Minorities and Girls in Schools. Effects on Achievement and Performance. Leaders in Psychology Series.

This collection presents the work of four psychologists who use scientific inquiry to understand what helps and what hinders the academic and life performance of minority students and girls. The first selection, "School Desegregation 40 Years After 'Brown v. Board of Education': Looking Forward and Looking Backward" by Janet Ward Schofield, explores the consequences of school desegregation. Although there is much to be learned from the study of desegregation effects, the country's policies have largely turned away from concerns with educational equality, leaving much unstudied. The second selection, "Ethnicity, Poverty, and Children's Educability: A Developmental Perspective" by Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe, considers the influence of parents on the achievement of minority students and discusses the factors that promote success in school. "User-Friendly Science and Mathematics: Can It Interest Girls and Minorities in Breaking through the Middle School Wall?" by Jacquelynne Eccles discusses increasing the participation of female and minority students in mathematics and science at an early age and demonstrating clear expectations that they can succeed. "What Stops Women and Minorities from Choosing and Completing Majors in Science and Engineering?" by Nancy Betz presents results from research on the participation of these groups in higher education in science and engineering. Each chapter ends with questions authors were asked following their original briefing for developing these papers. Each chapter contains references. (Contains eight figures and nine tables.) (SLD)