A multiple-case, "tracer" study was undertaken involving 11 research projects of the "Education et Vie Active" (Education and the Active Life)--a national vocational education program in Switzerland--to assess the importance of contacts between researchers and practitioners. Iterative data from interviews, observations, and…

Presents a vision and a national strategy for civic networking based on the development of the National Information Infrastructure. Topics addressed include a public interest communications policy; benefits of civic networking, including improving services and reducing government costs, reducing poverty and health care costs, and improving…

Describes three broad areas of challenge for the development of national curriculum content standards: (1) tension between leadership and consensus; (2) tension between flexible and specific standards; and (3) tension between up-to-date dynamic standards and reasonable expectations for systemic change. Examining tradeoffs necessary will result in…

Argues that the high public interest in contemporary international issues has opened a window of opportunity for effecting change in the national global-studies curriculum. Develops guidelines that summarize what concerned scholars and educators recommend as the international dimension of education for K-12 students. Includes an extensive topical…

Estimates the operational costs of nationwide class-size-reduction programs under various policy alternatives, including the specified class size, flexibility in implementation, and whether the policy is targeted toward at-risk students. Depending on the options, estimated costs range from about $2 billion per year to over $11 billion per year.…

Discusses changes and new issues involved with implementation of the E-rate by the Federal Communications Commission. Highlights include the four corporations overseeing the E-rate; USAC board members; a lawsuit intended to stop the E-rate in its present form; existing contracts; the application form and Web site; and other…

Probes the success of Vietnam in preparing for national literacy and universal primary education within a framework of increasingly fragile and threatened socialist principles. Concludes that Vietnam has substantial literacy for a developing country, but progress remains slow in relation to particular ethnic groups, rural areas, and women. (DSK)

Many analysts view collaborative institutions that attempt to forge consensus and build cooperation among conflicting stakeholders as a potential remedy to the pathologies of conventional environmental policy. However, few analyses have demonstrated that collaborative institutions actually increase levels of cooperation, and critics accuse…

This article provides a response to the previous papers. It sets out a descriptive overview of the National College for School Leadership and then discusses issues of: scale; on-the-job learning; innovation as technological and networking; start-up organizations; leadership effects; international awareness; evaluating leadership and impact. The…

In 1999, Ministers responsible for school education agreed to the new set of "National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century," with the aim of providing high quality schooling in Australia which would secure for students the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills and values for a productive and rewarding life. As a…

The Polish school education system makes a distinction between two types of assessment: (1) Intra-school or internal assessment; and (2) External assessment. The idea of introducing external examinations into the Polish school education system emerged in 1992. This was directly inspired by study visits to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands…

Many in Congress and the administration have called for new investments in education in order to make the United States more competitive, with President Bush stressing the importance of education in preparing young Americans to "fill the jobs of the 21st century." Yet advocates of early childhood education have only recently stressed the economic…

This article presents the methodology used by the Finnish Education Evaluation Council in the national evaluation of social and communication skills in vocational education and training. The evaluation concentrates on key competences such as learning-to-learn skills, communication skills, social skills and entrepreneurship (Implementation of…

The AIDS epidemic presents a complex of issues that require global answers, involving entire societies. The only sustainable solution is to include all sectors of society in a multidisciplinary collaboration, within which the formal education system plays a key role in delivering a comprehensive response to the disease at the national level.…

The Visiting Professorship for Women (VPW) program was initiated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1982 to address the under representation of women in science. This summary which draws on a study completed in 1993 considers the effects of the VPW program and the nature of the participants. Both strengths and limitations of the existing…