Current focuses of scientific and technical research in socialist countries' universities and institutes include increasing creativity, developing student skills for independent problem-solving, computer applications, increasing research efficiency, and integration of research and production. (MSE)

This policy brief is intended to highlight some of the leading policy issues faced by states, local school districts, policymakers, education leaders, and concerned citizens. State and local policies vary appreciably, a definitive statement on how school finances can and should be managed in every setting is beyond the scope of this paper. Rather,…

Information that Congress and various agencies can use to plan, implement, and evaluate programs supported by more than 30 agencies is provided. This statement focuses on the amount and complexity of federal support for education and addresses the challenge of obtaining more and better information. Research indicates that six programs--Child…

In addition to a brief introduction to time management, this document contains a training manual for teaching time management skills to workers at all levels in an organization. The training is offered in the form of a board game that takes approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours to play. Among the time management principles learned in the game are…

The "New York State School Report Card" provides a vehicle for benchmarking with respect to student achievement. In this study, additional tools were developed for making external comparisons with respect to achievement, and tools were added for assessing fiscal policy and efficiency. Data from school years 1993-94 through 1995-96 were…

This speech is about respect for small things and suggests that schooling could benefit from the care and attention enabled by a smaller scale. Among the points made are that, yes, all children can learn, but that is no big deal. Schooling should contribute to their education, but schooling is far from being identical with education. Learning…

This study examined how closely 11 accepted principles for managing budgets were followed at 98 public college campuses during the first half of the 1990s, a period of budget problems. The colleges reviewed were in six states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin. The study found that (1) planning was not inclusive,…

Analysis of the literature of second language learning as applied to language laboratory use suggests that the emphasis be placed on listening comprehension prior to and independent of productive oral use of the target language, both to establish comprehension and to sustain student motivation. (MSE)

A study sought to identify, within the context of Indonesia, broad indicators of institutional effectiveness and efficiency felt to be important by the faculty surveyed, and assess whether these indicators reflect the characteristics of the institutions employing them. Seven criteria for such indicators are outlined, each addressing a different…

Despite the overall commitment of universities to change, the people within them are conservative about organizational change. It is important to discuss all changes so those involved feel like participants, perhaps by bringing decision making to a lower administrative level. The objective is to enhance excellence. (MSE)

College scheduling system and operating procedure objectives influence efficient use of resources. Theoretical and practical considerations are outlined, including a step-by-step assessment of an institution's enrollment capacity and discussion of centralized or reassignable classrooms. (Author/MSE)

Achievement of the goal of better education for less resources in British universities calls for increased national direction and help, interuniversity cooperation, and self-examination within individual institutions. Ideas for change within these broad categories are examined. (Author/MSE)

This review of the concept learning literature indicates that the greater effectiveness of field-independent learners is related to memory efficiency and the ability to conduct combinatorial analysis. Short-term memory and free recall studies suggest factors contributing to the less efficient memory of field-dependent learners. (Editor/SJL)

The validity of using the Revised Denver Developmental Screening Test (RDDST) was investigated by testing 199 preschool children (ages 3-4) and reviewing the results 6 months later. Results indicated that the RDDST was an efficient prognostic tool in predicting formal assessment results for children at risk for language impairments. (CR)

Uses cost, financial sources, and student achievement data from Philippine primary schools (financed primarily from central sources) to discover if financial decentralization leads to more efficient schools. Schools that rely more heavily on local sources (contributions from local school boards, municipal government, parent-teacher associations,…