At its meeting in August 1985, the members of the National Governors' Association formed seven task forces for the purpose of examining in-depth critical problem areas in American education. Focus was upon problems in the areas of: (1) teaching; (2) leadership and management; (3) parent involvement and choice; (4) readiness; (5) technology; (6)…

The extent of violent crimes reported on New Jersey colleges and universities in 1985 is discussed, based on reports from the institutions. Recommendations for crime prevention made by the Chancellor's Special Advisory Committee on Violent Crimes, Hazing, and Arson on Campus are also considered. There were 477 reported incidents of violent crime,…

Efforts related to rural development, observed in central Africa, focus on the physical with little concern for social and psychological change. Highly funded programs, including those sponsored by the United States, are providing roads, markets, schools, public buildings, etc., and the lifestyles of the native population reflect these…

Initiated by the Center for the Book, the Library of Congress program that promotes books and reading, this text contains the results of interviews of 1,382 Americans who were asked, "What book made the greatest difference in your life?" and "What was that difference?" The introduction contains the titles and authors of the books named by…

Rural economic development presents a paradox of growth in population and jobs without corresponding improvement in local economic well-being. Four forces may impede nonmetropolitan development efforts. Growth of multiestablishment corporations makes traditional regional economic development models unrealistic. Rural industrialization is socially,…

This Congressional report deals with the role of government laboratories in regional development and state innovation strategies for encouraging entrepreneurship. Included among those persons providing testimony on these two particular aspects of developing entrepreneurship in the United States were representatives of the following agencies and…

This Congressional report deals with the views of persons residing and working in the Silicon Valley in California and near Route 128 around Boston on strategies for encouraging entrepreneurship. Included among those persons providing testimony concerning the perspectives of individuals and groups from these two regions were representatives of the…

The result of a 3-day conference on integrating women's studies into the college curriculum, this report provides background and information on how the new scholarship on women changes the assumptions, goals, and means of liberal education. It was written specifically for the Association of American Colleges. The SIROW conference was attended by…

Preliminary results of a comparison of the language modifications made by teachers when telling stories to native English speakers and non-native speakers of English at various proficiency levels suggest that teachers need to do more than make the routine modifications in linguistic input to lower-level learners. Teachers need to: (1) act on the…

Policy analysis is the process by which systematically collected information is provided to decision makers. As an integral part of a specific policy setting process and a comprehensive planned change process, such analyses can provide school administrators with much needed information to guide their decisions concerning district-wide…

A plan to establish an environmental scanning and forecasting system for colleges and universities is discussed as a way to maximize long-range planning. After proposing a program structure, attention is directed to methods of gaining organizational acceptance, developing a comprehensive taxonomy with an electronic filing system, identifying and…

Too often, vocational education in prisons has not been given the necessary political, financial, or administrative support necessary for it to be truly effective. Besides being faced with the problems of inadequate funding and generally inadequate facilities, equipment, and instructor training, prison-based vocational education programs often…

Experiences of the University of Miami's institutional research office, which produces three annual 5-year strategic plans, are reported. Attention is directed to official and unofficial functions of the institutional research office, lessons learned in the process, and suggestions for ways to minimize frustration and maximize usefulness.…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the applications of educational reform proposals of this decade to teacher education. The first section discusses legislative initiatives regarding teacher preparation, and reviews three of the more recent teacher education reform reports issued after the first wave of these legislative efforts. Recognizing…

This study evaluated the national network of Technical Assistance Centers (TACs), which provides technical assistance in evaluation and program improvement to state and local educational agencies responsible for implementing programs under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA). The U.S. Department of Education…