During the 1990s, policymakers have become increasingly attentive to the relationship between education and national economic health and society's need to upgrade and equalize workforce skills, talent, and wages. The U.S. education and training system is fragmented, decentralized, and in flux, as more responsibility moves from federal to state…

A major objective of this collection is to involve researchers in a wide range of disciplines who share an interest in the long-term effects of early childhood education on poor children and their families. The book begins with a series of reviews that provide general overviews of research on the long-term effects of early childhood education. The…

This report discusses findings from case studies in California, Missouri, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania that examined ways in which state-level general and special education reforms interact, impact local districts, and affect the educational programs for students with disabilities. Chapter 1 reviews two major state-level priorities for education…

These profiles are a product of a 50-state study of state teacher professional development policies and programs for teachers conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education. The primary purpose of the work is to provide an information base for state policymakers interested in improving teacher learning opportunities in their states.…

A crucial key to preventing and ending poverty is the system of education and training for employment. The 104th Congress is considering several proposals to reform vocational education, employment training, and welfare. The most sweeping would consolidate all employment training programs and vocational education into a single block grant to each…

This guide is intended to provide guidelines, from a British perspective, for group discussion of issues relevant to developing a school policy to meet the needs of students who are very able. The guide utilizes short case studies and a series of mindmaps to illustrate issues and highlight key planning and decision-making points. The guide begins…

One of the major structural changes facing European economies is the adjustment to an older and more slowly growing population. Aging and lower fertility rates will result in a smaller proportion of the population being in the working age, especially after the year 2010. Estimates are that by 2030 there could be only 2 employed persons for every…

A study was conducted to determine what factors account for the wide Canada-Sweden literacy gap, and what lessons can be learned from such a comparison that may help reduce the incidence of low literacy skills in Canada. The study found that the incidence of low literacy skills (failing to exceed level 2 in all three literacy domains--prose,…

This report is an outcome of a project designed to seek, screen, evaluate, describe, and disseminate highly effective approaches used by two-year colleges to serve students with significant disabilities. "Two-year colleges" included academic institutions, technical colleges, and vocational institutes. From a pool of 18 applicants, the project made…

Lifelong learning and lifewide learning describes the concept of learning in which individuals learn throughout the life-span from formal, non-formal, and informal sources. It is an issue for educational policy, labor market policy, and the workplace, as well as for civil society. Key issues in lifelong learning include the following: (1) lifelong…

As the sun, moon, and stars helped sea captains to navigate, policy (defined as a formalized idea to encourage change) indicates general direction and speed but does not establish a specific approach to achieve implementation. Formal and informal policies have advantages and disadvantages. These are steps in navigating policy formation: identify…

Fourteen economic development practitioners were asked to participate in a modified Delphi study that attempted to provide a level of agreement about future trends and issues that affect economic development at the county level in Ohio. Literature from several fields was reviewed to find potential trends and issues and, using a Likert-type scale,…

This Spring 2002 issue of the occasional paper, CSR Connection, reports on information that builds the capacity of schools to raise the academic achievement of all students. The success of English language learners and Native American students in U.S. public schools has been, and continues to be, impeded by deep "disconnects" between schools and…

Elementary schools can play an important role in early identification of and intervention for children with problem behavior by creating the infrastructure to provide preventive, proactive supports for all students. This monograph provides an overview of key features of effective school-wide systems of positive behavior support (PBS) at the…

This document contains the proceedings of a hearing held on August 13, 1999, before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families. The hearing addressed school safety, discipline, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Following opening remarks of the congressmen, the report includes…