Discusses the higher education crisis in developing countries in terms of the ways in which problems are analyzed and decisions are made. Focuses on discrepancies between objectives and achievements. Highlights the importance of risk analysis in strategic planning, advocating an impact assessment approach. (DMM)

Discusses consolidation as a method to reduce the costs of rural education. Describes the interrelatedness of the rural economy and rural education. Enumerates advantages and disadvantages of small schools. Suggests that educational reform should focus on the unique circumstances of rural schools. (KS)

Investigated how psychological state influences reporting of early family experiences. University students (n=176) completed measures of psychological distress and childhood family experiences at beginning and end of semester. Found increases in psychological distress associated with recalling parental marital relationship more negatively, more…

Examined relationship between welfare status and perceived financial stress and children's emotional and behavioral problems using data from National Survey of Children. Found that levels of depressive symptoms, impulsive behavior, and antisocial behavior were higher among children who experienced either type of economic stress at least once…

Scarcely two weeks after Joan Kowal became superintendent of Volusia County (Florida) County Schools, the state legislature sliced $6 million off a $220 million operating budget, effective immediately. Kowal responded by convening a broad-based stakeholder's conference and asking participants to decide where cuts could be made. Other decisions…

Reveals that New Hampshire is in a period of review regarding social studies teaching. Explains that state financial difficulties have caused citizens to question the subject's value. Reports that a New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies position paper on social studies goals, structures, and methods has drawn no reaction from policymakers.…

Appraises Zambia's higher education finance policies since gaining independence from Britain, focusing on the political, social, and economic conditions influencing policy decisions and the moral and ethical implications of these decisions. Shows that Zambia's "free education" policy promotes inequity and inefficiency. Advocates policy…

From a National Steering Group perspective, this article reviews the recent history of the national framework for teacher appraisal in England and discusses six lessons to be drawn from a project that tested the new system. Appraisal is still associated with controversy and poor industrial relations, arouses suspicion, is politically complicated,…

Suggests that bankruptcy occurs when creditors withdraw their support from a firm's top management team. Five characteristics measuring the relative status of top teams tested on a sample of 57 large bankrupt firms and 57 matched firms revealed that membership in political elites and board connections were negatively associated with bankruptcy.…

Faced with budget cuts, the community of Beaverton, Oregon, left only one support service intact: the newly restructured guidance and counseling program begun in 1992. The program is based on meeting students' needs through supportive guidance, prevention and intervention measures, and active community-school partnerships. The key was developing…

Based on three western school districts' financial failure, this article discusses signs of trouble (overspending patterns, overoptimism about district resources, inadequate financial controls, a breakdown in business operations, inattention to audits, out-of-control personnel practices, and insufficient planning) and discusses ameliorative…

Discusses elements of the higher-education funding system that may be applicable for funding early-childhood programs. Examines how the higher education model can help in the design of more adequate financing of early care and education. Maintains that this model can increase political support and infuse more resources into early care and…

Discusses financial pressures on university athletics departments using the University of Wisconsin (Madison) as an example. A recent state audit noted the UW athletic department's sizable debt, and an internal five-year plan predicts a substantial budgetary increase due to such factors as construction projects. More aggressive fund raising and…

Examines the growing decline in institutional support for libraries and discusses how libraries can generate revenue to replace it. Highlights include entrepreneurship; fee-based services; the PBS (Public Broadcasting System) model of fund raising; and running a library more like a bookstore, including expanded hours. (LRW)

Rapid, inadequately funded expansion of British higher education between 1990-96 contributed to a funding crisis. This paper, an updated version of a report submitted to the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, proposes a coherent reform strategy involving a wide-ranging system of student loans, flexibility to allow universities to…