Explains President Clinton's "America Reads Challenge," a promising initiative that brings together volunteer literacy and reading tutors from the community, working to supplement and support the primary work of classroom teachers. At the heart of the new initiative is the understanding that a good start to a strong education requires…

The reorganization plan for government agencies under the Clinton Administration includes placement of the United States Information Agency (USIA), which oversees most government-sponsored academic exchanges, under the Department of State, where it was before 1978. The Arms Control and Disarmament Agency would also become part of the State…

Provides an overview of information policy issues which affect federal Web sites and introduces assessment techniques which federal site designers and administrators could use to evaluate the design and management of their Web-based information resources. Two tables depict selected Website assessment sources and criteria for evaluation.…

Discusses special and general education reform efforts in the context of current Federal legislation and program regulations, including inclusive schooling practices. Reviews federal response to litigation about inclusion, Federal priorities, and the language of the Clinton administration's most recent amendments to special education legislation.…

Responses from 22 automotive/electronics small businesses in Wales were compared with a 1996 survey. Results show that government initiatives such as Modern Apprenticeships had limited impact on small businesses. Barriers to training such as time, cost, and motivation also appeared, suggesting that mere availability of training programs does not…

Discusses how the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) has funded projects successfully influencing the way undergraduate science and mathematics are taught around the nation. (EV)

Provides a case study of reform movement dynamics in the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1930. Discusses the use of excessive corporal punishment at the Phoenix Indian School. Describes the way in which John Collier used the issue of brutality in government boarding schools to bring down the Bureau of Indian Affairs administration. (KO)

Differences between state and local special education programs and the state-federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) program are highlighted, through discussion of the history of the state-federal VR program, the differing definitions of disabilities, operation of the VR program, funding differences, and resultant differences in evaluation…

While increased attention is being paid by federal policy-makers to improved science education, many academics feel the approaches and funding is too limited and far-reaching change is necessary, including coordination of programs, reduced anti-education bias in research programs, and federal adoption of responsibility for science education. (MSE)

The Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health is an international research center for research training of foreign health professionals and allied health personnel, strengthening of health institutional research capability in foreign countries, direct technical assistance for disease control, and improvement of the…

Boston food costs exceed the combined value of government cash and food assistance benefits that households whose sole income is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) may receive. This contradicts findings by the General Accounting Office. Food stamps and AFDC benefits indexed to the actual costs of living are needed. (Author/BJV)

Describes the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project, Thailand's solution for meeting its country's need for scientists and technologists. Provides information on the six participating universities. Notes that the program includes secondary and higher education. (MVL)

The National Science Foundation Academic Research Facilities Modernization Program, enacted in 1988, is a significant and promising first step toward comprehensive federal response to the costly and pressing need for research facilities, but is insufficient. Provision for facility modernization, modernization of federal costing policies, and tax…

Statement of American Council on Rural Special Education's Early Childhood Special Education Task Force on rural implementation of federal Titles I and II. Emphasizes need for state planning, professional representation of children, and parent involvement in special education decisions. Discusses family role, service delivery, and teacher…

Analysis of 40 federally funded grants to prepare teachers of students with mild/moderate disabilities examines the degree to which grant proposers articulated a philosophy of cooperation between regular and special education, translation of the philosophical commitment into program design, and changes in the extent of cooperation over recent…