In industrialized countries, a fundamental shift in child bearing practices has resulted in an increase in the proportion of families with one child. Assumptions contributing to negative ideas about the single child include the notions of the deprivation of positive sibling influences and of debilitating, anxiety-ridden parenting by mothers and…

This report summarizes the discussions at a seminar which provided the opportunity for 15 researchers and developers from the United Kingdom and other European countries to consider a number of short, medium, and long-term issues and assist in setting an agenda for future phases of research. The specific goals were: (1) to identify the tools…

A large and complicated body of law deals primarily with required parental involvement in health care decisions concerning adolescent children. Addressing that body of legislation, Part 1 of this two-part background paper focuses on a survey of laws requiring parental consent to health services for minors or parental notification of a minor's…

The first step in aggregating qualitative data is to establish parameters for cross site analysis. Establishing parameters should include: (1) building a conceptual framework, (2) defining units of analysis, (3) developing core questions, and (4) establishing guidelines for handling unique features in each site. Two basic approaches to analyzing…

The need for the State of Illinois to create and implement a comprehensive plan for economic development has never been greater. The revitalization of the economy of the state can only be achieved through the implementation of a series of strategies designed to facilitate the restructuring of the economy to accommodate a 50 percent change of the…

Despite a wealth of research literature showing the importance of teacher empowerment and autonomy, and a multitude of plans and models for bringing teachers to the decision-making table, teachers remain encapsulated in their classrooms. In spite of career ladders, career lattices, merit pay, and mentorships, teachers have been unable to take…

The development of an effective educational system in Poland in the postwar years was based solidly on educational research. This study identifies the major research agencies operating in Poland and spells out their basic missions, then explains how educational research is organized systematically through government planning. The impact of this…

This document presents witness testimonies from the Congressional hearing called to examine the problem of Alzheimer's disease. Opening statements are included from Congressmen Rinaldo, Courter, and Saxton, and from Tom Dunn, the mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey where the hearing was held. J. Richard Goldstein, New Jersey State Commissioner of…

A review is presented of the process and agenda that were developed for research in teacher education for the first half of the 1980's. The purposes of the agenda building effort are discussed and descriptions are offered of activities that took place and some of the results of the project. In discussing the overall conceptual framework which was…

This paper reviews the literature on school effects and school improvement. The literature reveals that some schools are much more effective than others at optimizing achievement and other student outcomes, and that schools judged successful by these criteria tend to have in common certain leadership, goal commitment, and school atmosphere factors…

The generation three and generation one connection of individuals not related by blood or marriage is predicted to increase in incidence in the coming decades. This will occur regardless of public policy or the concerns of family members who yearn for connectedness within the institutional family. These non-family nexi have the potential to…

The focus of research on cognitive processes has shifted toward an examination of the relationship between memory and interindividual differences of personality. A review of the research on two such personality traits (i.e., locus of control and field dependence-independence) shows that studies of locus of control as a factor in learning and…

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory presents a primer for making educational decisions more systematic, containing a collection of (1) prescriptive guides for clarifying problems and objectives, (2) suggestions for identifying possible solutions, (3) criteria for judging solutions, (4) methods for measuring values, and (5) strategies for…

Professsional child care is a comprehensive service to children and families that supplements the care children receive from their families. Need for such care will vary quantitatively as a function of demographic characteristics of the family. Child care programs can and do vary in quality, but all must foster the development of the whole child.…

Defining organizational culture as the amalgam of beliefs, mythology, values, and rituals that, even more than its products, differentiates it from other organizations, this paper demonstrates its utility as a synthesizing focus on current ideas about communication in organizations. Modes of thought, dominant paradigms, perspectives on…