Explains Section 118 of the Perkins Vocational Education Act and its implications for special populations programing: provision of information, student assurances, and participatory planning. Presents strategies for local and state educational agencies. (SK)

Details relationships among the Perkins Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Presents issues for vocational education, transitional services, and access. Outlines a bill of rights for youth with special needs. (SK)

Tech prep can help special populations at risk of dropping out to be fully enfranchised in the work force. Its impact will depend on educators' willingness and ability to accommodate unique students. (SK)

Discusses how Perkins Act mandates for accountability in vocational education necessitate modification of performance standards and measures for special populations. (SK)

Effective business-education partnerships can have the following benefits for special populations: additional resources in resource-poor areas, employment opportunities, increased personal attention, improved facilities, and better teacher morale. Partnerships should complement, not replace, existing educational programs. (SK)

Perkins Act provisions for professional development include (1) the basic state grant formula; (2) national research and demonstration centers; (3) training and study grants; (4) leadership development awards; (5) training fellowships; and (6) internships for gifted and talented students. (SK)

Significant changes in special needs provision in the Perkins Act have differing interpretations. At the heart of service delivery are two mandated assurances: vocational assessment and supplemental services. (SK)

A new provision of the Perkins Act is targeted funds for special populations at a limited number of sites with greatest need for improvement and highest concentrations of special needs. These assurances encourage state and local agencies to provide special programing. (SK)

Describes three programs successfully integrating vocational and academic education: (1) Dauphin County Technical School (Pennsylvania), which uses the cluster concept; (2) St. Mary's (Maryland) Technical Center's tech prep program; and (3) Frederick Vocational-Technical Center (Maryland), which offers core course mastery and a systems approach to…

Hyperfluency, defined as discourse that is inappropriate and incompetent in the target audience's estimation, and its relationship to composition pedagogy are discussed. It is argued that hyperfluency can signal the growth of an individual's linguistic resources. (16 references) (Author/LB)

If literacy is to increase the autonomy and social standing of previously illiterate persons rather than to domesticate and further subordinate them, reading and writing must be imbued with genuine empowering potential. A case study from rural Nicaragua, set against an account of adult literacy for revolutionary change, is presented. (37…

The multiethnic nature of Dutch society is discussed, particularly the extent of educational underperformance among ethnic minority children. The possible role of language in this underperformance is examined in terms of bilingual education, home language instruction in primary schools, and government policy. (Author/LB)

Personal letter writing, a major literacy event in Tuvalu, an independent island nation near Fiji, is strongly influenced by culture-specific discourse conventions such as religion. The influence is evident in the vernacular, but also in English letters of Tuvaluan biliterates, whose native patterns of discourse are transferred across literacies.…

Argues that environmental education has failed to change our culture's treatment of the earth because it neglects the spiritual elements of environmental relationships. Discusses the incorporation of Native American spirituality into outdoor education, and suggests student activities to develop spiritual perspectives. Contains 10 references. (SV)

Suggests that outdoor ethics is the final stage of a learning process and the reflection of a bond with nature. Discusses widespread gross ignorance of nature, the difficulties of bonding with nature in an urban setting, and impediments to effective outdoor education. (SV)