The push for centralized control over what every child should learn has never had more momentum. The Obama Administration has pressured states to adopt the Common Core State Standards Initiative, conditioning more than $4 billion in Race to the Top grants on its adoption. The Administration's blueprint for the rewrite of No Child Left Behind also…

In this article, the author tells the story of her search for appropriate tools to conceptualise policy work. She had set out to explore the relationship between the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Australia's education policy, but early interview data…

The purpose of this study was to explore the production, communication, interpretation and contestation of new physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA) policy initiatives introduced in Mississippi and Tennessee for the academic year 2006-2007. These states provide a relevant context to study such issues, since Mississippi has the highest…

Suggests that one of the reasons why many of the older self-help organizations rejected professional help may be that the help that was offered was of the more authoritarian variety. (Author/AM)

In the "Higher Education Opportunity Act" of 2008, Congress charged the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance with conducting a review and analysis of regulations affecting higher education to determine the extent to which regulations are overly burdensome and need to be streamlined, improved, or eliminated. Specifically, Congress…

The UAW (United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) education director reviews organized labor's attitude toward career education and suggests a number of cooperative activities in which labor unions could and should be involved in making career education policy. (MF)

Study goals were to identify and evaluate the impact of fellowships awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts to visual artists and to provide information to help the Endowment in planning, policy development, and resource allocation for the fellowship category. Information was collected in three ways. Questionnaires were sent to 50% of all…

In 1978, a national survey was conducted in New Zealand to determine the extent of participation in continuing education and the level of unmet need for these activities. A questionnaire was developed dealing with respondent characteristics, spare time and interests, agency-directed learning activities (ADLAS), and unmet needs, and administered to…

This study was conducted to identify the perceived needs regarding implementation of inhouse training at Northern Arizona Long Distance Corporation (NALD). Specifically, the study was conducted to evaluate whether current and proposed training programs were consistent with company training goals from employer and employee perspectives, to make…

Research has confirmed short- and long-term positive effects of quality youth development programs. Despite the evidence of the positive outcomes of youth programs, policies supporting these programs are inadequate due in part to limited public understanding about the developmental process and the role of quality youth development programs during…

An evaluation of adult basic education (ABE) programs was conducted in North Carolina, using a case study approach. Research was done by six teams that collected information from taped interviews with participants in six programs chosen to represent rural and urban areas and various demographic and racial mixes of students. Materials and records…

When surveyed about a one-way video and two-way audio distance learning system, distance education faculty at Old Dominion University (Virginia) said they liked the personal and professional growth afforded by teaching on television, but disliked the lack of interactivity and other limitations. Faculty involvement in policymaking and integrating…

Designed for use by school boards committed to the ideals of cultural pluralism and equality of education, this handbook describes the principles, methods, and resources involved in an innovative concept of multicultural education. The chapters cover a brief history of cultural pluralism and multicultural education; ways of developing cultural…

This report describes: (1) a study of desirable kindergarten goals as perceived by the principals, teachers, and parents of Kentucky's 1973-74 pilot kindergarten programs; and (2) a study of the learning needs of entering first-grade pupils as perceived by a structured sample of first-grade teachers in Kentucky. In the first study, data collected…

This study was conducted to gather data on apprenticeship programs in Illinois, with emphasis on the role of vocational education in the present system, and to recommend an alternative policy for the involvement of vocational education with apprenticeship programs. Study constraints included the fact that information was unavailable on programs…