(1976). Anthropological Perspectives on Multicultural Education. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Vol. VII, No. 4, November 1976. A variety of anthropological perspectives on multiculturalism in formal education are provided in five papers and three commentaries. Countering the traditional anthropological view that each society has only one culture, the first paper emphasizes the multicultural nature of all societies. Four divergent approaches to the conceptualization of multicultural education are analyzed in the second paper. An alternative approach is suggested which, unlike the others, does not equate education with formal schooling or view multicultural education as a type of formal educational program. The third paper discusses the concepts of culture, cultural groups, and cultural scenes within school settings and points out the discrepancies between an anthropological conception of culture and the educational policy issues currently arising from multicultural school programs. The fourth paper analyzes the role of multicultural education in equalizing educational opportunity in a culturally pluralistic…
(1999). Creating Crisis: How California's Teaching Policies Aggravate Racial Inequalities in Public Schools. This report outlines problems in California's public school teaching force, from training to recruitment to retention. It describes who currently teaches, notes the lack of minority teachers in an increasingly diverse student population, and examines pathways to teaching and barriers to certification. It details the teaching crisis in the state's seven largest districts, and it adds extended accounts from a teacher recruiter, a teacher candidate taking the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST), and an experienced teacher of color watching newcomers being disempowered and unsupported by the system. Finally, the report makes recommendations about how to correct some of the problems that it describes, including: fully invest in the development of teaching talent and resources at high-need schools by creating local education action projects; develop a fully prepared, highly skilled teaching force better suited to California's changing demographics; eliminate barriers that… [PDF]
(1997). About Women on Campus, 1997. About Women on Campus, v6 n1-4. This quarterly newsletter provides information about the programs, issues, and concerns, of women students, faculty, and administrators in higher education. Each of the four issues (comprising one year's worth) has several regularly appearing sections that present brief news summaries and reports covering topics such as working in academe and elsewhere, around the campus, women's studies, women of color, athletics, sexual harassment, sexual assault, resources, World Wide Web resources, and job opportunities. A column on the activities of the American Council of Education's Office of Women in Higher Education also appears in each issue. Some issues also offer a feature article that presents a more detailed discussion of a topic; two such articles appearing in this volume of the newsletter include one that focuses on the origins of the Title IX Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibit sexual discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal money, and another which… [PDF]
(1998). Expanding Job Opportunities for Alaska Natives. (Interim Report). A majority of adults in most Alaska Native villages were without jobs in 1990, and the situation was probably not substantially better in 1998. This report summarizes current Alaska Native employment data and employment trends, provides information on public and private programs that target Native hire, and describes promising approaches for increasing Native employment. Part 1 examines the current context of Native employment, including demographic data and projections related to the size and location of the Native labor force; availability of jobs in various sectors and industries; characteristics of Native employment and unemployment; data on nonresident employment; and creation of jobs through the economic multiplier. This section includes 31 data tables and 15 figures. Part 2 discusses the potential effects of welfare reform on Native communities, summarizing changes to welfare and community concerns. Parts 3-5 examine methods used by private businesses, Native regional… [PDF]
(1995). Issues of Education at Community Colleges: Essays by Fellows in the Mid-Career Fellowship Program at Princeton University. This collection includes essays on contemporary issues facing community colleges written by fellows in Princeton University's Mid-Career Fellowship Program. The following essays are provided: (1) "A Human Development Workshop on Cultural Identity for International Students," by Cecilia Castro-Abad; (2) "Generating Moral Dialogue on a College Campus," by Francis H. Conroy; (3) "A is for Average: The Grading Crisis in Today's Colleges," by Barbara L. Farley; (4) "Interdisciplinary Study: Towards the Millennium," by Maryanne M. Garbowsky, arguing against extreme specialization in academia; (5) "One-Person Criminal Justice Programs: An Exploratory Study," by Peter Horne, examining issues confronting criminal justice programs with only one full-time faculty member; (6) "Amateur Nursing: Delegating Nursing Tasks to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel," by Jane Pamela Meehan; (7) "A Small Example of Reverse Discrimination,"… [PDF]
(1996). About Women on Campus, 1996. About Women on Campus, v5 n1-4. This quarterly newsletter provides information about the programs, issues, and concerns of women students, faculty, and administrators in higher education. Each of these four issues (comprising 1 year's worth) presents brief summaries of news items or reports in regularly appearing sections covering campus news, the workplace, sexual harassment, sexual assault, violence on campus, women in athletics, and women's studies. Other regular sections list the resources available (paper and electronic) in areas such as women's health and women in science. A column on the activities of the American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher Education also appears in each issue. A limited number of employment opportunities are also advertised. (CH)… [PDF]
(1997). The Advisory Committee on Women and Minority Faculty and Professional Staff. Final Report. The Texas Advisory Committee on Women and Minority Faculty and Professional Staff sought to identify strategies that would increase the number of women and minority faculty and professional staff at institutions of higher education in Texas. The work of the Committee was divided into four subcommittees: (1) Pipeline/Pool; (2) Recruitment; (3) Promotion; and (4) Retention. Among the Pipeline/Pool subcommittee's recommendations were: increase number of Black and Hispanic students to reach institutional minority enrollment and retention goals, expand collaborative K-12 partnerships to prepare minority students for college, improve transfer rates from two-year to four-year colleges, and simplify financial aid application system. Recommendations regarding faculty recruitment included: communicate the state's commitment to diversity, recruit for faculty at historically Black colleges and universities, and provide professional opportunities for newly hired minorities. Among recommendations… [PDF]
(1993). The Cleveland Hispanic Community and Education: A Struggle for Voice. Occasional Paper #9. This paper analyzes the ways in which the Cleveland (Ohio) Hispanic community, made up mostly of Puerto Ricans, has been organizing to increase its involvement in the education of Hispanic youth. In particular, this paper focuses on the past 3 years when new styles of involvement were attempted. This involvement has taken the form of program development, partnership development, and mobilization, which are all focused on cultural sensitivity to the needs of these students, staff training, teaching and advising Hispanic students, funding for scholarships, remedial programs to assist at-risk students, and compiling data about Hispanic students. The paper looks at how Hispanics have identified needs, arrived at policy recommendations, attempted to gain access to individuals and bodies that make educational policy, built community coalitions, and developed their own leadership. These efforts have resulted in consolidation of an educational issues coalition and the creation of a Hispanic… [PDF]
(1998). Can Race-Blind Policies Produce a Diverse Student Body? AIR 1998 Annual Forum Paper. This paper argues that there is reason to reconsider college admissions policies on three levels because: (1) some admissions measures exhibit racial or economic/social status bias, (2) there is evidence that financial barriers exist, and (3) a belief exists that race-blind admissions policies which include adjustments that offset students' social and economic circumstances can yield a more racially diverse student body than those mandated by legislation or judicial action. The first section of the paper examines key judicial and legislative actions to illustrate the evolution of racial preferences in the admissions process. In the next section, the paper reviews the results of research using criterion-related or predictive measures of validity and also looks at selection-bias research. In the next section, characteristics of students in public higher education in Missouri are examined for evidence of economic barriers to access. Finally, a series of race-blind admissions models… [PDF]
(1992). Equal Opportunities and Vocational Training. Evaluation of In-Company Vocational Training Schemes for Women. Equal opportunities programs in the Member States of the European Community (EC) are based on international law, EC law, and various legal provisions at the national level. Two main types of positive action can be identified among the various initiatives implemented in the different Member States: (1) governmental promotion of positive actions through legislation and agencies; and (2) creation of an infrastructure. Companies surveyed stress the importance of continuing vocational training for personnel, but the vast majority of trainees are men. Companies can be grouped into three types depending on their personnel and equal opportunities policies: (1) firms that follow recommendations and national legislation; (2) companies with no specific positive action program that apply the principle as a company, organizational, and personnel policy; and (3) companies that develop and implement a positive action program. The players involved have varying importance in terms of their tasks,… [PDF]
(1992). Enrollment and Graduation Patterns of Undergraduates Transferring to UC Davis: 1976-1991. Research Synopsis No. 45. A study was done of transfer students entering the University of California (Davis) from Fall 1976 through Spring 1991. "Transfers" are students who enter with at least sophomore standing (more than 40 transfer units), are identified by undergraduate admissions as advanced standing, or whose source school is not a high school. Study of transfer students' enrollment patterns found that: (1) of new undergraduates to Davis 38 percent were transfers; (2) of all Black, American Indian, Chicano and Latino students at Davis from 1976 to 1990, 36 percent were transfers; (3) transfer patterns differed only slightly by gender; (4) among 1990 transfers, 70 percent entered as juniors; (5) among transfers who enrolled from 1980 through 1990, 66 percent came from community colleges; and (6) in 1990, 728 students entered with Transfer Admission Agreements. Over all the proportion of transfer students has declined. The proportion of non-White transfer students has grown slowly. For… [PDF]
(1991). Finnish Comprehensive Vocational Institute Teachers' Gender-Role Attitudes. A study was conducted to determine Finnish vocational teachers' gender-role attitudes. It also identified the personal and professional variables that best explained the variance in gender-role attitudes. The sample consisted of 923 comprehensive vocational institute teachers from all major geographical areas of Finland; 92.3 percent returned a survey based on Osmond and Martin's (1975) Sex-Role Attitude Scale. Zero-order correlations and stepwise multiple regression conducted among personal and professional variables (gender, age, household income, teaching general subjects, and marital status) and the gender-role attitudes scale revealed that gender explained most of the variance in gender-role attitudes. The findings among Finnish vocational teachers paralleled those of U.S. studies. Male and older teachers with less education had more traditional gender-role attitudes than female and younger teachers. Teachers and administrators may need training in more gender-equitable…
(1992). Response to the Annual Desegregation Review, 1990-91. Part I: Student Assignment Component. The Monitoring Commission for Desegregation Implementation in the Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools formally responded to the 1990-91 Chicago Board of Education's Desegregation Review on Student Assignment. That Board report presented data on the contribution of various student assignment procedures to the voluntary desegregation of the schools. In addition, the report commented on strategies for relieving overcrowded schools, desegregation transfer program, magnet schools, mandatory backup measures, analysis of fiscal resources, interdistrict transfers, and the prevention of within-school desegregation. Analysis of this report by the Monitoring Commission notes the following concerns: (1) 11 of the 126 schools classified as integrated/desegregated are not meeting their racial balance criteria; (2) controlled enrollment may become an inadvertent vehicle for segregation or need more desirable enrollment sites for racial/ethnic minorities; (3) financial aspects of the report are… [PDF]
(1991). The Legacy of the Burger Court and the Schools, 1969-1986. NOLPE Monograph/Book Series No. 41. This book is limited to a study of the education opinions of the Supreme Court during the time that Warren Earl Burger served as Chief Justice. Over 100 opinions having direct bearing on education were issued during the Burger years, a total greater than in the entire Court's history. The first chapter presents the history of the establishment of the Court followed by information about the present work schedule, hearing and deliberating on a case, judicial review, and brief sketches of the 13 justices, including Chief Justice Burger. Subsequent chapters discuss the following topics: (1) employment issues in schools; (2) student issues; (3) race and desegregation; (4) school finance issues; (5) civil rights tort; and (6) legacy of the Burger Court and the schools. As the Court's membership changed and the volume of education cases increased, the Burger Court moved from an activist, social change-oriented Court, through a period when the Court assumed a quasi-centrist posture, to a…
(1990). ACC 2000: Building a Future Together. The Austin Community College Proactive Long Range Plan. Over the past 10 years, Austin Community College (ACC) has expanded college offerings from 41 degree programs, 24 degree options, and 1 certificate program to 60 degree plans, 35 degree options, and 22 certificate programs. In addition, ACC has grown from an enrollment of 13,000 credit students to over 24,000 students. During the past 5 years, minority full-time faculty have increased from 12% to 20% of the faculty. Changes in the economy, growing enrollments, demands of local businesses, new legislative mandates for minimal skills competency among degree students, and lagging state funding require careful planning to meet the institution's future needs. Consistent with its focus on accessibility and flexibility, ACC has plans to: (1) initiate new curricular programs in service sector occupations; (2) become a continuing education center for governmental employees; (3) develop a pre-education curriculum for future teachers; and (4) include an entrepreneurship track in the… [PDF]