The essay addresses both the question of poverty and the scope of political science. The study of poverty demands a transeconomic approach because the act of making an economic choice is fundamentally political, but the act is likely to be ambiguous and that ambiguity is peculiarly revealed in the politics of poor relief. While the idea of…

The Advisory Council on Vocational Education in 1968 issued a report on program implementation and goal achievement in vocational education. Six regional conferences and a summary conference were held in the fall of 1968 to evaluate that report and determine its implications for government action. A broad goal of these conferences was to increase…

The study is a survey of the different kinds of voluntary rural service (service-learning) corps of students from the institutions of higher education in Malaysia. The history, organization, and activities of the service corps are examined, and this type of student social action is viewed with reference to the role of higher education in the…

A survey of 100 principals known for their successful programs for obtaining community support brought many effective techniques to light. These methods fall into four categories: written and oral communications, community involvement in decision making, use of school volunteers, and encouragement of parent-faculty organizations. (PGD)

This paper examines changes in American higher education, using the metaphor of ocean tides. The tides of change in the 1980s included public demands for assessment and accountability; fairness and credibility in advantages and benefits; improved quality of education; effectiveness and efficiency; assurance that college graduates were personally…

Noting that school readiness--the preparedness of children to learn what is taught in schools--is the cornerstone of today's education reform movement, this article presents a brief overview of the key public factors that contribute to school readiness. These factors include both historical and contemporary American views of early learning as…

As educational systems evolved from consumption or culture-transmission devices to systems of investment in individuals, the rationale for public expenditure on education should have undergone a concomitant radical transformation. Instead, investment in many countries is still guided by political, cultural, and consumption criteria, resulting in…

Issues related to sex education programs in public schools are addressed, focusing on public support, opposition by special groups (frequently religious groups), "crash" programs to reverse such trends as teenage pregnancy, requisites for effective family life programs, and values clarification in sex education programs. (SK)

Seven types of external frontiers of science are identified: federal government, educational establishment, private sector, national security and defense, world science and technology, the developing world, and the U.S. society. Problems for science and scientists related to these frontiers are discussed, considering changing national and…

A critical analysis of the findings of an Estates General (a combination congressional hearing/government study) concerning the quality of education in Quebec (Canada). The study painted a bleak picture of educational quality and literacy and recommended severe program changes and budget cuts. (MJP)

In response to the lack of a coordinated effort to provide high-quality, affordable early childhood education to all children in the United States, the National Association for the Education of Young Children initiated a series of steps that will serve as the basis of coalitions at the federal, state, and local levels to advocate financing early…

Calling for a systematic reappraisal of the way children are prepared for school, a Committee for Economic Development report recommends the combination of a wide range of public and private resources that will address all aspects of children's early development and simultaneously improve the nation's public schools. (BB)

This article presents essential principles for mathematics instruction for students with disabilities and those who are at risk for school failure. These students have great difficulty in applying algorithmic knowledge to solve problems and even greater difficulty with abstract problem solving associated with higher level mathematics. A procedural…

Widely viewed today by many taxpayers, business leaders, and elected officials as inefficient, ineffective, bureaucratic, public education is losing its once-noble brand position as the cornerstone of American democracy. According to Laura Ries, a marketing guru, the first problem is the name, it is called public education. It is because the…

This report is about libraries and the challenges they face in the digital world, and where the public supports, or fails to support, libraries in this time of change. Library leaders' visions for the future are compared with the public's prescriptions for libraries, derived from public opinion research. Informing the study were library leaders'…