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A bilingual teacher in a multiage 4th-6th-grade classroom has met the special academic needs of limited-English-speaking migrant students who immigrated from Mexico with little previous schooling. Her strategies and techniques include an accepting classroom environment, high expectations for every student, building on student background knowledge and experience, and use of culturally relevant materials. (TD)

Presents agenda for action determined by a needs assesment conference of California educators. Recommendations are made for improving the conceptualization of global education, developing policy support, retraining teachers, expanding and improving exemplary efforts, and improving access to content resources. (KC)

Abstract: We conducted a telephone survey of a random sample of primary care physicians practicing thoughout the State of California to determine their AIDS-related experiences and competencies. Interviews were completed early in 1986 with 1,000 family and general practitioners and internists, 60 per ¢ of those eligible, Data on practice experiences reflect in the increased incidence of AIDS acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The proportion of practitioners in rural areas who evaluated possible cases (17 per ¢), and counseled patients at risk (50 per ¢) indicated the generalized nature of the problem. Compared to similar data obtained in 1984, levels of competency in diagnosing and counseling persons with AIDS-related disorders in creased in Los Angeles. However. on a statewide basis, a majority of those interviewed lack the AIDS related knowledge and skills required to carry out their roles in dealing with AIDS Competency was associated with physicians personal and professional characteristics and their level of discomfort in dealing with homosexuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a discipline in which departments are often characterized by Irreconcilable controversies and factional disputes, UCLA'S department stands out as a pluralistic communication that fosters interaction, communication, and mutual understanding. At UCLA the micro and macro meet: leading ethnograpbers and survey researchers work side by side; noted Marxists, functionalists and phenomenologists participate in the same colloquia, and persons with a variety of outlooks share membership on the same student committees. Ambitious students committed to obtaining the Ph.D. experience a stimulating educational career in a department that prides itself on diversity, but whose faculty understands that its program must be structured and coherent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Few studies have estimate the extent of specific emotional, behavioral, and academic problems among sheltered homeless children. The objectives of this study were to describe such problems, identify those children with problems and evaluate the relationship between child problems and use of physical and mental health services. Methods. From February through May 1991, 169 school-age children and their parents living in 18 emergency homeless family shelters in Los Angeles County were interviewed. To evaluate answers, interviewers used standardized measures of depression, behavioral problems, receptive vocabulary and reading. Results. The vast majority (78%) of homeless children suffered from either depression, a behavioral problem, or severe academic delay. Among children having a problem, only one third of the parents were aware of any problem, and few of those children (15%) had ever received mental health care or special education. Conclusions. Almost all schoolage sheltered homeless children in Los Angeles County have symptoms of depression, a behavioral problem, or academic delay severe enough to merit a clinical evaluation, yet few receive specific care. Programs targeted at sheltered homeless school-age children are needed to close this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of the California Disability Survey indicate that telephone interviewing is well suited for undertaking disability studies that provide (1) estimates of subgroups of the disabled population, including those that are statistically rare; (2) information on current and anticipated areas of policy concern; and (3) information for geographic areas important in rehabilitation program planning. Although these objectives necessitated a large sample size and a complex instrument, the costs and timeliness of telephone interviewing enabled the survey objectives to be reached. This paper discusses the advantages of telephone interviewing, as well as biases inherent in its use. The magnitude of the bias from the omission of nontelephone households is assessed, and the results confirm that the omission of nontelephone households introduces only minor biases into estimates for the total working-age population. A method of weighting is developed and illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors evaluated the impact of a continuing education program on the AIDS-related competencies of primary care physicians in Los Angeles County. In the fall of 1984, telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of general internists and family and general practitioners. Interviews were completed with 635 physicians, or 63% of the original sample. Less than 30% demonstrated adequate knowledge or practices necessary to deal with patients' AIDS-related symptoms and concerns. These physicians were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups receiving materials presenting similar content about AIDS in printed, audiocassette or videocassette formats. Follow-up interviews with 81% of the study group revealed significant increases in competence but this was unrelated to the use of the educational materials. Several descriptors of physicians and their practices were significant predictors of competence as assessed on pre- and post-test interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the study objectives and survey methods associated with the California Disability Survey (CDS), a large-scale telephone study of the California household population. The CDS project was designed to estimate the prevalence of disability and disabling conditions for the state as a whole and in a variety of smaller administrative areas, and to assess the service needs of the disabled and the degree to which they utilize existing forms of governmental assistance. The CDS project was also the first large-scale academic or governmental study to use the new survey methods associated with computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). This article reviews the rationale for the general CDS design and its use of computer-assisted methods, and emphasizes those aspects of the CDS experience that may be relevant for other large-scale studies in the area of human services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]