Describes the Association of Finnish Cities and Towns as an organization that enhances the cooperation and administration of municipal matters, including adult education, in the cities and boroughs of Finland. (GB)

Describes the endeavor by the Chinese Communist Party to construct a community-based, urban welfare system that would cater to the needs of urban dwellers who were not under the protection of the workers' social assistance system or whose needs could not be met entirely by it. (CT)

Career Beginnings (CB) is a national program begun in 1985 to increase the likelihood of minority and other disadvantaged urban students to participate in postsecondary education or to obtain a good job. CB unites high schools, businesses, and local colleges in working partnerships to develop the potential of moderately-achieving high school…

General features of local and national programs for assessing achievements referencing the common instruction are discussed within a single mastery achievement testing framework. The envisioned programs differ only in informative detail. Most such differences are viewed as amenable to formalization and the basis for distinguishing between local…