A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

1993 Field-Initiated Studies Grants

$83,727 to Peggy VerVeld, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, to refine a teacher education program within a school-university partnership to train elementary and early childhood educators to work productively and equitably with all students. The study will also focus on the recruitment of qualified minority teacher candidates, particularly from the Navajo and Hopi Nations as well as Latino communities.

$91,265 to Mark Clarke, Alan Davis, and Lynn Rhodes, University of Colorado at Denver, to conduct intensive studies of eight teachers in urban elementary classrooms with at least 50 percent minority enrollment and who have shown unusual success in improving students' literacy skills and attitudes toward language. Studies will explain how such teachers manage to be successful.

$88,118 to Diane Kyle and Ellen McIntyre, University of Louisville (KY), to investigate the development, use, and effects of ungraded primary schools, as mandated by the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Study will also examine the classroom academic instruction, student learning, and factors that most support student success.

$84,756 to Edward McDill, James McPartland, and Will Jordan, the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), to examine the variety of tracking systems in high schools, and to evaluate their effects on students' educational aspirations and academic success.

$76,773 to James T. Canning and Marion Williams, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, to develop and disseminate a plan to help teachers, administrators, university researchers, and corporations work together to introduce technology into the classroom.

$106,753 to Byron Egeland, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, to generate a high-risk index to predict which students will drop out of school, and develop ways to steer those students away from school failure.

$65,812 to Gloria A. Gregg, Montana State University, Bozeman, to develop recommendations for state and local policymakers to strengthen, increase, and support parent and community involvement in the education of school-aged children. The research will be based on statewide surveys of parents, teachers, and school administrators.

$70,529 to Robert Lynch, Livingston-Steuben-Wyoming BOCES, Geneseo, NY, to investigate factors influencing migrant youth's participation and success in postsecondary education. The study will include: a survey of 250 migrant farmworker students; a survey analysis; and development of materials for parents and students to motivate migrant students to attend college.

$93,240 to Michael A. Rebell, Center on Values, Education and the Law, Inc., New York City, to conduct two case studies of court decisions relating to current and significant education policy issues. The center will develop guidelines for communities to use in implementing court decisions to improve handling of issues such as AIDS-related school practices.

$93,043 to David Bergin and Helen Cooks, University of Toledo (OH), to evaluate a Toledo-based scholarship incentive program that helps aspiring minority students succeed in high school and college through scholarship assistance. The study will focus on the kinds of students that benefit most from this type of program, and on what influences various school, family, and personal factors have on student achievement.

$88,640 to Kenneth Godwin, Frank Kemerer and Valerie Martinez, University of North Texas, Denton, to study the consequences of educational choice by examining 1) factors that lead parents to enroll their children in private and public schools; 2) impact of school choice on participating students' educational achievement, behavior, and satisfaction, as well as on satisfaction and involvement of students' families; and 3) the impact on those remaining at neighborhood schools.

Individuals, institutions of higher education, and public and private organizations and agencies are eligible to apply for grants under the FIS grants program. Applicants are invited to propose research on any topic that will advance educational theory and practice. Abstracts of FIS projects funded in 1990-92 are available from FIS.

The 1994 application guidelines are now available. Applications for the 1994 FIS program must be postmarked by December 10, 1993. For a copy of the 1994 application, write

OERI, Office of Research, 
FIS Grants Program, 
555 New Jersey Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20208-5646.