School technology departments bridge the gap between the technology industry and the classroom. Integrating technology means both teaching and supporting faculty. The technology department's roles and responsibilities must be constantly redefined and reevaluated. Financial resources should be allocated to allow ongoing training and incremental…

Examines the relationship between special educational needs and resource levels, drawing on two local education authorities as case studies. One LEA uses a professional-audit approach to allocate resources; the other uses educational tests. A critical examination disclosed benefits and drawbacks for each accountability system. (Contains 18…

The analysis by R. Greenwald, L. Hedges, and R. Laine (1996) suffers because of its statistical methods and because it is based on a sample that biases the study toward their conclusions. Econometric evidence and the aggregate performance of U.S. schools points toward serious problems with inefficient use of resources. (SLD)

Supports the findings of a meta-analysis that demonstrates that student achievement is related to the availability of resources, disagreeing with criticisms of method and sample selection made by E. Hanushek (1996). (SLD)

Key requirements for a successful music program include a supportive environment, constructive communication, an effective floor plan, and quality equipment.Unless music education's value is recognized, adequate resources, funding, and equipment will not be committed. Music programs require substantially more space and soundproofing than regular…

Examines trends in Pentagon support of campus-based military research and reports that lawmakers gave the Defense Department a science budget 11 percent higher in 2000 than in 1999. Notes critics' concerns about Pentagon priorities versus the nation's science needs and lobbying by university and industry groups in the Coalition for National…

Highlights some of the excuses library trustees give for not doing advocacy. Presents points to keep in mind when planning and conducting advocacy programs, including: long-term goals, short-term goals, and follow-up activities. Sidebars include a "Trustee Association Health Quiz" and quotes from the field about advocacy. (AEF)

To meet ambitious goals, districts and schools must redefine priorities, decide how to meet them, and allocate resources appropriately. This means restructuring salaries to attract and retain superior teachers, redirecting spending from compliance to supporting performance goals, investing strategically in professional development, and reducing…

During the last few decades, the concept of equivalence has assumed an increasingly important role in Swedish educational policy, and at the same time the actual meaning of equivalence has been given different authoritative interpretations. The shift in significance which the concept has undergone seems to be not only an aspect of the social power…

Investment in secondary schooling in sub-Saharan Africa has been neglected over the last two decades. Emphasis on universalising primary schooling has shaped national policy and flows of international assistance to favour rapid expansion at the first level of schooling. Though there are many good reasons for this emphasis, this has resulted in…

In this article, the author discusses how school boards are facing increasing pressures to shift scarce resources from the area of arts education to stress the areas of math and reading. In a report issued by the National Association of State Boards of Education, the Complete Curriculum expresses concerns with regard to the de-emphasis of arts and…

Schools in developing contexts, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, are often resource poor and seek to access resources from their external environments in order to improve school performance. Critical conduits for resource access are found among the school's external network of relationships between school administrators. Using both network and…

Because social policy making continues to devolve to the state level, social workers should understand how advocacy and policy making occur at that level. Interest groups active in the human services arena were surveyed and data were used to test a model of interest group effectiveness in four states. The independent variables were amount of…

In an effort to assess the level of community need and inform responsive resource allocation, Larimer County, Colorado developed a county-level index of well-being. This paper describes the development of that index including the selection of indicators and the methodology for scoring and presenting those indicators. We also present how the local…

Measures for estimating costs associated with the provision of disability services in Australia have not previously been available. Because such instruments are scarce worldwide, decisions about funding services have relied more on historical precedent and less on individual need. Recognising the necessity for an objective measure, Gould (1998)…