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The Educational Equity Group was established in 1975 within the National Institute of Education (NIE) to bring a renewed focus to several research and developmental activities previously carried out in separate organizational units of the institute. The group's mandate is to investigate and develop ways to provide high quality education for those with limited educational opportunities. The Educational Equity Program focuses on educational problems faced at all levels by substantial numbers of children and adults who are not well served by the nation's public schools. The Fiscal Year 1977 program focuses on students with any of the following characteristics: live in a milieu of low socioeconomic level; have little or no knowledge of English; are restricted by sex role stereotypes; are participating in the process of school desegregation; belong to an ethnic or racial minority; have learning styles and behavior patterns that differ markedly from school norms. Five NIE units--whose programs are discussed in this brochure -- have become the Educational Equity Group: the Compensatory Education Division, the Desegregation Studies Staff, the Multicultural/Bilingual Division, the School Discipline Studies Staff, and the Womens' Research Staff. (Author/JM)

A longitudinal, ethnographic study examined the form and content of the linkages that have been established by the principal organizations involved in the implementation of the Exemplary In-School Demonstration Project. During the study, on-site observers utilized the following data collection strategies: document analysis, respondent and informant interviews, direct participation, and extensive observation of the various facets of given local projects. In all, 51 projects were investigated. The focus of the program observations was on the various linkages that projects have made with the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) system, with community-based organizations, with other youth service projects, with other components of the educational system, and with the private sector. Researchers sought to identify linkages that are generic across variations in program design as well as those that appear specific to each of the following four program models: academic credit for work experience, career awareness, expanded private sector involvement, and youth-initiated projects. While different linkages appear most appropriate to each of these four strategies for service delivery, it was consistently found that linkages work best in those settings where enlightened self-interest and reciprocity are evident. (MN)

An assessment is provided of the ability of Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) prime sponsors and local educational agencies to cooperate in the development of innovative educational and training programs for low-income youth. The data presented are based on observations and interviews conducted at 40 of 47 operational sites administered by Youthwork, Inc. Following an introduction are four substantive chapters, one on each of the four program areas where projects were selected and funded: expanded private sector involvement, job creation through youth operated projects, academic credit for work experience, and career information. Key areas of investigation in each of the programmatic areas include the form and content of CETA/school collaboration and communication, the impact of the Youth Employment and Training Program's 22 percent incentive on inter-institutional cooperation, and the question of whether the Youthwork programs have created duplication and redundancy in efforts to assist in-school youth. Recommendations for the Department of Labor and Youthwork, Inc. are located at the end of each chapter. A methodological appendix includes two analysis packets covering CETA/school relations and a statement of key issues on that topic. (YLB)

Forty-eight of the Exemplary In-School Demonstration Projects being conducted under Title IV, Part A of the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) of 1977 were analyzed to (1) provide an initial discussion of some of the basic aspects of the various strategies employed by the projects and (2) assess some of the fundamental assumptions about the transition from school to work and the manner in which different strategies are thought to assist in that transition. During September 1978 to August 1979, projects were studied, and four broad strategies were identified. These strategies are expanded private sector involvement, career awareness, job creation through youth-operated projects, and academic credit for work experience. This report is a tentative outlining of the strategies and their variations, with no new data reported. It outlines the distinguishing characteristics of each of the broad strategies and the alternatives available within each approach, without providing conclusions about the merits of each. (KC)

The four programmatic school-to-work transition models being developed and implemented by Youthwork, Inc. are assessed. The thrust is both to distinguish these strategies, one from another, and to clarify the variations that occur within each of these four models: academic credit for work experience, expanded private sector involvement, career awareness, and job creation through youth-operated projects. An introductory chapter and another discussing methodology are followed by four substantive chapters, one for each of the four strategies being analyzed. Each chapter analyzes one strategy according to program administration, program curriculum, the form and content of granting academic credit, youth involvement in program operation, and staff-student relations. In addition, each model is studied from the perspective of one or more additional issues specific to the model. Recommendations for the generic as well as strategy-specific concerns are located at the end of each chapter. An analysis packet on program administration is appended. A summary and overview of those findings generic to all four strategies appear at the front of the report. (YLB)

This paper describes the results of a study conducted by the Center for Educational Research and Innovation regarding language policies and programs in five countries which belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: Canada, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. Part I explains the study's focus on language diversity and how it is addressed within the educational systems of the countries studied. It is assumed that the role ascribed to language is a key one to a better understanding of the position of various cultural groups in a society. The study methodology and content are described. (A set of simultaneous case studies were taken, each developed according to a common frame of reference.) Part II discusses the distinctions drawn between each country for the purpose of analysis: historical and ecological considerations; geographical boundedness versus dispersal; time the special population has been within the national boundaries; government policy on culture and language; the permanence/impermanence of the language/cultural minority group; and governmental policymaking (centralized versus decentralized). In Part III, the data from all five countries are analyzed collectively in relation to three themes--organization, finance, and governance. A postscript reiterates that language and literacy policies accurately reflect social and political conditions. A concluding section recommends areas for further study. (KH)