This brief explores the pros and cons of three alternative approaches to college admissions policies: race-based preferences, which are backed by most Democrats; class-rank plans (admitting the top students in each high school), which is backed by the Bush administration; and economic affirmative action for the disadvantaged of all races, which…

This report summarizes the results of California Proposition 227 so far based on standardized test scores (the Stanford 9) of Limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in reading, math, and language. It also analyzes the redesignation rates of students by district. California Proposition 227, also known as the "English for the Children"…

The passage of a bond issue in support of school building construction or renovation can be one of the most difficult activities for a rural school district. The process of getting a bond passed requires a delicate mix of public relations, community education, and consensus building. In this chapter, a superintendent in a rural district describes…

This book examines the relationship between higher education policy and the state in the United Kingdom, discussing how changing concepts of the nature of the state and its role have affected the development of higher education policy. The book studies shifts from state-subsidized independence to ambiguous but increased dependence on state…

This paper, written in 1991, examines some of the problems related to technological and cultural change common to American, British, and continental universities citing, for example, global competition; adaptability of the national workforce; changing concepts about the role of higher education; changing relationships among business, governments,…

The relationship between indigenous peoples and nation-states has long been of academic interest, and is also an emerging topic in the international debate about human rights and development. Universities and museums play an important part in this debate as producers, managers, and communicators of knowledge about indigenous peoples. In these…

The conference papers examine higher education reforms in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe from several research perspectives: political, economic, pedagogical, and sociological. Papers are organized in three sections: Higher Education Policies and Institutional Change; Central European Higher Education in Transition; and Higher…

This paper describes the environmental scan that the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office initiated in preparation for its development of a strategic plan. In this scanning effort, environment is defined as "a search for information about the system's external setting." The trends are roughly grouped into five areas:…

This article recounts the development of a paradigm for a virtual university that is, one in which delivery is inextricably linked to the political, technological, social, and economic context of the institution at the University of North Carolina (Wilmington). It explains how, in just five years, a conservative, traditional, regional institution…

This annual publication examines political, legal, social, and educational issues concerning indigenous peoples around the world in 1998-99. Part I highlights news events and ongoing situations in specific countries. In North America, these include court decisions on the legal status of Alaska Native tribal governments, indigenous subsistence…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, places a major emphasis on teacher quality as a significant factor in improving student achievement. Under NCLB, Title II, Part A provides funds to states and districts to conduct a variety of teacher-related reform activities.…

For many years American students of education have studied more or less carefully the schools of Germany. From these studies they have brought back many valuable ideas which are gradually changing for the better courses of study and methods of teaching in American schools and to some slight extent their organization and management. Studies of…

The term "authorizer" conveys an imposing sense of size and authority, but in the world of charter schools, the authorizer is often a small-scale office or, more commonly, a single employee for whom chartering is just one among many responsibilities amidst a large institution like a state or local board of education, university, or private…

This analysis of the important industry-centered spare time school system in Communist China is a substantially revised version of a paper originally prepared for oral presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies in March 1963. The author is specializing in the study of Communist China at Cornell University, where he is…

Concentrates on political organizations and educational demands of Japan's burakumin, a group persistently isolated and discriminated against. Directs attention to recent political struggles carried out by burakumin and their representative organizations through "dowa education" (assimilation or liberation education). Examines…