landscape of sustained executive training and support options available for sitting school system leaders looks like. It describes about two dozen programs offered around the country-who offers them, how they are organized and funded, what (if any) theoretical approaches undergird them, and what (if any) evaluations are done on their impacts. The report describes programs offered by superintendent membership organizations, other (non-superintendent) nonprofits, universities, foundations and for-profit companies. It is divided into two parts. Part I starts with a brief description of the methodology and the programs surveyed and then looks at some of the broader questions about the nature of the executive programs available, exploring common attributes across programs, as well as design choices programs make about format, funding, focus, theories of action and coaching. This section of the paper concludes by stepping back to look at these programs as part of a "system"--what our country offers for the executive education and support of sitting school superintendents. It examines funding and scaling up issues, capacity building at the districts and at the sponsoring organizations, and what assessments can be made of the impacts of these programs. The second part provides snapshots of each program, including the individual programmatic descriptions and the summary responses to the guiding questions of the study. [This report was also produced and funded by The Wallace Foundation.]

Many children and adolescents, in Boston and elsewhere, experience drastic incongruities between their home, school, and community environments. Arguing that after-school programs can help to unify these disparate worlds, thereby fostering a sense of continuity for youth and aiding their development as learners, this report shows how best to strengthen and support meaningful "bridging" between after-school programs and schools throughout Boston, as well as between after-school programs, families, and communities. The report begins with a discussion of the potential of after-school programs for connecting the multiple worlds of youth. Drawing upon a range of empirical data from focus groups, interviews, and literature reviews, the report illustrates effective bridging practices, focusing attention on three domains specifying the form bridging can take (interpersonal, curricular, and systematic) and four dimensions that articulate why and how programs bridge (program location, program learning philosophy, organizational capacity, and school climate). The report offers a new typology of bridging intensity to better conceptualize the major issues confronting practitioners, researchers, and policymakers: (1) self-contained; (2) associated; (3) coordinated; (4) integrated; and (5) unified. The report asserts that the most common challenges confronted by after-school programs in attempts to connect with schools can be traced to a lack of real and ongoing communication between programs and schools; a chronic shortage of resources, time, and organizational capacity; and a lack of well-targeted and sustained funding for initiatives that will help to truly bridge children's multiple worlds. A summary of effective bridging practices provides a list of "dos" and "dont's" for programs. The report proposes recommendations related to funding and policy choices to provide children with environments most conducive to their development, focusing on first order priorities to systematically strengthen bridging efforts and second order priorities for professionals working at the program level. Appended is a list of the individuals interviewed. (Contains 44 references.) (KB)

This guide to different/alternative assessment was prepared for participants in the Rural School and Community Trust, formerly the Annenberg Rural Challenge. Given that Rural Trust participants focus on local place-based education and the relationship between rural schools and their communities, they are not, by and large, enamored of the externally-developed testing that has come to dominate schooling in America. This monograph briefly explains what's wrong with standardized tests and presents a detailed exposition of several assessment practices that aim to demonstrate student understanding through real-world problem solving and products of student work. These different/alternative assessment practices are also known as authentic assessments, performance assessments, educative assessments (formative evaluation), exhibitions, and portfolio assessment, among others. The monograph outlines principles of alternative assessments, recommends practices for designing different/alternative assessments, offers suggestions for constructing rubrics, and discusses ways to engage students in the evaluation criteria for quality performance. Specific examples are provided from various rural school communities that are constructing assessment procedures to reflect the quality of student work while centering student learning on the local community. An appendix presents a sample of a fifth-grade writing portfolio in a Vermont school. (Contains 16 references and 3 related Web sites.) (SV)

In June 1973 the Harvard Graduate School of Education admitted 4 American Indian students into a Master's degree program and one person into a doctoral program. In addition, there were 5 students continuing in the Doctor of Education degree program and one new student in the Certificate of Advanced Study program for a total of 11 participants in the 1973-74 American Indian Program. While at Harvard, students took courses in educational administration, social policy, educational planning, child development, curriculum development, and Native American education. In addition, students were also able to take courses in other graduate schools at Harvard, and could cross register at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In June 1974, 4 of the students received the Master of Education degree; one received the Certificate of Advanced Study. The program will continue for the 1974-75 academic year under joint funding by the Office of Education and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. For the coming year, 13 new students have been admitted: 8 Master's, 2 Certificate of Advanced Study, and 3 doctoral candidates. For Year IV, the publication covers funding, recruitment, student characteristics, program services, student activities, and a program evaluation. Appendix A gives student background data and a list of 1971-73 graduates; Appendix B explains admissions criteria for the Native American graduate program. (Author/KM)

This report describes a pilot project which involved the development and evaluation of an experimental treatment (training program) suitable for a longitudinal study in which the effects of child rearing practices on general competence in young children are being studied. Eleven families participated in the pilot training program which concentrated on teaching parents successful child rearing practices prior to and during the period when identified educational foundations are at risk in infants 8 to 24 months of age. Both group training sessions and home visits were included in the program. Evaluation methods included home observation of parent-child interactions, child behavior in social and nonsocial tasks, and children's social competence; and several administrations of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the Preschool Project Tests to determine language ability, capacity for abstract thought, and the capacity to sense discrepancies. Results indicated the program was reasonably effective. Appendices make up more than 3/4 of the report and include: (1) criteria for family selection and the eligibility and preliminary interview forms; (2) the working draft of the training program (more than 1/2 of the report); (3) checklists and rating scales of the adult assessment scale; and (4) scoring information for social competence observation. (ED)

In order to utilize interesting children's trade books in a systematic reading program, two readability formulas were devised based on a selection of children's trade books. Children's scores on selections from these books and judges' rankings were compared. The judges' decisions were considered to be highly credible and were used as the criterion measure. Correlations are reported between 23 textual variables and the criterion. Two readability formulas based on these variables are discussed: one based on a regression analysis that included publisher and linguistic variables (Formula P) and one that included only the linguistic variables (Formula L). Formula P uses words per page and impersonal pronouns plus third person personal pronouns per sentence in the regression equation and correlates .819 with the judges' summed rankings on 50 books. Formula L uses words over seven letters long per sentence and impersonal pronouns plus third person personal pronouns per sentence in the regression equation and correlates .718 with reading difficulty as determined by judges' rankings on 50 books. The books used are listed by title and author, and the judges summed rankings and the regression formulae rankings are given. Grade level scores were not considered appropriate to be assigned. (MKM)

This report analyzes seven standardized reading tests which were part of a data bank of information on 6,753 first-grade through sixth-grade students from 36 communities. The data bank was assembled to allow for secondary analyses of the relationships between achievement and specific characteristics of programs or schools. Differences between tests and between grade levels are analyzed both in terms of level of difficulty and type of tasks. Extensive appendixes present the characteristics of individual tests. (AA)

Individual pupil scores, school characteristics, and characteristics of reading programs were assessed in elementary school programs in 36 communities, forming a data bank of information on 6,753 students from grades one through six enrolled in special reading programs across the country. A series of analyses were performed to determine the school and program characteristics associated with greater reading achievement gains for the lowest-achieving students and to assess the stability of these relationships across grade levels. This report discusses the construction of the data base, characterisitics of the sample, data analyses, and conclusions. Among the program characteristics that appeared frequently in conjunction with higher scores of reading-achievement gain were individual or small group instruction, the use of reading specialists, inservice training of teachers, and parental involvement through advisory councils. Appendixes provide further details of the sample and discuss coding of data and analyses. (AA)

Equity within U.S. higher education is examined in three parts: Practices, Principles, and Policies. Public/private problems, attendance variables, and public subsidies to higher education are included in the Practices section. Part 2, Principles, discusses the place of philosophy, meanings of equity, remedying discrimination, and equality of opportunity. It is argued that equality of opportunity requires access to occupational positions and rewards for all students in spite of disparities in social class, geography, or handicap. The last section, Policies, focuses on problems, practices and principles, the policy content within higher education, issues for policy development (test scores, motivation and aspirations, availability and costs, and geographical disparities), and moral obligation and public policy. Among other things it is suggested that elementary and secondary school counseling services could influence aspirations and motivation. The California system, with its low cost and wide availability to minority and low-income students, is discussed as the best example of state responsibility for public higher education. Appendices include student enrollment from 1948 to 1978, college enrollment rates of 18 to 24-year-olds from 1948 to 1978, high school noncompletion rates, college enrollment rates by family income, graduate and professional school enrollment, minority representation in graduate business school enrollments, enrollment rates by geography and cohort 18 to 24 for 1976, enrollment in two-year colleges as a percent of total college enrollment for 1976, and per student spending by state. (CC)

A major purpose of this study was to identify the five most outstanding black scholars in the social sciences and humanities in the United States and to determine how they achieved eminence. The study focuses on their unfolding careers, the decisive events in their lives, interconnections in their life histories, and social interaction between them and others in society. Five hundred and fifty-four members of social science and humanities professional associations ranked and nominated the black scholars. These respondents also filled out a brief questionnaire that included information on their own educational and occupational mobility and success. The five nominated scholars were John Hope Franklin, W. Arthur Lewis, Kenneth B. Clark, Matthew Holden, Jr., and Darwin T. Turner. These scholars were asked questions about family background and economic circumstances; community race-relations climate; parent's philosophy of education; experiences in school, college, and graduate education; and career development. Using the event-structure theoretical framework of Allport, the critical events in the life histories of the five scholars were identified and case studies prepared. Among the findings are that career, education, and family development processes are relatively independent in that each process has a life-range of its own and a sequence of stages. The last part of the document contains a survey of the education and careers of respondents, which includes a demographic analysis of the study sample and an examination of career patterns by age and race. Last, the five outstanding scholars are compared to the national sample which ranked them. (NE)

This is the final report of the Microcomputers and Literacy Project, which was primarily concerned with sociolinguistic analysis of written texts and classroom discourse from two urban, sixth-grade classrooms using computers with QUILL writing software. The report argues for and illustrates an approach to the study of writing that integrates ethnographic analysis of classroom interaction with linguistic analysis of written texts and teacher/student conversational exchanges. The authors use as an analytic construct the notion of a classroom writing system to explore relationships among classroom context, computer-based innovations, writing practices, and actual texts. The report of the two-year study is divided into six sections: (1) definitions and development of the construct of a classroom writing system; (2) description of writing systems in the classrooms studied; (3) use and meaning of the computer, including the function of the computer, student expertise, social interaction, amount and kind of writing produced, gender and ability differences, and teacher attitude; (4) interpretive analysis of individual texts bringing together ethnographic, conversational, and textual data and the interactions that influenced them; (5) conflicting purposes within classroom writing systems, including stated purposes, school purposes, and student purposes; and (6) implications for equity, writing instruction, evaluation of innovations, and teacher education. (Contains 40 references.) (KRN)

By looking at changes in the status and role of the fqih or traditional Islamic teacher in Morocco, it is possible to trace the transformation of the entire learning system from an independent, teacher-centered approach to a government-controlled educational system, of which religious education is only a part. In the traditional system, students memorized and recited the Quran at lower levels, and at higher levels studied exegesis, grammar, and law. The teacher's educational background consisted of local level schooling, travel for study-apprenticeships with individual scholars, and usually attendance at formal centers of Islamic study. The goal was acquisition of a quality called "ilm" (knowledge). Pressures for changes in this system began early in the 20th century when Morocco was a French protectorate. In 1968, the Moroccan government merged the Islamic and government schools so that fqihs now teach five- and six-year olds. Higher religious instruction now occurs through specialized secondary schools and universities. The traditional teacher's techniques and status have changed considerably and parents now see the teacher as a countervailing force to rapid social change. (IS)

Background information on the shortage of teachers in mathematics and science is first summarized, with discussion of reasons why fewer persons are entering teaching and many experienced teachers are leaving. Then the Midcareer Mathematics and Science Program is described. It is designed to provide mid- to late-career professionals who already possess quantitative backgrounds with the training they need to become secondary school mathematics and science teachers. With six students in 1983 and 20 in 1984, it reaches those for whom the economic constraints of teaching are of less concern, status has already been attained in another field, and the change of pace and environment are welcomed. Conducted during the academic year with optional summer workshops, the eight courses in the program are divided among educational theory, methods of teaching mathematics and science, classroom practice, and electives. Consideration of developmental psychology and of schools as organizations are included, and participants work directly with practicing classroom teachers in a variety of high school settings. The program's objectives and its advantages are both discussed. (MNS)

This essay reviews research pertaining to the relative merits and drawbacks of expanding family choice in public education. A primary objective is to identify and explore tensions among competing objectives in the design of expanded choice systems. After an introductory section on goals and definitions, the second section explores how more family choice might improve public education by providing incentive for students and teachers to work hard and cooperate. A third section addresses ways in which more family choice might be detrimental to the United States's commitment to universal and compulsory education. Problems raised include (1) availability of information, (2) criteria for students' choices, (3) teacher accountability, and (4) access to education for the disadvantaged. The fourth section explores the present consequences of family choice in private schools, addressing two relevant concerns: (1) Do children in private schools learn more than they would in public schools? (2) If so, what practices contribute to private schools' effectiveness? The fifth section concerns presently available choices in public education, including choices of residence, choices within schools, choices among schools, and choices among programs (with particular attention to magnet schools as the fastest growing family choice plan in the United States today). Issues discussed include consumer information, access, location, and role of teachers in program development and management. The sixth section summarizes (1) research issues (limitations in sources of evidence), (2) what family choice can and cannot accomplish, (3) sources of tension in the design and operation of family choice plans, and (4) the importance of program design. References are included. (TE)

This is a report on the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP), a research and development project designed to find ways of improving the school performance of educationally disadvantaged Hawaiian children. The project, implemented in a laboratory school setting and continuously monitored, is described as a reading instruction program for children in kindergarten and in first to third grade. The report provides a historical background on the multidisciplinary research that led to the development of the program, explains evaluation procedures followed, and discusses results of evaluation obtained as of the reporting period. A brief description of a typical morning in a KEEP classroom leads to discussion of two program components, the direct teaching of comprehension through the reading program, and the social organization of the classroom. The laboratory teacher's role in program development and implementation and teacher training processes are then examined. Included as appendices are an explanation of the Kamehameha Reading Objective System developed to guide teacher planning and program monitoring, samples of teacher training materials used in the program, and a detailed list of specific program goals for teachers and for pupils. (Author/MJL)

Part of the Harvard Family Research Project's ongoing series of case studies that examine state-level policy and programs for families, this booklet reviews initiatives undertaken by the states of Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, and Missouri to support and educate families with young children. Each of the booklet's five sections focuses on a particular state, and includes a history of the state initiative, a description of its scope, and thoughtful reflections by the state-level director about lessons learned and expectations for the future. (RH)

The study estimated per pupil expenditures for a stratified random sample of 571 special education students in three metropolitan school districts--Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina), Milwaukee (Wisconsin), and Rochester (New York). The study used data collected in 1982-83 from parent interviews, teacher interviews, and the student's school record. The distribution of estimated per pupil expenditures was examined overall and by primary handicap, by placement, by study site, and by background characteristics. Factors associated with variations in estimated per pupil expenditures were identified. Main findings included: (1) the mean per pupil expenditure for all special education students was approximately twice that of regular students; (2) instruction accounted for 68% of expenditures, related services for 8%, and indirect services for 24%; (3) expenditures for instruction and related services varied considerably; (4) hearing impaired and physically/multiply handicapped students had higher per pupil expenditures than other groups; (5) within primary handicap groups there was considerable variation in per pupil expenditures for related services; (6) the least restrictive environment was also the least expensive and special classes were the most expensive placement; (7) there was no evidence of bias based on race, socioeconomic status, or gender in the levels of resources provided for instruction. (DB)

Addressing the question of why some children manage to continue successfully through the later stages of literacy acquisition while others are unable to meet the challenges presented by fourth and fifth grade reading tasks, an 18-month, in-depth study was conducted of the home environment factors influencing the reading comprehension of second, fourth, and sixth grade students. Analysis of the data, based on interviews with family members, students' reading scores, and in-class observations of student behavior, indicated that word recognition and vocabulary were influenced by the cognitively enriching activities some homes provide, and related strongly with children's time with adults rather than with other children or watching television. Reading comprehension, though not unaffected, was less powerfully dependent on such enrichment, but was related to the emotional climate in the home. More than word recognition or vocabulary development, reading comprehension appeared to require complementary supports from home and school--the positive self-concept that develops in an emotionally positive home and the direct instruction and skill practice offered by the school. The emotional climate of the home also related closely to the students' word production in writing tasks. (MM)