This volume summarizes projects funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, examining the various lessons learned. The 39 reports are organized in nine sections titled: (1) "Preface"; (2) "Access and Retention"; (3) Improving Teaching and Learning"; (4) "Curriculum and Instruction"; (5)…

This guide is designed to provide student financial aid officers and other college administrators with an overview of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan programs. Sections of the guide review recent changes to the programs encompassed in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998, as well as the guidelines…

Studies have shown an inextricable link between under-education and chronic, intergenerational welfare dependency. With welfare reform focusing on moving individuals into the workforce more quickly, state welfare reform efforts to assist low-income parents and their children are needed. Incorporating family literacy instruction into…

This paper presents a transcript of a National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) teleconference call held on February 27, 2001. David R. Johnson and Bonnie Jones talked about the mission, structure, and activities of NCSET. The presenters also provided an overview of OSEP (Office of Special Education Programs) perspective about…

The federal Class-Size Reduction (CSR) Program, first authorized in PL 105-277, begun in Fiscal Year 1999, represented a major federal commitment to help school districts hire additional qualified teachers, especially in the early elementary grades, so children would learn in smaller classes. The ultimate goal of the program was to improve student…

This report summarizes the 2005-2006 program evaluation results of AISD's federally-funded smaller learning communities grant program.

The constitutionality of a national tuition tax credit plan is examined with specific reference to questions that are raised under the religion clauses of the First Amendment. Recommendations are made for government plans that avoid the church-state conflict and maintain government neutrality. (BH)

Seven priorities in bilingual education research are suggested: effectiveness of bilingual education programs; second language acquisition; acquisition and use of minority languages in the United States; cultural and other differences between students and school; readiness for instruction in the second language; student assessment and diagnosis;…

A study examined whether federal New Deal policy goals matched local policy outcomes in Mississippi, Georgia, and North Carolina. Data from 337 counties indicate that policy outcomes matched goals in that women's access to vocational training remained narrowly constrained. Additional funds mostly benefitted men's programs. Contrary to…

This paper examines the qualities and limitations of information utilization in special education program planning and improvement; discusses the results of a federally funded transition follow-along and follow-up research and demonstration project in Minnesota; and describes methods for organizing, managing, and reporting follow-along and…

Summarizes the articles in this special issue on child poverty, policy, and welfare reform. Introduces and discusses the four major themes addressed by these articles: (1) poverty and economic policies affecting children; (2) consequences of poverty for child well-being; (3) qualitative research on family life and child poverty; and (4) programs…

Federal investments in education during the Reagan administration are reviewed. Budget requests/appropriations, responses to open-ended interviews, and major governmental documents were analyzed. Significant shifts in federal education policy diminished the size, cost, and direction of the federal role in education, and will have impacts far…

Discusses the Government Printing Office (GPO) plan for the transition to an electronic Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) that, through a network of partnerships comprised of the GPO, the National Archives and Records Administration, federal agencies, and FDLP libraries, will increase public access to government information. (JAK)

It is expected that the demand for gerontological social workers will increase as the elderly population continues to grow. However, many practitioners enter the aging field with little or no formal training. Successful gerontological social work practice requires workers to be knowledgeable and technically competent. Fieldwork plays a critical…

Since the 1960s, the U.S. Department of Education has enthusiastically embraced bilingual education. In this paper, the author evaluates the federal bilingual education program. Based on her studies of the implementation of bilingual education in California, Massachusetts, and New York City, she concludes that the program is of dubious value. She…