Newman, Joan A. (1977). Guidelines for Identifying and Counteracting Bias in Instructional Materials. Grades K-12. This handbook is intended to assist educational personnel in promoting awareness of bias and to encourage teachers to deal constructively with bias in the classroom. It attempts to provide a rationale for evaluating materials in this area. Both the State guidelines and the State regulations prohibiting sex discrimination are discussed. Guidelines for identifying bias are given, with examples of particular types of bias. These include stereotypes, biased language, omissions, and perspective. Faculty and classroom activities to counteract bias are suggested. Ways of evaluating these activities are described in terms of: awareness of bias, awareness of the value of diversity, behavior intended to increase others' awareness, and behavior intended to promote equity. References to other sources of information are given. Appendix A lists selected screening tools including a reprint from the Council on Interracial Books for Children called "Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books…

Ekstrom, Ruth B.; Goertz, Margaret E. (1985). The Teacher Supply Pipeline: The View from Four States. Factors that influence the design of state teacher policies and the impact of these policies on issues of coordination, equity, and teacher supply are examined. The structure and operation of policies in effect in four states–California, Colorado, Georgia, and Oklahoma–are described, and the factors that influence the design of these state policies are analyzed. While all four states each use some type of individual assessment as well as an approved program approach to screen teachers, the state policies showed a wide range of diversity. Various movements, such as the competency education movement, influenced the design of teacher assessment policies, with the major impetus differing for each state. Contextual factors also had a role in policy design, as did availability of funds to develop assessment instruments. One aspect similar to all of the states was that the policies were here to stay, regardless of the potential for low passage rates by minorities or graduates of certain… [PDF]

Beuke, Vernon (1981). The ABT Study of State and Local Compliance and Evaluation Practices–An Overview. A National Institute of Education-sponsored, congresionally mandated project studied implementation of Title II (Vocational Education) of the 1976 Education Amendments. Focus was on provisions related to the major themes of program improvement and educational equity. It was found that despite the complexity of the law and the vocational education system, substantial leverage has been exerted on the vocational education system in those states sampled, particularly at the state level. At the time of the study, states were either meeting many federal requirements or were in various stages of implementing them. Four major recommendations were made for consideration by Congress in revising current legislation: (1) clarify the law, regulations, and federal administration policies; (2) modify federal requirements to better match the system in which they operate; (3) increase the flexibility of the federal requirements to accomodate the diversity in the vocational education system; and (4)…

Spies, Jerry (1992). Sex Education: Issues of Power and Participation. The diversity of values about sexuality among administrators, teachers, parents, and children creates serious challenge for public schools. This case study offers an insider's view of what happened in a community when conservative parent groups challenged a senior high health curriculum. In the "Laketown Public Schools," conflict erupted over the "Current Health Issues" course. The main group opposing the curriculum, Concerned Citizens, objected to the value-free approach that invited students to make their own choices. They feared that information about sex would encourage promiscuity and that the concept of "safe sex" misrepresented real dangers. They objected to the inclusion of homosexuality as a discussion topic. Language played a critical role in the conflict: "safe sex,""alternative lifestyles,""graphic" descriptions of sex, the use of warlike and partnership metaphors to describe the conflict, and even the names of… [PDF]

Marshall, Catherine; Rusch, Edith A. (1995). Gender Filters at Work in the Administrative Culture. Research demonstrates that along with the usual filters for skills and competence, aspiring administrators also encounter the profession's gender filters. Gender filters appear as deeply shared understandings among female and male professional school administrators. Gender filters maintain the privilege of the dominant white male culture by silencing ideas and people that might disrupt the privilege of dominance. This paper analyzes research that examined factors in professional discourse and socialization that sustain gender filters, which exclude women and women's ways of leading from school administration. It summarizes the results of five studies conducted since 1985 and a content analysis of six professional journals. Feminist perspectives are used to explore strategies for developing and sustaining gender filters that confront privilege, that recognize the legitimacy of gender issues, and that support multiple perspectives within the culture of school administration. Findings… [PDF]

Grice, David Roland (2012). The Perceptions of General Education Teachers about the Over-Representation of Black Students in Special Education. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Andrews University. Statement of the Problem: There is an over-representation of Black students in special education. Black students are typically referred for special education consideration by the end of the fourth grade. One effort to reduce the large number of referrals in Connecticut was "Courageous Conversations About Race." Courageous Conversations About Race is designed to address what educators, families, and other community groups can do to improve teaching and learning across racial lines. It served as a strategy for educators to confront and deinstitutionalize racism. "Courageous Conversations About Race" is an effective means to address the issues of race in schools/districts where over-representation exits. Although various Connecticut schools have participated in Courageous Conversations About Race over the past 5 years, the State Education Resource Center (SERC) and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) are uncertain about its usefulness in changing the… [Direct]

Evans, Ian M.; Salisbury, Christine (1993). Using a Collaborative Problem Solving Strategy To Facilitate the Mainstreaming of Students with Severe Handicaps (The Collaborative Education Project). Final Report. The Collaborative Education Project's goal was to assess the effectiveness of collaborative problem solving (CPS) by peer advocates for enhancing the integration of students with severe disabilities into regular early education contexts. The CPS strategy gives some responsibility to nondisabled students for the planning and design of activities and procedures that will ensure greater participation by the students with severe disabilities. At the conclusion of Year 3, a total of 41 instructional staff, 12 students with severe disabilities, 320 students without disabilities, and 8 parents had been taught the CPS process, or had received the benefit of this training. Data collected from the first 3 years of the project indicate that: (1) parent attitudes toward mainstreaming are unaffected by the presence of students with severe disabilities; (2) CPS is a useful and valued process for promoting equity and the inclusion of students with diverse needs in general education classrooms; (3)… [PDF]

Friedman, Dana E.; Johnson, Arlene A. (1991). Strategies for Promoting a Work-Family Agenda. Report Number 973. This document, which is intended to help individual managers and task forces committed to development of a work-family agenda, is based on recommendations of the Work and Family Research Council, which is composed of 35 advocates of work-family policies within U.S. firms. Basic strategies for promoting (marketing) work-family programs within different corporate cultures are reviewed, and ways of linking work-family issues to other corporate concerns are discussed. Four developmental stages in the creation of work and family policies and programs are proposed: getting initial support to investigate work-family problems and possible solutions; developing internal support for specific recommendations and policy options; maintaining support for the continuation of existing work-family policies and programs, and expanding work-family programs to create culture change. The document includes the following: strategies for developing and implementing "marketing plans" for each of… [PDF]

Axelrod, Paul (2005). Public Money for Private Schools? Revisiting an Old Debate. Education Canada, v45 n1 p17-19 Win. Current debates on the extent, if any, to which private or independent schools should be supported by public funding, focus on the appropriate role of the state in the governance and regulation of schooling, with proponents on the ideological right and left reaching very different conclusions. Advocates of public funding for private schools deplore the state monopoly over education. Competition on a level playing field between the public and private sectors would, from this perspective, improve the quality and accountability of public schooling, which allegedly fails to meet the diverse and legitimate educational aspirations of many families and communities. Opponents of state aid to independent schools believe that equity, integration and social cohesion can only be achieved through public education and that private schooling generally serves the interests of the privileged or of those with overly narrow, sectarian educational agendas. But these arguments become murkier and less… [Direct]

Lingard, Bob, Ed.; And Others (1993). Schooling Reform in Hard Times. Deakin Studies in Education Series, 9. This book examines 1980s educational reforms and their consequences for the 1990s, focusing on the Australian Labor Party government's policy response to conditions of economic scarcity. The first section addresses the broader economic, social, political, and ideological context of educational reform under Australian Labor governments, compared to Labor government developments in New Zealand (until 1990) and conservative government developments in the United States and Great Britain. The second section examines reconstructed notions of equality in the Labor Party, particularly the shift in emphasis from equal opportunity to equity and social justice. The third section reviews Labor's administrative and educational reforms through case studies of the Victorian, Western Australian, and New Zealand situations and discusses the federal Labor government's emerging national curriculum framework. Economic reductionism has become a dominating master narrative within state policy making in… [PDF]

(1982). Rebuilding Education to Make It Work. Report. Minnesota's public educational system must be rebuilt in order to educate students for the complex and technological future, according to a committee of Citizens League members that met 42 times over 13 months with numerous educational observers and participants. The new educational structure should give parents more choices–with public dollars–about which schools or services to use; place more authority at the individual school; remove artificial barriers to excellence; and encouage innovation, competition, and entrepreneurship. Decentralization should be pursued to achieve a separation of policy and production; to give school-level professionals more control; and to assist schools in becoming different from each other, thus increasing diversity and choice. The business community is asked to promote innovation of educatiOn products and services and to create a for-profit venture capital fund dedicated to innovative educational enterprises. However, two members of the league's…

Sanchez, Karen; And Others (1990). Educational Choice. Policy Bulletin No. 9. Many school districts and states are examining parental choice as a means of improving public education. This document identifies various forms of school choice and describes existing programs across the United States. Within the public school system, choice programs fall into two basic categories–intra-district and cross-district. Intra-district programs include alternative schools, magnet schools, and open enrollment. Cross-district programs can be limited or comprehensive. Among the factors that facilitate effective choice programs are a clear statement of goals for all schools; parental information and counseling regarding school selection; fair and equitable admissions procedures; help for all schools to develop distinctive features; opportunities for teachers and principals to create programs; student transportation; requirements that state dollars follow students; and procedures that ensure racial balance. Tensions within the choice movement revolve around the issues of… [PDF]

Gordon, Edmund W.; Yowell, Constance (1992). Educational Reforms for Students At Risk: Cultural Dissonance as a Risk Factor in the Development of Students. This paper addresses the notion that persons at risk of failure to achieve an adequate education are in that position partly because of their social circumstances, i.e., their ethnicity, culture, language, or economic status. It discusses the impact of culture on what one does and how one does it, addresses the manner in which culture frames as well as enables one's feelings and thoughts concerning what one does, and examines the question of what mechanism of culture serves as the vehicle and context for human activity. Based on this analysis of cultural influences and their relationships regarding academic achievement, several implications for educational reform are examined covering: (1) the limitations of reform in school governance alone; (2) the limitations of the manipulation of standards and accountability based on educational achievement tests data; (3) the applicability of principles of social justice, i.e., the distribution of equity; (4) the pedagogical principles of… [PDF]

Maddy-Bernstein, Carolyn, Comp.; And Others (1995). Inclusion/Detracking: A Resource Guide. This guide, which is designed for practitioners, contains descriptions of 137 resources concerned with strategies, resources, programs, and research on inclusion, detracking, ability grouping, mainstreaming, and cooperative learning. The entries describing each resource are organized into seven sections: publications, newsletters, journals, educational information centers/agencies/organizations, exemplary programs/practices, selected statewide systems change projects, and National Network for Curriculum Coordination in Vocational and Technical Education curriculum coordination centers. Within the section devoted to publications, entries are organized according to the following topics: general information, access and equity, program administration, professional development, curriculum and instruction, and comprehensive support service. Each entry describing a publication contains some or all of the following: title, author, publisher, publisher address, and ordering information/price… [PDF]

Valadez, Gilbert (2004). Walking to the Dance: Teaching and Cross-Cultural Encounter. Journal of Appalachian Studies, v10 n1-2 p152-166 Spr-Fall. This article chronicles a unique experience the author had while teaching a graduate seminar in southwestern Virginia in the spring of 2001. It was his charge to teach a graduate seminar entitled "Basic Principles and Practices of Multicultural Education" to twenty-three students in their second, final year of an educational leadership cohort at Radford University. For fifteen Mondays, he traveled 150 miles from his home to Abingdon, Virginia, to teach this class. What made this experience unique was the class composition. The students in the leadership cohort were all white Appalachian, while the teacher was a gay Latino male from California. From the beginning, this seminar proved to be an intense exploration of cultural identities and values for both the students and the professor. The author's cultural encounter with this group of southwestern Virginians illustrates the fact that much of what people strive for in the name of multicultural education is rooted in…

(1995). Goals 2000: Impacting Students with Disabilities Policy Forum Report. Final Report. This document reports on the design, purpose, implementation, and outcomes of an October 1994 policy forum on the impact of the Goals 2000 program on students with disabilities. Conclusions and recommendations of the forum identified 31 critical activities grouped into six major strategies to ensure the inclusion of students with disabilities in Goals 2000 initiatives. These strategies are: (1) define and implement accountability; (2) improve teaching and learning; (3) use Goals 2000 as the umbrella for reform; (4) build local trust, involvement, and commitment; (5) build leadership; and (6) offer unified, integrated technical assistance. In addition, 17 barriers were identified and grouped into the following key obstacles: a rigid, traditional special education paradigm; fear and mistrust among stakeholders; unresolved tension between excellence and equity; pervasive public distrust/discounting of public education; legacy of fragmented, additive reform efforts; complacency/caution… [PDF]

Kellogg, Ann, Ed. (1995). All Means All: Including Students from Special Populations in School to Work Programs. This resource guide assists Wisconsin educators in successfully including students with disabilities in school-to-work activities with appropriate support services. Section 1 provides an overview of the School to Work Opportunities Act and Wisconsin's state plan for developing a comprehensive school-to-work system integrated with federal efforts such as the Goals 2000 program and the Educate America Act. Section 2 provides information on special populations including legal definitions from various major federal laws and transition follow-up data from national and Wisconsin sources. Section 3 considers strategies for inclusion and covers vocational assessment practices, educational accommodations, vocational education provisions, and gender equity. Section 4 focuses on linking school-to-work efforts with existing human resources in a variety of related programs in Wisconsin. Section 5 reviews legislation and court litigation related to school-to-work program accessibility such as the… [PDF]

Bickel, Robert (1999). School Size, Socioeconomic Status, and Achievement: A Georgia Replication of Inequity in Education. Recent research in West Virginia and California has linked school size to both effectiveness and equity, finding that as school size increased, the mean achievement costs for schools with less-advantaged students became more burdensome. An effort was undertaken to replicate this research in four states offering a variety of school settings and conditions. This report describes analysis of 1996-97 data from 1,626 Georgia schools using a multiple regression equation in which the dependent variable was mean achievement test score and independent variables were school size (enrollment per grade level being analyzed), percent of enrollment eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch, and a multiplicative interaction term. Various test scores were analyzed for grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. In 27 of 29 analyses, statistically significant and negative interaction effects were found, such that achievement in schools with less advantaged students decreased as school size increased. Inclusion of two… [PDF]

Gillespie, Bonnie J., Comp. (1974). A Selected Bibliography for Public Administrators in Minority Settings. Exchange Bibliography, 698. Black, native, and Spanish speaking Americans are the three main minorities mostly considered in this selected bibliography. The fourth minority included herein is women. The concepts and philosophies of the \new public administration\ are evident throughout this bibliography. The overall tenor is one of a humanistic approach to the practice of public administration. It alludes to a very sensitive, clinical, and compassionate delivery of services to the constituent publics. It speaks heartily to \equity\ and \distributive justice.\ Moreover, there are several citations related to \citizen participation.\ The inclusion of a subsection of films, filmstrips, tapes, records, games and other media is provided as a resource to practicing public administrators in minority settings. These multi-media supports have proven their usefulness, time and time again in multiple settings. In addition to the theoretical, then, such aids add a stark, practical, and pragnatic dimension to this brief…

Rubin, Beth C. (2008). Detracking in Context: How Local Constructions of Ability Complicate Equity-Geared Reform. Teachers College Record, v110 n3 p646-699. Background/Context: Recent sociocultural studies of detracking describe the ways in which notions of ability–local understandings of students' intellectual capacities–are at play in these settings, shaping both the politics and the practice of the reform. This study extends this examination into the classrooms of detracking schools. Purpose: This article considers the enactment of detracking in the ninth grade social studies classrooms of three public high schools. Through a detailed look at classroom life in racially and socioeconomically distinct public high school settings, it explores how local notions of ability shape the implementation of classroom practices in general and of detracking reform in particular. Setting: The research took place in three public comprehensive high schools in a northeastern state with the following characteristics: 1) low income and predominantly African American and Latino; 2) high income and predominantly White; 3) socioeconomically diverse and… [Direct]

Isenberg, Joan P., Ed.; Jalongo, Mary Renck, Ed. (1997). Major Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Education: Challenges, Controversies, and Insights. Noting that understanding the contexts, continuities, and controversies of early childhood education is a particularly challenging task because of the diversity of the field, this book provides a critical examination of the issues and controversies surrounding early childhood practices, policies, and professional development. The book's chapters are divided into three sections, examining the social, political, and historical trends and issues affecting young people; curricular trends and issues affecting practice; and trends and issues affecting teacher preparation and professional development. The chapters are: (1) "Policies of the Early Childhood Field and Its Public: Seeking To Support Young Children and Their Families" (Stacie Goffin and others); (2) "Development Issues Affecting Children" (Joan Isenberg with David Brown); (3) "Valuing Cultural Diversity in the Early Years: Social Imperatives and Pedagogical Insights" (Marilyn Chipman); (4)…

Rix, Jonathan; Twining, Peter (2007). Exploring Education Systems: Towards a Typology for Future Learning?. Educational Research, v49 n4 p329-341 Dec. Background: In recent years there has been increasing interest in creating diversity of educational provision to meet the full range of needs presented by learners. This is both a reflection, and a partial consequence, of the three central agendas for schooling in many countries–standards, choice and inclusion, and the growth in information communication technologies and associated systems. The complexity of available \school\ types makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to explore the differences between the educational programmes on offer. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to map the different forms of provision into a typology that will provide theorists, practitioners, users and policy-makers with a clear set of descriptors to explore current structures and to consider future developments. Nine types of education programme are categorized. Theoretical origins: The paper takes the three distinct alternative education types, identified by Raywid, as a starting-point… [Direct]

Brown, Wesley; And Others (1996). Early Intervention for Young Children at Risk for Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Implications for Policy and Practice. From the Mini-Library Series on Emotional/Behavioral Disorders. This monograph is intended to encourage policy formation and appropriate interventions for young children with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD). After an introductory chapter, the second chapter analyzes policy within the areas of both behavioral disorders and early intervention, including existing labels and eligibility criteria, reluctance to deal with the category of \serious emotional disturbance,\ the movement toward increased inclusion and diversity, the status of the medical model, and curriculum advancements. The third chapter discusses current assessment and intervention strategies and trends, including prevention and early intervention, family-centered practices, specialized personnel, and differentiated interventions. The fourth chapter presents a model technical assistance program which stresses the importance of home-school-community collaborative planning efforts. It also identifies trends in intervention approaches including classroom-based intervention, parent…

Faison, Karen; Formanek, John; Pickett, Anna Lou; Semrau, Barbara (1999). A Core Curriculum & Training Program To Prepare Paraeducators To Work in Center & Home Based Programs for Young Children with Disabilities from Birth to Age Five. Second Edition. These instructional materials are designed to provide personnel developers and trainers with resources that can be used to improve the performance of paraeducators working in center-based and home visitor programs for young children with disabilities from birth to age 5. The modules cover: (1) strengthening the instructional team, the roles of paraeducators working in inclusive environments for young children, and communication and problem solving; (2) human and legal rights of children with disabilities and their families; (3) principles of human development and factors that may impede typical human development; (4) the instructional process (individualized education and family services plans, assessment, data collection, goals and objectives, instructional interventions, and facilitating inclusion using developmentally appropriate activities); (5) working with families; (6) appreciating diversity; and (7) emergency, health, and safety procedures. The format for the instructional… [PDF]

Catlett, Camille, Comp.; Winton, Pamela J., Comp. (1999). Resource Guide: Selected Early Childhood/Early Intervention Training Materials. 8th Edition. This resource guide is intended to identify both primary and supplementary resources for designing preservice and inservice training on early intervention programs for children with disabilities. The instructional materials are described and listed in three sections. The first section provides annotated descriptions of instructional materials in 14 early childhood content areas including assistive technology, cultural diversity, early care and development, evaluation/assessment, family-professional collaboration, Individualized Family Service Plan/Individualized Education Program, inclusion, interagency collaboration, legislation, service coordination, specific populations, state planning and resource development, teams, and transitions. Section 2 describes resources on the instructional process including family participation and personnel preparation and development. Section 3 lists additional resources such as curriculum guides and multiple content resources. Each of the sections… [PDF]

Beales, Janet R.; Bertonneau, Thomas F. (1997). Do Private Schools Serve Difficult-To-Educate Students? Analysis and Michigan Case Studies of How Nongovernment Schools Educate Disabled, At-Risk, and Incarcerated Youth. A Mackinac Center Report. Though conventional public schools enroll the vast majority of difficult-to-educate students, many such students who are not accepted by public schools end up at private schools. This report describes the role of private institutions in educating these students, incorporating case studies and analyzing various institutional arrangements. Part 1 introduces the subject; describes private programs (special education programs for students with disabilities, education for at-risk students, and education for incarcerated youth); and discusses alternative arrangements (charter schools, full inclusion, and cooperative agreements). Part 2 focuses on program analysis (performance measures, financial accountability, and student access) and policy issues (cost drivers, implications for school choice, and private schools, special education, and the courts). Part 3 looks at case studies of six Michigan facilities to indicate the diversity and capability of Michigan's nongovernment providers of… [PDF]

Conger, D. Stuart; And Others (1994). Career and Employment Counselling in Canada. Concerned with the availability of vocational counseling services in Canada, this report offers definitive information on career and employment counseling offered by educational institutions, social agencies, and Canada Employment Centres. After extensive consultation and field testing, questionnaires were developed to cover the following areas: characteristics of the communities, agencies, clients, and counselors; the nature of counseling services; and administrative practices. Investigators mailed three survey instruments to counselors, supervisors/managers, and funding agencies in over 145 municipalities across Canada. A total of 1,475 questionnaires were returned in time for inclusion in this analysis. Results included information about employment/career/vocational counseling services available to youth and adults through Employment and Immigration Canada, from community-based groups, through the educational system, and from social services. Nine key issues arose from the study:… [PDF]

Vithal, Renuka (2004). Researching and Learning Mathematics at the Margin: from "Shelter" to School. International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 28th, Bergen, Norway, July 14-18,. I draw attention to the mathematics education of that group of learners who are usually on the margins of society and also on the margins of mathematics education research, theory and practice. These are children who for various reasons have left home, eke out a living on the streets of a city–referred to as "street children", and are often placed in "shelters" and "homes" (Chetty, 1997). I refer to research conducted related to providing mathematics education for such learners, to address firstly, the question of how such children come to engage particular experiences of mathematics education and secondly, the challenges and consequences of doing such research. The story I tell to respond to the theme of this panel–working for inclusion and diversity in mathematics education–is that of Nellie and Wiseman as researched and documented by Sheena Rughubar (2003), but I also reflect on broader issues of doing research and its processes and relations that… [PDF]

Barker, Bruce (1985). Research and Data Needs for Small/Rural Schools. Information available on rural education remains startlingly inadequate–partly because of the great diversity of rural areas, because agencies responsible for data collection disagree on the definition of small/rural schools, and because large metropolitan schools have received far more than their share of attention, research, and financial support. Not until 1983 did the Department of Education announce a policy that would provide rural education with an equitable share of the Department's resources. In the redesign of the elementary and secondary data program conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), the Rural Education Association strongly encourages the inclusion of small/rural schools as a specific category in data collection and reporting and recommends that NCES break down the data based on school districts of fewer than 300, 300-999, 1,000-2,500, and more than 2,500 students. This classification would more accurately reflect rural, suburban, and…

Beaman, Charles A. (2005). Diversity and Motivation in the Middle School: Reaching All Students. National Middle School Association (NJ3), Middle Ground v9 n1 p20-21 Aug. Educators across America face an enormous and growing challenge: motivating a diverse student population. The growing trend toward inclusion increases diversity by including special-needs students in the same classroom with regular education students. The increase in the number of students who do not speak English puts a huge responsibility on teachers. And, the requirements of No Child Left Behind expect that all children will succeed. Educators must motivate the at-risk population as well: students labeled as the gray area, difficult-to-motivate, slow learners, and children with untapped potential. In this article, the author shares some of the strategies he recommends for motivating students to put forth an honest effort to reach their potential. He suggests that teachers see themselves as facilitators, teach by expression, change pace frequently, provide compelling and stimulating problems, make learning fun, and build and maintain a classroom community. By following these… [Direct]