This volume on teaching small classes is divided into the sections: lessons learned about best teaching practices in small classes; implementing and supporting small class programmes; evaluating small class initiatives; and teachers voices.

Covering such issues as teaching quality, the interface between public and private schooling, and measuring school efficiency, this text addresses the improvement of educational productivity in the USA.

Preventing Youth Problems provides information needed to prevent five of the most common, costly, and dangerous problems of adolescence: anti-social behavior, tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual behavior that risks disease and unwanted pregnancy. Over the past thirty years, scientific research on children and adolescents identified the major conditions influencing each of these problems.
Each of the chapters in this volume provides a concise summary of what is known about one of these five problem behaviors. Each chapter covers the following essential points:

- Incidence, prevalence, and cost of the problem, vital for gauging the importance of preventing the problem and for making the case for such efforts in public discussion of priorities;
- Biological and environmental influences which increase or decrease the likelihood of these problems; and,
- Principles, programs and policies that have been shown to reduce the incidence of each problem, information that can help in prevention of these behaviors.

A number of societal risks pose serious challenges to families' well-being, many of which cut across divisions of class and race. These challenges include: changes in the labor market and economy; the increasing participation of mothers in the labor force; the changing nature of family structure and the composition of households; and the increase in the number of immigrant families. Key institutions in the lives of families, including places of employment and schools, can play a significant role in fostering families' capacity to adapt to the potential challenges they face. "Resilience Across Contexts: Family, Work, Culture, and Community" presents papers--written by leading scholars in varied disciplines including economics, developmental and educational psychology, education, and sociology--discussing factors that influence resilience development. The authors' research focuses on emerging issues that have significant implications for policy and practice in such areas as employment and new technologies; maternal employment and family development; family structure and family life; immigration, migration, acculturation, and education of children and youth; and social and human services delivery. The book's overall goal is to take stock of what is known from research and practice on some of the challenges facing children and families for policy development and improvement of practices.

The story of life in inner-city America and the education of its people is often recounted as a tragedy; the ending is often predictable and usually dire, highlighting deficiency, failure, and negative trends. As with most social problems, children and youth in the inner cities are hit hardest. But this dismal view is only half of the full picture. The cities of our nation are a startling juxtaposition between the despairing and the hopeful, between disorganization and restorative potential. Alongside the poverty and unemployment, the street-fights and drug deals, are a wealth of cultural, economic, educational, and social resources. Often ignored are the resilience and the ability for adaptation which help many who are seemingly confined by circumstance to struggle and succeed "in the face of the odds."
This book helps to broaden the utilization of ways to magnify the circumstances known to enhance development and education, so that the burden of adversity is reduced and opportunities are advanced for "all" children and youth -- especially the children and youth of the inner cities who are in at-risk circumstances. The focus is on:
* raising consciousness about the opportunities available to foster resilience among children, families, and communities, and
* synthesizing the knowledge base that is central to implementing improvements which serve to better the circumstances and educational opportunities of children and families.
This volume is intended for a wide audience of readers, but particularly those who are in a position to shape public policy and deliver educational and human services.

For the first time, this book brings together three controversial topics: homogeneous grouping of students within classrooms by ability or achievement criteria, tracking of students into courses of study by the same criteria, and retention of students in their present grade so that they repeat a year's work instead of being promoted. The editors solicited syntheses of research on these topics from outstanding scholars with a variety of views. Initial versions of the chapters were discussed at a national invitational conference sponsored by the Laboratory for Student Success, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory, at Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education (CRHDE) through a contract with the former Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), now the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. At the conference, the chapter authors benefited from discussions with one another, other scholars, policymakers, educators, and parents. Their recommendations are reported in the last chapter.

Part of the Research in Educational Policy series, this book covers such topics as: the role of the state in strengthening Title 1 programmes; the effects of racial and economic segregation in urban schools; and school-family partnerships.

Comprises three sections: emerging models for connecting community services reform; the impact of school- and community-based interventions and children's learning and development; and state and federal policies for building partnerships to improve outcomes for children and families.

This book addresses one of the most urgent questions in American society today, one that is currently in the spotlight and hotly debated on all sides: Who shall rule the schools--parents or educators?
"School Choice or Best Systems: What Improves Education?" presents an overview of research and practical applications of innovative--even radical--school reforms being implemented across the United States. These fall along a continuum ranging from parental choice to best systems. At the one extreme are schools of choice, which allow parents to choose and even govern schools for their children. These include charter schools, traditional private and parochial schools, schools that are privately governed but publicly funded through vouchers, and those that are funded by private scholarships provided by both corporations and wealthy individuals. At the other extreme are centralized state or district systems, based on reform initiatives and new systems of education that have been developed in response to views of citizens and legislators that schools can do much better. These schools, which specify uniform goals, policies, and programs for each school, are highly innovative systems based on research or representing advanced thinking about what works, and have attracted wide interest.
Important questions related to schools of choice and best systems are addressed: How can we choose among schools of choice and best systems? Among the various approaches within each of these alternatives? How can we understand their guiding principles and operational practices? What results do they produce? How can we evaluate their claims? In choosing among the alternatives, how should issues of student achievement, accountability, costs, feasibility, and equity be factored in?
This volume brings together leading researchers and education leaders who have carried out the latest studies and advances in the field, providing a forum for them to set forth the arguments and evidence that will be most helpful in making choices for tomorrow's schools. It does not provide a single right answer--values and preferences differ across parents, schools, districts, and states. However, there are benefits for all from seeing the rigorous research, challenging thinking, and alternate points of view this volume presents.

The Handbook of Special and Remedial Education: Research and Practice is an update of the four-volume Handbook series, which provided a comprehensive summary of the well-confirmed knowledge in the field of special education available through the mid-1980's. The need for an updated second edition grew out of the extensive activity in research, policy developments, and related changes in practices over the past decade. The new single volume gives first priority to a review of the knowledge base, as derived from recent research and practices in schools and related agencies. It notes discrepancies between the state of the art and the state of practice. These disparities are further linked to brief discussions of policy issues and needed research, revisions in training programs, and organizational arrangements in the field.

This edition is segmented into three major sections. The six chapters within "Learning Rates: Issues of Concern and Prospects for Improvement" range from a discussion of early education for disabled children and those at risk, to educational resilience. The six chapters under "Distinct Disabilities" cover such topics as visual, hearing, and language impairments. Finally, the four chapters in "Associated Conditions and Resources" discuss funding, parents and advocacy systems, staff preparation, and emerging school/community linkages.

This book addresses one of the most urgent questions in American society today, one that is currently in the spotlight and hotly debated on all sides: Who shall rule the schools--parents or educators?
"School Choice or Best Systems: What Improves Education?" presents an overview of research and practical applications of innovative--even radical--school reforms being implemented across the United States. These fall along a continuum ranging from parental choice to best systems. At the one extreme are schools of choice, which allow parents to choose and even govern schools for their children. These include charter schools, traditional private and parochial schools, schools that are privately governed but publicly funded through vouchers, and those that are funded by private scholarships provided by both corporations and wealthy individuals. At the other extreme are centralized state or district systems, based on reform initiatives and new systems of education that have been developed in response to views of citizens and legislators that schools can do much better. These schools, which specify uniform goals, policies, and programs for each school, are highly innovative systems based on research or representing advanced thinking about what works, and have attracted wide interest.
Important questions related to schools of choice and best systems are addressed: How can we choose among schools of choice and best systems? Among the various approaches within each of these alternatives? How can we understand their guiding principles and operational practices? What results do they produce? How can we evaluate their claims? In choosing among the alternatives, how should issues of student achievement, accountability, costs, feasibility, and equity be factored in?
This volume brings together leading researchers and education leaders who have carried out the latest studies and advances in the field, providing a forum for them to set forth the arguments and evidence that will be most helpful in making choices for tomorrow's schools. It does not provide a single right answer--values and preferences differ across parents, schools, districts, and states. However, there are benefits for all from seeing the rigorous research, challenging thinking, and alternate points of view this volume presents.

This collection of essays addresses issues related to the intersection of family relationships and several contexts for the social and emotional development of ethnic minority adolescents. The papers are organized in sections under subtitles which reflect three contextual frames through which these issues may be examined. The first section focuses on the relationship between economic factors and resources on the one hand and family relations as environments for development on the other. The next part focuses on family and peer networks and relations as contexts for the emotional and social development of adolescents. The last section takes neighborhood and school as contexts for and determinants of social and emotional adjustment in adolescence.
Like much of the extant work and current thought concerning development in ethnic minority children and adolescents, the authors have highlighted the more stressful and negative aspects of these several contexts. There are a few explicit and several implicit references made to supportive and more positive contexts and manifestations of relationships which frame the developmental experiences of ethnic minority adolescents. These serve as a reminder that many ethnic minority adolescents do overcome the odds against success and grow into healthy and wholesome adults. However, in large measure, this book is a contribution to our understanding of the problematic circumstances under which a significant segment of the population exists, reminding us that life for ethnic minority adolescents is difficult. The fact that some of these young people manage to overcome the negative and stressful aspects of their experiences and defy the implicit prediction of failure to thrive is truly remarkable.

The story of life in inner-city America and the education of its people is often recounted as a tragedy; the ending is often predictable and usually dire, highlighting deficiency, failure, and negative trends. As with most social problems, children and youth in the inner cities are hit hardest. But this dismal view is only half of the full picture. The cities of our nation are a startling juxtaposition between the despairing and the hopeful, between disorganization and restorative potential. Alongside the poverty and unemployment, the street-fights and drug deals, are a wealth of cultural, economic, educational, and social resources. Often ignored are the resilience and the ability for adaptation which help many who are seemingly confined by circumstance to struggle and succeed "in the face of the odds."
This book helps to broaden the utilization of ways to magnify the circumstances known to enhance development and education, so that the burden of adversity is reduced and opportunities are advanced for "all" children and youth -- especially the children and youth of the inner cities who are in at-risk circumstances. The focus is on:
* raising consciousness about the opportunities available to foster resilience among children, families, and communities, and
* synthesizing the knowledge base that is central to implementing improvements which serve to better the circumstances and educational opportunities of children and families.
This volume is intended for a wide audience of readers, but particularly those who are in a position to shape public policy and deliver educational and human services.

A number of societal risks pose serious challenges to families' well-being, many of which cut across divisions of class and race. These challenges include: changes in the labor market and economy; the increasing participation of mothers in the labor force; the changing nature of family structure and the composition of households; and the increase in the number of immigrant families. Key institutions in the lives of families, including places of employment and schools, can play a significant role in fostering families' capacity to adapt to the potential challenges they face. Resilience Across Contexts: Family, Work, Culture, and Community presents papers--written by leading scholars in varied disciplines including economics, developmental and educational psychology, education, and sociology--discussing factors that influence resilience development. The authors' research focuses on emerging issues that have significant implications for policy and practice in such areas as employment and new technologies; maternal employment and family development; family structure and family life; immigration, migration, acculturation, and education of children and youth; and social and human services delivery. The book's overall goal is to take stock of what is known from research and practice on some of the challenges facing children and families for policy development and improvement of practices.

This fourth volume of the Handbook of Special Education: Research and Practice deals with the nature and nurture of gifted and talented youth, issues affecting students with severe disabilities and children and youth at risk. Section one focuses on gifted and talented youth, their identification, practices to accelerate and enrich their learning, their socio-emotional adjustment, and special categories of gifted students. New federal legislation in the US, changing views about intelligence, and growing concern over quality of education, make this section timely and important. Section two concerns students with severe disabilities with topics ranging from how they can be served in regular school and community settings to the transition to work and living in the community. In section three the theme is children and youth at risk from poverty, limited linguistic competence, limited cognitive mastery, and family problems. The chapters highlight what action can be taken to solve the educational problems associated with these risks. Special attention is paid to the problems of education in the inner-city.

This book provides information needed to prevent five of the most common, costly, and dangerous problems of adolescence: anti-social behavior, tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual behavior that risks disease and unwanted pregnancy. It is an important resource for psychologists, sociologists, social workers, and educators, as well as for upper-level students in these areas.

For the first time, this book brings together three controversial topics: homogeneous grouping of students within classrooms by ability or achievement criteria, tracking of students into courses of study by the same criteria, and retention of students in their present grade so that they repeat a year's work instead of being promoted. The editors solicited syntheses of research on these topics from outstanding scholars with a variety of views. Initial versions of the chapters were discussed at a national invitational conference sponsored by the Laboratory for Student Success, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory, at Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Education (CRHDE) through a contract with the former Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), now the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. At the conference, the chapter authors benefited from discussions with one another, other scholars, policymakers, educators, and parents. Their recommendations are reported in the last chapter.

This volume on teaching small classes is divided into the sections: lessons learned about best teaching practices in small classes; implementing and supporting small class programmes; evaluating small class initiatives; and teachers voices.

Covering such issues as teaching quality, the interface between public and private schooling, and measuring school efficiency, this text addresses the improvement of educational productivity in the USA.

Comprises three sections: emerging models for connecting community services reform; the impact of school- and community-based interventions and children's learning and development; and state and federal policies for building partnerships to improve outcomes for children and families.

Part of the Research in Educational Policy series, this book covers such topics as: the role of the state in strengthening Title 1 programmes; the effects of racial and economic segregation in urban schools; and school-family partnerships.