A manual to help students analyze public policy issues in a systematic and well-informed way is presented, with emphasis on the conceptual, information-gathering, and analytical skills required. The text is intended for two major audiences: (1) introductory college-level courses in political science, public policy, or social science research; and…

A study examined whether the state and federal performance standards for Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs have influenced Service Delivery Area (SDA) and service provider decisions about program design and implementation practices in ways that have affected the clients served, the types of services provided, and the costs of the…

This report describes and analyzes the socioeconomic characteristics of performing artists in the fields of acting, dancing, and music who were employed during both 1970 and 1980. Using U.S. Census Bureau data, emphasis is placed on socioeconomic changes that occurred during this decade. The report consists of specific sections devoted to each of…

This study compares the long-term desegregation effectiveness of voluntary plans with magnet schools to mandatory reassignment plans with magnet schools. The introduction includes an extensive discussion of the problems of choosing dependent variables for use in desegregation studies. The potential study population was chosen based on the…

A 2-year study of 206 college students at an urban research university in a southern state examined personal, environmental, academic, and non-academic predictors of: (1) course grade performance; and (2) academic retention. Of particular interest were "high-risk" or "disadvantaged" students and how they compensated for their…

This study investigated the ecological factors that affect structural school reform implementation in Israel. The sample used was the whole student population that appeared in the 1972 census. By raising educational achievement levels, restructuring the learning sequence, and rezoning ethnically and economically segregated areas to promote…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the achievement of some abstract concepts in "molecular genetics" and prior knowledge, formal reasoning ability, and sex. The major findings of the study were: (1) prior knowledge had a high significant correlation with the achievement of abstract concepts; (2) the…

This paper presents an overview of Florence Nightingale's statistical background and accomplishments; discusses Victorian statistics, Nightingale's education and statistical contributions; and concludes with implications for professors and students of educational research. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the first woman elected as a fellow of…

An overview of public education in Mississippi during the 1983-84 fiscal year, from the point of view of the state department of education, is presented in this annual report. The report opens with a letter from the state superintendent that reviews major changes in the structure of state educational administration: the appointment of a new…

The first volume of these conference proceedings includes an introductory talk (on why statistics should be taught), three plenary papers (discussing stochastics at the school level in the age of the computer, optimum balance between statistical theory and applications in teaching, and the relevance of statistical training), and 35 invited papers.…

This article reports on a classroom-based case study of a group of six Year 10 students, within a class of 23 students. The study implemented constructivist-informed teaching and learning approaches within a classroom setting in the topic of optics and documented any changes in the conceptual understanding students had about seven central concepts…

The position of science and technology (S&T) in a society changes through time and from one society to another. In developing countries, many young people would like to opt for a career in S&T, while many rich, highly-developed countries notice declining recruitment of students to science and technology studies. In this article, the…

This project was part of the Portland High Impact Program and had as its goal a 60 percent reduction in burglary losses over a three-year period to be attained by installing centrally-monitored, silent, anti-intrusion devices in eleven schools. Comparison with eleven control schools indicates that the alarm system has demonstrated effectiveness in…

The measurement of change is such a broad topic that this article must limit its focus to a few specific subtopics. These specific topics include: longitudinal research design, attrition in research studies, the statistical analysis of difference scores, and the comparison of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance…

Presentations and critiques include these topics: determinants of college decisions; supply and demand in postsecondary education; shortcomings of models and data bases; effects of price and nonprice characteristics; and some methodoligical considerations. Discussion questions include: Is there a middle-income squeeze?; How can nonapplicants be…