This paper dramatizes the complexity and the problems involved in calculating the rates of student dropouts from school. To compare the dropout formulas used by various agencies, states, and local school systems, responses from a national survey are presented and used to calculate a range of dropout rates for the Austin (Texas) public schools. By…

Themes and thoughts (rather than a literal transcription of proceedings) are presented on a symposium held in November, 1979, on the research, policy, and practice of adult learning. Participants were federal officers, adult education professors, researchers in business and education, and policy developers. The symposium was organized around four…

This edition of "Education Week" highlights the report "Quality Counts 2002: Building Blocks for Success," which examines what states are doing to provide early learning experiences for young children; to ensure that those experiences are of high quality; to prepare and pay early childhood educators adequately; and to measure…

This information brief discusses the impact of commercialism in schools. It asks the question of whether such advertising is supporting students or is simply selling access. It describes how children are a desirable market since they have most of their purchases ahead of them; they can also frequently convince parents to buy items. The brief…

The eight chapters of this theme issue examine how educational problems of minorities are often generated by the policy decisions that countries make. They analyze several educational systems to investigate the differences between official definitions of minority populations and how these populations define themselves, and they explore the need…

This introduction to a collection of articles on the status of the relationship among educational research, policy, and practice in countries around the world notes that, while research findings influence the development of pressures for change in educational policies and practices, the policy-makers and practitioners, in their turn, influence the…

This document presents three papers by scholars who participated in a lecture series on current controversies regarding politics and the arts. Judith H. Balfe argues in her paper, "Affinities of Art and Politics: Gilt by Association," that despite a history of institutional separateness, art and politics are linked with one another because they…

This annual volume brings together papers related to the history of higher education in the United States and abroad. The papers are: (1) "A Canon of Democratic Intent: Reinterpreting the Roots of the Great Books Movement" (Katherine Chaddock Reynolds); (2) "Small Towns, Small Sects, and Coeducation in Midwestern Colleges, 1853-1861…

Designed to facilitate the dissemination of information and sharing of experiences among countries in Asia and the Pacific, this annual publication includes special reports, reviews of recent publications and studies, and notes on Asian documents and sources of documents concerned with recent trends in educational development, reforms and renewal,…

This document is comprised of the four 2003 issues of a publication providing a forum for scholarly reviews and discussion of developmental research and implications for social policies affecting children. Each issue focuses on a single topic as follows: (1)"Do You Believe in Magic?: What We Can Expect from Early Childhood Intervention Programs"…

This collection of scholarly essays on comparative education is divided into four sections. The first section, Viewpoints/Controversies, contains the essay "Educational Policies and Contents in Developing Countries" (Jacques Hallak). The second section, Open File: Education in Asia, contains the following essays: "Some Current…

A set of belief statements outlined by Texas educators that express fundamental assumptions about individual responsibilities, school obligations, and educational system goals are described in this educational policy bulletin. The following five criteria are used to test each belief statement: relevance; importance; common meaning; context; and…

The issue highlights two articles on the topic of legal and educational factors in serving handicapped students. The first, "Governance and Management of Special Education: A Exploratory Analysis of New York City" by N. Bordier, reviews the impact of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) on policies and practices…

This supplement summarizes the National Commission on Excellence in Education's final report "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" and offers guidelines for citizens interested in forming their own commission on excellence. Resource organizations and publications for local commissions are listed. Theses and recommendations of…

This issue of "Policy Notes" concerns the restructuring of American education during the past quarter-century, with centralization and legalization being the two most noteworthy changes in educational governance. David Kirp claims that the increased control of schooling by state and federal authorities, the elaboration of new…