Advocacy Networks for Girls' Education in a Rural and an Urban Community.

Plans for advocacy networks were incorporated into a project to promote Appalachian middle school girls' interest and persistence in science, mathematics, and technology. The project took place at rural and urban sites with diverse (White and African American), low-income populations. The girls were invited to participate in the 3-year project without regard for their grades, teacher recommendations, or exnressed interest in science and mathematics and were selected thr. :ugh stratified random sampling to ensure representative numbers of Anglo and African American participants. This paper focuses on the development of networks of "advocates"--parents, mentors, and teachers who would support the girls' schooling and aspirations. Advocate meetings were designed to focus on the girls as students whose futures were worthy of time and effort, to give weight to the girls' achievements, to engage advocates and girls with one another, and to provide information that could empower advocates to promote the girls' academic futures. Initially, at both rural and urban sites, low-income girls faced similar constraints on academic success: low teacher expectations, lack of resources in schools, peer pressure toward active sexuality, and low parental involvement. Yet efforts to develop visible networks of advocate support produced dramatically different results, with family involvement much greater at the rural site. This outcome is discussed in relation to rural church-going activities versus urban consumer attitudes. (Contains 22 references.) (SV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Advocacy Networks for Girls' Education in a Rural and an Urban Community Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association San Diego, California April 13-17, 1998 Marian C. Keyes (E-mail: keyesm@ael.org) Patricia S. Kusimo (E-mail: kusimop@ael.org) Carolyn C. Carter (E-mail: carterc@ael.org) Appalachia Educational Laboratory Inc. . P.O. Box 1348 Charleston, WV 25325 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) athis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 2 "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."