Showing papers on "Disadvantaged published in 1988"

The truly disadvantaged : the inner city, the underclass, and public policy

Abstract: ""The Truly Disadvantaged" should spur critical thinking in many quarters about the causes and possible remedies for inner city poverty. As policy makers grapple with the problems of an enlarged underclass they--as well as community leaders and all concerned Americans of all races--would be advised to examine Mr. Wilson's incisive analysis."--Robert Greenstein, "New York Times Book Review" "'Must reading' for civil-rights leaders, leaders of advocacy organizations for the poor, and for elected officials in our major urban centers."--Bernard C. Watson, "Journal of Negro Education" "Required reading for anyone, presidential candidate or private citizen, who really wants to address the growing plight of the black urban underclass."--David J. Garrow, "Washington Post Book World" Selected by the editors of the "New York Times Book Review" as one of the sixteen best books of 1987. Winner of the 1988 C. Wright Mills Award of the Society for the Study of Social Problems.

The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, The Underclass, and Public Policy.

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Social Security in a "Moral Economy": An Empirical Analysis for Java

Abstract: Private transfer payments are modeled as outcomes of a constrained social choice pro blem facing donors. The approach is applied to a large household leve l data set for Java and hypotheses are tested concerning the performa nce of the "moral economy" as a social security system. Transfer be havior is found to be very different between rural and urban areas. W hile transfer receipts and outlays are income inequality reducing in rural areas, this is not the case in urban areas. There is also evidence of transfers being targeted to disadvantaged households such as the sick, elderly, and (for urban areas) the unemployed. Copyright 1988 by MIT Press.

Citations and networking

Abstract: References to publications written by women constitute a significantly larger proportion of citations in articles written by women than in articles written by men in the same subfields. Further, the difference between citation patterns of men and women authors increases as the proportion of women in the discipline decreases, showing that these women are doubly disadvantaged in accumulating citations. These results suggest that the problems of members of an out-group tend to be most serious when their numbers are small and that they will find it increasingly easier to gain acceptance and recognition as their numbers increase.

Poor Children in Rich Countries

Abstract: Why are children in the US are so poor compared to their peers in other countries both before and after they receive government transfer benefits? To a data on this question the poverty rates and gaps of families with children both before and after income transfers in 6 industrial countries is presented. 2 factors are compared cross-nationally that may contribute to the relatively high pre-tax and transfer poverty in the US -- the difference in earnings and the differences in family structure. The countries are Australia Canada Germany Sweden and the UK in addition to the US. The cross-national comparison shows that poor families in the US have lower earnings than the families in other countries except Australia and that countries with highest means-tested income transfers to poor families had the lowest earnings. The US also had more children in 1-parent families which have lower earnings than 2-parent families. 2 additional factors were compared that may contribute to the relatively high poverty in the US after tax transfers -- program participation and the level of income support. All poor families in other countries receive income support but only 73% of US poor families receive help. Further the income help the US poor families receive is less than in any other country. The data for families and children comes from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). Between 1979-82 9 countries conducted national households surveys that collected detailed income data and the data were adjusted for definitional differences of both income and income sharing units. Since the 1979-81 period focused on in this paper the problems of child poverty have intensified. In the US child poverty has increased from 17.1 to 21.2% in 1985. In the European nations a new poverty has development that almost certainly has increased the poverty of their children yet US children are likely to remain disadvantaged relative to their peers. To the extent that poverty of children relates to their poverty as adults the quality of the US workforce in the future surely will suffer because of present poverty and the poverty of the countrys children will undermine long-term competitiveness with other wealthy countries who tolerate considerable less child poverty than does the US.

Tracing the Disadvantages of First-Generation College Students: An Application of Sussman’s Option Sequence Model

Abstract: Since the term “first-generation college student” entered the vocabulary of higher education specialists within the last decade, the concern has centered on the performance of these students in the academic setting. Research has shown that college students whose parents have no personal experience with university-level education have more problems in social adjustment to college, are less likely to be involved in campus organizations, and are more likely to drop out before graduation than are second-generation students. Recent programs designed to aid students in the adjustment to college [(e.g., the Freshman Year Experience programs (Gardner et al., 1987)] have been structured in part to address these problems. Little attention has been paid, however, to the social processes by which first generation college students are disadvantaged.

Involvement and growth of students in three academic programs

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to provide further evidence on potential determinants of college student involvement in curricular and cocurricular campus activities, particularly on the importance of student enrollment in three academic programs. The study focused on how students in two special academic programs—an honors program and a transition program to assist academically disadvantaged students adjust to college—as well as students in the regular curriculum become engaged in a variety of experiences and how their quality of effort (involvement) in the activities is related to student growth and development. The relationship between level of student activity and achievement supports the claims of previous research that involvement contributes to students' development and gains in intellectual and interpersonal areas. However, the strength of relationship between student effort and gain varied for the three groups. Overall, the honors and transition students appeared to get more for their effort than did the regular students.

The continued impact of the direct instruction model: longitudinal studies of follow through students

Abstract: This paper presents the results of two studies of the long-term effects of the Direct Instruction Follow Through Model. The first examines the academic achievement scores of fifth- and sixthgraders who received Direct Instruction during grades one through three, as compared to students who received the district's regular educational program. The second study followed different groups of Follow Through students and controls through their high school years to determine differences in achievement as well as educational outcomes such as graduation, drop-out, or college acceptance. Overall, achievement and college acceptance results consistently favor the Follow Through groups over control groups, with strongest effects in reading. ★ ★ ★ While the immediate effectiveness of the Direct Instruction (DI) Model for teaching disadvantaged "at-risk" students in the elementary grades has been well documented (Becker, 1977; Stebbins, St. Pierre, Proper, Anderson, & Cerva, 1977), the question of long-term effects remains. Do the academic gains realized by students who participated in the program in the primary grades persist through ensuing years of education? Does academic success in the primary grades result in continued higher levels of academic performance in the intermediate grades and junior high school? Do students who attended DI Follow Through classes have an increased likelihood of graduating from high school and attending college? Eminent educators like Benjamin Bloom (1981) assert that effective instructional programs for "at-risk" students in the primary grades will have enduring effects on students' lives. He argues that students who develop competence in reading, language, and mathematics in the primary grades are likely to be able to benefit from instruction in the later grades. If children can read, they always have a foundation for learning new material. If they are competent in the early years of school, they are likely to approach learning with a more positive perspective, even when they encounter difficult academic and social situations. Critics of Direct Instruction (Katz, 1988) assert that students become stifled by the structured educational experiences they receive in the primary grades and develop negative dispositions toward learning. Katz feels that the effects of Direct Instruction programs dissipate in later years. In fact, Schweinhart, Weikart, and Larner (1986) say Direct Instruction in the early years of schooling can cause the students future harm.

Effectiveness of a Direct Instruction Academic Kindergarten for Low-Income Students

Abstract: This article addresses the issue of effective ways to educate low-income, educationally "at-risk" students in kindergarten by documenting an approach that has been effective in accelerating the academic growth of these students. First, the components of an academic kindergarten are described with a particular focus on how such a kindergarten can prepare students for the transition to first grade. The need to integrate academic activities with games and play experiences is stressed. Next, results of 2 research studies designed to evaluate both the short- and long-term benefits of academic kindergartens are presented. In the short-term study, a sample of disadvantaged students in East St. Louis who received a Direct Instruction (DI) program from kindergarten through third grade was compared with demographically similar students who received the DI program from first grade through third grade but did not receive an academic kindergarten. Results at the end of the third grade favored students who had received...

The Efficacy of Public Preschool Programs and the Relationship of Program Quality to Efficacy

Abstract: As part of more general efforts at school improvement, a number of states have instituted public preschool education programs for disadvantaged children. These new programs have been criticized from several perspectives and their potential effectiveness called into question. This paper presents the initial findings of a longitudinal study of new public preschool programs in South Carolina. Two separate research designs were used to maximize both internal and external validity. Classroom observation was used to measure program quality. The preschool program was found to increase children’s school readiness, if a minimum (and readily achievable) level of quality was maintained.

Quality and Quantity of Learning Time in Preprimary Programs.

Abstract: This article addresses 3 issues in the organization and delivery of preprimary instruction. Attendance issues, including who will attend, who will provide the services, and whether attendance is mandatory or optional, are considered first. The second issue involves the basis for program entry, focusing primarily on the benefits/problems of using age as a criterion for school entry. Third, the article examines the effects of alternative curricula and length of school day on student achievement. The longer kindergarten day was found to have short-term benefits, particularly for disadvantaged students. Several approaches to kindergarten and prekindergarten instruction were found to be effective. The limitations of existing studies for addressing these policy questions are described. Finally, the problem of the increasing academic nature of the preprimary curriculum is discussed.

New longitudinal insights into relationships between unemployment and mortality

Abstract: The rise in unemployment during the 1970s and early 1980s has affected more and more 'ordinary' members of society. Nevertheless, longitudinal comparisons between people's characteristics in 1971 and 198I confirm that the unemployed in 1981 were drawn disproportionately from disadvantaged sections of the community such as men who had previously been unemployed, men who had least skills, resided in local authority housing, or in deprived areas particularly in the North and West and Central regions of the country. Recent entrants to the labour market from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds found particular difficulty in obtaining jobs. While the least skilled and most disadvantaged were at greatest risk of becoming unemployed, ill-health, marriage breakdown, movement into local authority housing and downward occupational mobility can be shown to have followed unemployment in the early 1970s. These constitute some of the consequences of unemployment for the affected individuals. In this article we described how a study of the antecedents and consequences of unemployment helps explain relationships between unemployment and mortality and also suggests what might be expected at a time of high unemployment.

The Creative City

Abstract: We give much attention to the efficiency of our cities, although they are sometimes far from efficient. We give some attention to the equity of our cities, although we could do much more to make them fairer. A creative city must be efficient; it should be a city that is concerned with the material well-being of all its citizens, especially the poor and disadvantaged. But it must be much more than that. It should be at the one time an emotionally satisfying city and a city that stimulates creativity among its citizens. What principles might guide us towards such a city?

A Perspective in High/Scope's Early Education Research

Abstract: The curriculum study, operating in the public schools of Ypsilanti, Michigan, served three‐ and four‐year old disadvantaged children. The children were randomly assigned to one of three models: a programmed learning, direct‐instruction approach, a child‐centered nursery school approach, and an open‐framework cognitive‐developmental approach. At fifteen years, the intellectual achievements of children from all three groups did not differ. However, significant differences were found in social‐behavioral outcomes. Structured learning youngsters reported lesser degree of sports participation, five times as many acts of property violence and twice as many acts of drug abuse or status offenses. Program model does make a difference in social adjustment of the children served.

Relation between musical aptitude and intelligence among mentally retarded, advantaged, and disadvantaged subjects.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in scores of 59 mentally retarded adults (mild, moderate, severe, or profound), 133 advantaged, and 130 disadvantaged (low income) children in Grades 1, 2, 3 on the Primary Measures of Music Audiation. Test-retest reliabilities for the Tonal and Rhythm subtests were .81 and .86, respectively, for the retarded group. Analysis of variance indicated that the mildly retarded children performed significantly better than other groups of retarded children on these two tests. 2 × 3 analyses of variance indicated that third graders from both advantaged and disadvantaged groups performed significantly better than the first or second graders on both subtests and that advantaged children performed significantly better than the disadvantaged. However, disadvantaged children made greater gains, especially for third graders, than the advantaged.

Structuring Schools for Greater Effectiveness with Educationally Disadvantaged or At-Risk Students.

Abstract: This paper discusses the effective restructuring of schools to accommodate at-risk children Broadly, it addresses some issues of school structure and management for meeting the educational needs of this large and increasing group of students Specifically, it defines and analyzes effectiveness within the accelerated schools model developed by Stanford University researchers to accelerate the academic progress of disadva taged learners It mentions the disadvantages that school districts face in the absence of such a model, suggests to administrators and policymakers how to shift district-based organizational decisions to school-based ones, and lists the advantages assocird with this new arrangement (JAM) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document * U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORt IA NON CENTER (ERIC) V_ This document has been reproduced as received from the person o organi,ation originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of 1e* or or ions stated in this document do not ,cessanly represent official OERI posrtKn or policy 'PERMIS;;ION TO REPRODUCE THI MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) EIMICTURINOLCIQQ1,&EQRAREMEJLEEMIIMUIATTH EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED OR AT-RISK STUDENTS