Challenges the following assumptions: (1) parental choice will motivate schools to improve programs to compete more effectively for students; (2) private not-for-profit schools will respond to marketplace incentives; (3) research indicates an advantage of private over public organizations; (4) public choice theory promotes school improvement; and…

Survey data are presented on major state policies affecting private higher education, addressing state spending on undergraduate student aid grants, state funding (besides student aid) to private colleges/universities, state policies toward tuition in public higher education, and involvement of the private sector in state planning. States are…

Trends in participation of socioeconomic groups in Australian higher education since 1852 are chronicled, with attention given to the policies promoting expansion and democratization, social attitudes associated with part- and full-time participation, the role of world events and related social change, religion and gender differences, and…

Reports results of a longitudinal study of racial beliefs and consciousness for African-American students who attended Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in the 1980s. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to students in Black Studies courses. Results indicate a shift toward collectivism and a rise in the level of…

Considers maintenance of African-American/white status relationships through educational policy in four Cleveland (Ohio) elementary schools. Although African-American and European American children begin with equal potential, that potential is developed to a lesser extent in African Americans. Discusses ways of countering challenges to…

A variety of trends in state colleges are viewed as privatization, including increased institutional responsibility for meeting costs, financial aid shortfalls that keep many students away, pressure for more institutional autonomy, recruitment of private colleges to provide some state-subsidized programs, payment of private colleges to accept…

The three great federal policy initiatives concerning higher education, the land-grant movement of the 1860s, the World War II-era decision to rely on universities for basic and applied research, and the GI Bill of 1944, have affected development of the American system of higher education more than any others. (MSE)

Describes a Carnegie-funded study that examined the effectiveness of youth organizations in reaching adolescents aged 10-15 and in reaching and serving young people growing up in high-risk environments. How the study was conducted, 10 themes that emerged from the study, and the major implications for librarians and their community partners are…

Discusses policy principles that information provider companies agree upon, including the public's right of access to information; equality of access; diverse information sources; monopoly control of public information; fees for access; and public participation in decisions about access. Funding for the depository library system and new federal…

Biological questions about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are minor compared with political and ethical problems related to the AIDS epidemic in the United States. Lack of public confidence in the work of public health officials and the controversy surrounding New York City's syringe exchange program are two examples. (SLD)

The 11 articles in this issue present the message that African-American students can succeed and that a significant body of knowledge already exists to help them. The Institute for the Education of At-Risk Students proposed by Congress would be the optimum vehicle for continuing the research highlighted in the 11 articles. (SLD)

Reviews studies on the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among homeless adolescents, and makes policy recommendations. Discusses factors affecting delivery of services, social networks and risk acts, and describes intervention programs aimed at homeless youth. Homeless youth are well informed about HIV and responsive to behavior change.…

It is apparent that some children in the United States have not benefited from the improved oral health care available. These children tend to be poor and members of racial and ethnic minority groups. Policy recommendations are made to increase both self-care and access to dental care. (SLD)

Although youth apprenticeship models appear to have great potential, the following problems must be addressed before the strategy can succeed: (1) securing employer involvement; (2) assuring and improving the quality of on-the-job learning; and (3) confronting equity issues in public policy in incorporating work into the core educational system.…

Proposes to replace the principle of equal opportunity with an "anti-caste" principle to build a new society and to secure economic and social rights. Suggests a United States Charter for Socioeconomic Rights. Outlines the moral, legal, and political bases for the proposal and offers a Charter version. (JB)