This Strategic Action Plan for Advancing Math and Science Education is an initial outline of strategies, actions, measures of progress, resources needed, timelines, and responsible parties. The Plan focuses on these three main goals: (1) increasing student interest, participation, and achievement in math and science; (2) raising public support and…

This article discusses the limited use of education vouchers in an era of unprecedented growth in school choice. It is divided into two parts: first, a description of the policy, political, and legal barriers that may limit the expansion of large-scale voucher programs is presented. Discussion then shifts to the efforts of voucher advocates to…

Categorical education programs provide state funding to schools and local education agencies for the purchase of specific types of local services, such as transportation, subsidized meals, and supplemental instruction. California has at least 57 separate categorical programs. This document provides an overview of California's experience with…

This guide is designed to assist Head Start staff in conducting comprehensive marketing and public relations programs to increase awareness, participation, communication, and support for the Head Start program. The guide is organized around the specific tasks involved in marketing and public relations programs, including planning and producing a…

This guide presents ways in which the public can be engaged in public education. The report was written to encourage and validate the "practitioners of engagement" at the local level. It is based on an 18-month effort to identify, map, and describe a variety of public-engagement projects across America. Researchers gathered stories and…

This document examines various ways for school districts to inform taxpayers about positive educational programs in order to convince them that a particular public school system is worth the investment. A school district needs to create good public relations in order to "sell" taxpayers on an educational program. Thus educators must show that they…

A study was conducted to examine the following questions: (1) How does the United States compare with Japan, West Germany, and Sweden on the basis of indicators of quality of life?; (2) How does the United States compare on the basis of economic performance since l960?; and (3) What appears to be the relationship in the four countries between the…

Recent polls and research studies have documented the decline in public confidence in the nation's public schools. In late 1982, Phi Delta Kappa created the PDK Commission on Public Confidence in Education to (1) identify schools and districts with positive public confidence, (2) determine basic transferable characteristics, and (3) develop…

A review of fiscal and political trends in the late 1970's made it appear that support for education would slip measurably, but a resurgence of national interest in education in the early 1980's as a result of commission reports and nationwide studies has led to increased spending for major reforms. The pattern of support for reforms in other…

The decline of public confidence in education can be traced in part to the declining percentage of adults with school-age children. Since nonparents derive their information about schools primarily from the mass media, schools must expand their information networks beyond their immediate school community and devise public relations programs to let…

Noting that 1977 public opinion polls concerning the new Panama Canal treaties were interpreted as showing increased support for the treaties, this paper contends that this interpretation was erroneous and that the major outcome of the extensive polling was misleading data. The paper is divided into three major analytical sections. The first…

This paper examines library network activity in the United States and the past, present, and future roles of the federal government in nationwide library networking. The first chapter describes the history and development of library networks and defines terms used in the report. An examination of the current status of networks in the second…

Trade-offs between environmental and economical considerations are discussed. Questions such as: How much am I willing to give up?, are asked. Monies, costs, and long-term implications are considered from both viewpoints. Increased productivity through increased efforts by everyone is suggested to provide for continued environmental improvement.…

This is the first of five volumes containing 91 studies conducted to clarify the relationship between nonprofit institutions and their donors, to provide impetus for ongoing research, and to focus public attention on the significance of the voluntary sector. Coordinated by the Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs, the studies review…