Focusing on law enforcement agents and taxpayers at the local level, this two-part report examines facts about crime in the United States and reports results of a survey conducted to determine attitudes about crime and police protection. Part One presents facts and issues related to types of crime, crime statistics, the extent of crime, trends in…

In order to better understand problems encountered in meeting the particular agricultural education and training needs of students from developing countries, 30 students enrolled in the College of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota in academic year 1983-84 were interviewed to assess individual backgrounds and agricultural training to date,…

Demographic and socioeconomic changes are reshaping the fortunes of small communities and pose policy issues. Such communities find it especialy difficult to deal with rapid growth or decline, or a switch from one to the other. Small communities now enjoy greater autonomy, but at the cost of reduced federal aid. Freed from federal mandates, each…

This report examines State level strategies designed to promote local desegregation efforts as reflected in pupil reassignment plans, housing desegregation, community involvement, and changes within schools. The case histories and results of successful desegregation litigation in thirteen States are discussed. Also presented are the following task…

An established goal of the Michigan Department of Education is that annual and long-range educational planning will be improved and expanded. The purpose of this Program Review/Planning Handbook is to recommend procedures and instrumentation through which educators at the local level may plan and conduct a program review and prepare and implement…

A RURAL DAIRY COMMUNITY IN UPSTATE NEW YORK IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS STUDY WRITTEN AFTER 3 YEARS OF PARTICIPATION BY THE AUTHORS IN THE DAILY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY. THE ANALYSIS INCLUDES DESCRIPTIONS OF (1) THE VARIOUS SOCIAL CLASS GROUPS AND THEIR ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHIES AND SOCIAL ATTITUDES, (2) THE POLITICAL POWERS, BOTH VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, AND…

This study examines, by adaptation of the Likert-type scale, the attitudes of a random sample of Bayfield citizens toward a new national park comprising 20 of the Apostle Islands and 42,000 acres of Lake Superior shoreline in northern Wisconsin, and its possible impact on the community. With the use of correlation analysis and regression…

A local history course offered as a semester elective to seniors has as its purpose the study of the local community as a microcosm of the United States. The basic principle is to reinforce what the student has already learned in previous history courses. The course proceeds through a chronological sequence of units about various periods of the…

Traces the European tradition of teaching elementary school students about their home and its immediate community, with particular attention to German practices. Emphasizes the value of homelife education in reducing personal anxiety and antisocial behavior, and its unique opportunities for Americans. (FMW)

Reports on an Arkansas survey that illustrates a technique for analyzing the school-related concerns and perceptions of teachers and community members. Shows how the survey can identify problem areas in the schools and explains how administrators can use the survey to improve school-community relations. (SB)

For the past decade, the federal government has supported comprehensive school reform as a way to improve under-performing schools (US Department of Education 1998). Thousands of schools across the country are now implementing scores of different whole school reform models with the hopes of improving school culture and raising student performance.…

This case study examines the process of opening and developing a new high school, with a specific emphasis on the evolution of its culture. Guided by a theoretical framework informed by the literature on school culture, this study explores the nature of school culture, how school cultures are established, the role of the principal, and the role of…

Discusses the effects of technological change and demographic shifts on the future of public libraries. Topics include displacement through disintermediation (replacing professional librarians with automated systems), the voucher movement, impact of new media on publishing, new information aggregators, cheaper computing equipment and Internet…

Combines a global, national, and local perspective to study the effects of educational changes over the last 20 years on the relationships among head teachers, teachers, and parents in France. Examines the impact of five kinds of transformations--decentralization, marketization, accountability, managerialism, and professionalism--on definitions of…

Using a feminist perspective, this paper attempts to quantify the position of women in educational policymaking in Britain in this century at national and local levels. Women have been in the minority and have not generally been a "shrieking sisterhood," guided primarily by feminist principles. (SLD)