While there are significant differences between England and Scotland in the politics, the policy environment and the management of schools, leadership development both north and south of the border is charged with addressing what has been termed a recruitment and retention "crisis". An emerging phenomenon in both jurisdictions is that of…

A series of national conferences focusing on college faculty renewal is described. The meetings have been attended by over 450 faculty, faculty development professionals, and academic administrators representing 188 institutions. The programs demonstrate that a wide range of activities promoting faculty renewal are occurring in a variety of…

Asserts that the study of history involves more than the passive absorption facts, dates, names, and places. Maintains that real historical understanding requires students to engage in historical thinking, to raise questions, and to marshal evidence. Describes skills for five types of historical thinking. (CFR)

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), Incorporated, has distributed over 57 million books in its 18 years. RIF programs have raised children's interest in reading and their levels of reading achievement, and have increased library use and parent involvement. The national RIF organization offers several forms of support for local programs. (PGD)

Describes current trends in drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs, including decreased emphasis on the school's role in prevention, increased interest in forestalling rather than treating health problems, greater involvement of celebrities in antidrug programs, and improved peer support mechanisms. Noteworthy national programs are cited. (PGD)

Describes what electronic mail is, how it works, and suggests how it can be used by university administrators. National and international academic networks are described, institutional costs of network memberships are discussed, and procedures for connecting to a network and for using a network are explained. (13 references) (LRW)

Major categories of national higher education data are outlined and descriptions and sources are provided for over 50 databases. Categories include institutional descriptors, enrollments/completions, student demography, student longitudinal data, financial aid, institutional financial support, tuition/fees, faculty/staff salaries and benefits,…

Discusses current interest in a standard national curriculum and standardized testing, including national teacher standards, flexibility on the local level, choice of textbooks, governance, and costs. Cites foreign examples and describes organizations already active in the movement. (DM)

Movements toward quality assurance in Australian and U.S. higher education systems are compared and found largely similar. One element, oversight of the federal government in this process, is seen as the principal difference. A national quality assurance effort is in place in Australia, but not in the United States. (MSE)

Swiss engineering education is detailed and the roles of public enterprise, society, industry, and the engineering profession are illustrated. Educational issues are discussed in an international context. (CW)

Compares current approaches to decisions involving the preservation of library materials and describes a national project aimed at identifying and preserving important classical studies on microfiche. The use of an editorial board of scholars in this decision making process is evaluated and alternative scholarly involvement models are suggested.…

Examines a number of issues facing the Australian library and information services community in the area of continuing education, including recommendations of the Library Association of Australia, the cost of continuing education activities, the role and responsibility of schools of library and information studies, and notions of coordination.…

Noting the relatively constant percentage of minority students enrolling in medical schools since 1974, this paper urges academic medical centers to actively participate in the campaign by the Association of American Medical Colleges to double the number of underrepresented minority matriculants by the year 2000. Recommended strategies include…

The National Science Foundation's Computer-Aided Science Policy and Research database system provides microcomputer-based access and manipulation of multiple national databases for federal and now institutional use. Applications at West Virginia University, Portland State University, and the State University of New York at Buffalo pilot tested the…

Discusses the benefits of and the need for cooperation among archives and libraries as a means of sharing funding sources, and outlines the necessary key elements of a national historical records program involving manuscript libraries and archives. (CLB)