(1976). A Study of the Pittsburgh Plan. Final Report. The Pittsburgh Plan, a voluntary hometown plan designed to place minorities in local building trade unions, is described in detail from the perspective of its operations, its effectiveness in carrying out its purpose, and the individuals it serves. A benefit-cost analysis of the Pittsburgh Plan is presented. The significance of the results and its shortcomings are discussed and parametric variations on all significant parameters are performed to test its sensitivity. On the macro or program level, descriptive analyses are presented and alternate program structures derived. Analyses of the historical costs involved in all phases of the Pittsburgh Plan are performed and reported from different perspectives. On the micro level, attention is focused on the individual being served by this program. Multivariate statistical tools are used in analyzing such characteristics as seen to govern or indicate individual success. Based upon the results of analyses on both the individual level and… [PDF]
(1997). Policy. IDRA Focus. IDRA Newsletter, v24 n7 Aug. This newsletter includes five articles about educational and school policies, primarily related to equality of educational opportunity. "Texas Legislature Considers Much for Education, Accomplishes Little" (Albert Cortez, Anna Alicia Romero) summarizes educational legislation considered by the Texas legislature in the session ending in June 1997. Issues included increases in state education spending negated by cutbacks in local revenues; modest increases in minimum teacher salaries; continued underfunding of education for low-income, limited-English-proficient, gifted and talented, and special education students; continued funding inequality between school districts; and two bills that would increase the chances of minorities being admitted to institutions of higher education without including race as a factor. "Sexual Harassment Policies and Schools" (Maria Aurora Yanez-Perez) points out that the Civil Rights Act applies to education and schools, and discusses… [PDF]
(1997). The End of Preferences: Behind the UC Admissions Controversy. CEO Policy Brief. The consequences of the end of minority preferences in the University of California (UC) schools of law and medicine are explored. The first students admitted into these graduate schools on a colorblind basis will begin classes in the fall of 1997. None of these students received a racial preference in admission, as a result of a 1995 decision by the UC Board of Regents. The media have described the effects of the new policy in uniformly alarmist and simplistic terms, but, in fact, the numbers of Blacks and Hispanics are generally down at the law and medical schools because in the past these schools have admitted minority students with weak academic qualifications. When color preferences were outlawed, it was inevitable that the racial mix of the incoming class would change. The decline in the number of minority students was especially great for African Americans. Hispanic enrollments dropped only half as much. Although the fact that no blacks were admitted to the UC San Diego… [PDF]
(1983). Early Outreach: Career Awareness for Health Professionals. Journal of Medical Education, v58 n1 p39-44 Jan. "Early outreach" is defined as a long-term, talent-development strategy to prepare a qualified pool of disadvantaged minority applicants for entry into health professions schools. Model programs at the University of Illinois — Chicago are described. (Author/MLW)…
(1988). Illusions of Job Segregation. Public Interest, n93 p54-69 Fall. Discusses the use of statistical analysis to identify patterns of discrimination in employment. Analyzes the effects of job segregation on women and minorities at the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. (FMW)…
(1992). Inequality and the Will to Change. Equity and Choice, v8 n3 p45-47 Spr. Inner-city schools are currently as separate and unequal as they have ever been. School reform has failed to address the dual system, and it will remain ineffective as long as an unequal and racially divided system operates. Suggestions are given for turning rhetoric to action. (SLD)…
(1988). Strategies for Improving the Representation of Minority Faculty in Research Universities. Peabody Journal of Education, v66 n1 p77-90 Fall. Discusses strategies to improve minority faculty representation in research universities, describing the University of Michigan's Six-Point Plan. Efforts begin in elementary schools; institutions of higher education are obligated to improve elementary education for minority students. A four-dimensional model for assessing institutional effectiveness in improving minority representation is presented. (SM)…
(1992). Women in the Changing Workplace: New Opportunities and New Challenges. 21st Century Policy Review, v1 n1 p119-29 Win. This interview with Elsie Vartanian, Director of the Women's Bureau of the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, reviews the impact of economic and technological changes on women in the workplace, and examines major challenges these changes present. The role of the Women's Bureau in promoting and improving employment opportunities for women is described. (SLD)…
(1992). Three Strikes and You're Out: Academic Failure and the Children of Public Housing. Journal of Education, v174 n3 p41-54. Demonstrates how several factors interact to diminish the chances of academic success for the children of public housing, and suggests how these chances might be improved. A first step is renewed commitment to housing conditions. Reduction of class size is a strong option for increasing achievement for children. (SLD)…
(1993). A Marshall Plan for America. Journal of Intergroup Relations, v20 n3 p28-35 Fall. Proposes a Marshall Plan for America to be implemented by the private sector and volunteer organizations as well as government. Goals related to improving the conditions in which U.S. minorities live are established for the business community, educators, and the African-American community. The African-American community must commit itself to self-development. (SLD)…
(1999). A Different Mirror: A Conversation with Ronald Takaki. Educational Leadership, v56 n7 p8-13 Apr. The multiculturalism sought by Ronald Takaki is not ethnic separatism, but a serious scholarship that includes all United States peoples and challenges traditional master narratives of U.S. history. Class is a "hidden reality" of U.S. history. Multiculturalism affirms what this country stands for: opportunity, equality, and realization of our dream. (MLH)…
(1999). Get In, Get Ahead: Here's Why. Student Aid Transcript, v10 n2 p12-15 Win. A survey examined college and later-life experiences of over 35,000 students who entered 28 selective colleges in fall 1976 and fall 1989. Although half the 3,000 black students surveyed would have been rejected under race-neutral admissions criteria, they did exceedingly well after college. Almost 80% of white graduates favored retaining or further emphasizing enrolling a diverse student population. (MSE)…
(1997). Developing Competency To Manage Diversity: Readings, Cases, and Activities. All members of organizations take part in creating a climate in which all people are treated fairly and can achieve and contribute to their full potential, and where diversity, as an organizational resource, can be fully leveraged to enhance organizational performance. This book was designed to assist individuals and work teams in developing personal and organizational competency to manage diversity. Following the introduction, the book is organized into three major parts: (1) foundations for competency; (2) developing individual competency; and (3) developing organizational competency. Part 1 presents readings and activities to develop an understanding of the meaning of diversity and the importance of managing diversity for organizational effectiveness. Part 2 offers readings, cases, and activities to develop individual competency by understanding and changing behaviors related to stereotyping and prejudice. The third part offers readings, cases, and activities to promote an…
(1992). Higher Education and Desirable Work: Open Admissions and Ethnic and Gender Differences in Job Quality. This paper examines the influence of higher educational credentials on the two work qualities of job authority and work complexity, and asks whether education provides white and minority men and women comparable access to jobs involving such work. Findings are based on a follow-up study of 3,525 Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites who attended the City University of New York after initiation of an open-admissions policy in 1970 and were employed full-time in 1984. Among the findings are that open admissions increased access to jobs involving complex work and authority among individuals who would not have gone to college in the absence of the policy. However, the burden of past educational and economic disadvantages with which minorities entered college diminished educational attainments, thereby hurting chances to compete for good jobs. In addition, labor market conditions favoring Whites over minorities with similar education and work experience imposed a further constraint on access to… [PDF]
(1998). The Influence of Gender Structures on Perceptions of Workplace Culture and Climate. AIR 1998 Annual Forum Paper. This study applied feminist organizational theory to explore the effects of gender structure on perceptions of organizational culture and climate. The study used data from a 1994 survey of permanent, noninstructional staff at a major midwestern university (n=4,800). The research sought to determine: (1) whether gender-dominated organizational sectors exist in the noninstructional work setting of a university; (2) how employee gender relates to perceptions of organizational work culture and climate; (3) how gender dominance in job type relates to perceptions of organizational work culture; and (4) how employee gender, gender dominance in work sector, and perceptions of organizational culture relate to perceptions of work climate. The conceptual framework for the study included feminist views of organizational theory, literature on organizational culture and climate, and issues of gender in higher education. The data revealed distinctive gender distributions among job types,… [PDF]