Describes the significant change in Arkansas State public policy on education during the tenure of Governor Bill Clinton. Details the political ups and downs of Clinton's initiatives, particularly teacher competency tests. Offers a postscript on Clinton's initiatives and a side bar on the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters. (JB)

The staff of the Center for the Future of Children analyzes policies to make the U.S. health care system more responsive to the needs of children and pregnant women focusing on (1) efficiency; (2) access; and (3) affordability. Recommendations are made in each of these areas. (SLD)

Analyzes intercultural education, looking at the dynamics of agenda building as a political process. Theoretical and ideological assumptions underlying the concept of intercultural education are discussed. The article says use of this concept serves the purpose of issue containment within the arena of conflict where educational policy alternatives…

Disadvantaged children's problems receive little if no attention by intellectuals and policymakers because of broad forces such as racial conflict, feminism, and the culture of individual rights. Personal responsibility and social and economic policies that support the family are strategies for helping economically, educationally, and emotionally…

Studies effects of the Paideia curriculum on critical thinking skills of 270 high school students in the Paideia curriculum and 284 in the standard curriculum. A problematic relationship exists between the treatment investigated and the measures used to collect data, supporting arguments for localized evaluation of Paideia Program efforts. (SLD)

A 2-year stepped intervention program--the HealthWise Intervention Study--at a company with 4,164 employees found that overall health risk status improved at all 4 intervention levels. The highest level, combining environmental policy with high-risk targeting, was associated with the greatest improvement in lifestyle risk factors. (SLD)

Recent trends in Finnish higher education are examined, from the formulation of national policy since the 1980s to recent experiments in financing and accountability, efforts at promoting efficiency, and the conflict between traditional academic collegiality and imposition of government decision making. (MSE)

The International Federation for Information and Documentation (FID) is helping to establish an alliance of nongovernmental organizations representing librarians, archivists, information scientists, and the publishing and communications industries. Over 55 organizations are invited to sign a resolution (included in the article) that articulates a…

Scholarly interest in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has spread throughout the humanities, attracting the attention of historians of medicine, political scientists, sociologists, public health scholars, and anthropologists. Most theorists hope their research will aid in policymaking or change understanding of the epidemic. (MSE)

Describes factors contributing to 1980s expansion of adult vocational education (AE) and training in Europe, reviewing demographic, economic, political, and social factors. Discusses ramifications of emerging decentralization in educational decision making. Examines potential conflict between emphasis on economic and labor market objectives of AE…

Examines the role of human capital and labor market characteristics in explaining geographic and individual differentials in socioeconomic outcomes of Puerto Rican women in mainland United States. Human capital plays a larger role than do labor market characteristics in the better socioeconomic performance of Puerto Ricans outside the Northeast.…

This article develops a framework for assessing how differential incentive policies affect teacher commitment and identifies key workplace conditions contributing to commitment. The framework is used to assess effects of such differential incentive policies as merit pay and career ladders. Increasing participation, collaboration, and feedback is…

Discussion of the proposed National Information Infrastructure (NII) focuses on the need for the NII to assist educational institutions, libraries, governments, and nonprofit organizations in carrying out their responsibilities for public access to information. New communications technologies are discussed; the role of librarians is examined; and…

Theory behind modern evaluative bibliometric techniques is reviewed at three levels: (1) policy application; (2) strategic analysis; and (3) tactical analysis. New techniques developed at each level and limitations of each approach are discussed. At all levels, the process begins with assembling data and then moves to a data-based evaluation. (SLD)

This case study uses six interviews with administrators and three speeches to trace the definition of the term "at risk" in Arizona educational policy, where the definition process was used as an opportunity to enhance the prestige and power of the State Department of Education. (SLD)