Higher education faces common worldwide challenges imposed by social and economic factors. Yet, each system has its own challenges and demands that need to be looked at within its own context. Higher education in Saudi Arabia faces three challenges: limitation of places, depletion of resources, and quality measures. Some measures have been…

This study analyzes the variation in one measure of son preference that is of particular relevance in rural China: whether a woman considers it important to have a son, and the reasons why sons are important. To summarize our conclusions, we find that the expectation that a son will provide financial support in old age is strongly associated with…

Built in the early 1900s for African-American children, "Rosenwald Schools" are disappearing from the landscape. This article discusses preservation efforts of some of the more than 5,300 Rosenwald schools and other buildings that were built from 1913 to 1932, in rural areas of 15 states. The idea for the schools was conceived by the black…

The 2006 Public Opinion Survey on Education in Indiana gauged the attitudes and perceptions of a representative sample of Hoosiers on such key educational issues as kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs, No Child Left Behind and P.L. 221, school funding and taxes, teacher quality, school choice and charter schools, and the achievement gap in…

This book is a compelling indictment of the use of high-stakes assessments with punitive consequences in public schools. The authors trace the history of the policy and document the inequities for children of poverty that undergird high-stakes testing practices. Lack of dental and medical care, environmental violence, insufficient school funding,…

To complement the information gathered on middle school and high school literacy initiatives as reported in "Middle and High School Literacy across the Curriculum" (Task 1.2 Fast Response Project), the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast (REL-SE) staff conducted a scan of the six southeast states to gather the following information…

In this case study, a co-operative inquiry process was used to facilitate the expansion of inclusive early childhood education and care practices in a rural community in the Midwest. A university and a community researcher first engaged in interviews and site visits, during which they learned how a three-member inclusion team of early care and…

The purpose of this article is to describe the professional development plan for an elementary school receiving federal funding through the Reading Excellence Act (REA). The Reading Excellence Act provided the school with a two-year plan for literacy improvement. During the first year of the grant, assessment-driven instruction and flexible…

Faced with shrinking state and local tax support and an increased demand for K-12 educational reform, school leaders must use creative means to find money to improve and deliver instruction and services to their schools. This handbook describes innovative strategies that school leaders have used to find scarce dollars for purchasing educational…

A press release and accompanying polling data provide a brief summary of the findings and implications of a national opinion survey, concerning federal child care assistance. The national opinion poll, conducted by Republican pollster Vince Breglio between February 26 and March 5, 1995, showed that Americans are deeply divided over congressional…

Noting that the strength of society is inextricably linked to the strength of its families, this book examines the evolution of current principles and practices in family support, and discusses future directions in quality services, training, and evaluation. The 20 chapters in this book are: (1) "America's Children and Families: An…

The relationship between education and broad changes in American society is explored in these chapters, most of which were previously published essays. The first part of the book examines families, schools, and the challenges of economic opportunity. Chapter 1 examines the relation between family and schooling in colonial 19th-century America,…

Corporate funding is now being used to invest in the improvement of community dependent care. This strategy benefits the firms by: (1) ensuring that employees will be absent from work less frequently due to childcare responsibilities; (2) providing a flexible strategy for meeting a variety of community needs; (3) improving community-firm…

The Star Schools Assistance Program has been funding activities since 1988. It provides projects with seed money to develop distance learning programming and equip sites. In addition, Star Schools has served as a focal point for demonstrating innovative uses of technology to advance educational opportunity and improvement. This paper represents…

The Star Schools Program has funded projects to explore innovative educational applications of technology in distance education. Funded projects have applied a variety of technologies, including videodisks, compressed data transmission, fiber optic technology, and computer networks. Program evaluation is a mandated aspect of the program. This…