This case study examines the development and implementation of secondary education policy in Ontario as defined in "Ontario Schools: Intermediate and Senior Divisions (OSIS)--1984." Data were gathered for the period from 1980 when the Secondary Education Review Project (SERP) was initiated, to 1984 when the policy outlined in OSIS was to…

This case study documents how the school board of the city of New Rochelle, New York, handled change when it transmuted from being appointed to being elected. Local policy implications undergird such a transition. Specifically, a review of political influences and outcomes on school board policy and how the board and the city's politicians coped…

Representatives of six Appalachian states and of various relevant constituencies identified barriers to adult participation in postsecondary education in their region and strategies for removal of those barriers. An extensive review of the literature and committee member reports and surveys suggested policy, dispositional, situational, and…

Noting that the work of Jurgen Habermas has had an important influence on philosophy and the social sciences recently, this paper examines the implications of using Habermas's "ideal speech situation" as a criterion for deciding issues relating to the First Amendment. The paper first briefly reviews the distinctive features of critical…

This summary report discusses how Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) can affect the outcome of the 1984 conference on population. The four issues that will appear on the agenda in Mexico City are: (1) fertility and the family; (2) migration and population distribution; (3) population, resources and the environment; and (4) mortality and…

A study of the implementation of six major federal education policies in four urban school districts (Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; San Diego, California; and Dade County, Florida) generally supported a new theory of federalism. Research data were drawn from statistical reports and from interviews with over 150 persons at local,…

This speech addresses school improvement issues from three perspectives. First, six shared assumptions from the recent studies and reports on the quality of American schooling are presented: (1) that the educational system must be immediately improved; (2) that quality and equity are inseparable; (3) that education is inextricably linked to larger…

School finance reform--traditionally based exclusively on school districts' access to funding--has been made difficult by fiscal retrenchment on one hand and the educational excellence movement on the other. Stating that school districts must consider the use as well as the availability of funds, this paper proposes a new definition of equity that…

Although the functional relationship between school board and superintendent is a critical connection that stands at the apex of the organizational pyramid in education, little is known about that linkage, other than the tension endemic to the relationship. This study therefore examines how superintendents and school boards interact and inquires…

This study is a history of the societal-problems approach in social studies education as revealed in secondary school social studies textbooks used in Problems of Democracy courses from 1895 to 1985. The central thesis is that the definition of the problems approach and the problems selected for study by educators as illustrated by the textbooks…

To shed light on why President Ronald Reagan chose radio as his favorite medium, a study examined President Reagan's radio addresses in the first year of his second term, 1985, and compared them with his first term speeches of August 1982 to August 1983. The study also compared President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats with Reagan's radio…

This paper examines how the perception and anticipation of political costs and benefits affects decisions about whether and how plans for educational reforms are to be pursued. Two case studies of major educational reform attempts are described: France and Japan. The study analyzes the two societies' underlying dilemmas, which manifest themselves…

American educational policy is based on three preeminent values: equity, efficiency, and choice. The problem is that these values are often antithetical: an emphasis on one deemphasizes the others. Coming to an acceptable balance among all three values is therefore the essence of public policymaking. Accordingly, this paper takes one of these…

This paper summarizes the major points raised at a conference on "School/Community Collaborations: Policy Implications for Urban Education" held in New York City (New York) on May 12-13, 1988. Schools or school districts have successfully collaborated with businesses, unions, schools of higher education, hospitals, youth agencies,…

More than a decade ago the manner in which the North Dakota educational community related to the state legislature changed suddenly and dramatically. The North Dakota School Boards Association (NDSBA) employed a new executive director. Administrators in the state created a new entity, the North Dakota Council of School Administrators (NDCSA), and…