The aim of this research was to investigate the approaches being taken by local authorities (LAs) and partner organisations to improve how young people are perceived, especially in relation to crime and antisocial behaviour. The study also looked at the challenges for and benefits of activities aiming to improve public perceptions of young people,…

"Get tough" approaches for responding to sex crimes have proliferated during the past decade. Child pornography in particular has garnered attention in recent years. Policy makers increasingly have emphasized incarceration as a response to such crime, including accessing child pornography. Juxtaposed against such efforts is a dearth of knowledge…

Working with schools and communities across the United States, the Education Commission of the States has learned that people want to express their opinions about schools in their communities. This guide was designed to help engage all sectors of the community in conversations about education. It is suggested that holding a series of meetings…

Discusses former Soviet schools' inadequacy in promoting students' political involvement. Reports that students can be grouped according to their social attitudes as (1) conformists; (2) negativists or nihilists; and (3) those with critical, creative attitudes toward majority opinion. Argues that schools can promote independent thinking by…

Arguing that quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) contributes to meeting goals that strengthen Canadians and Canadian society, this paper discusses the support found for ECEC within the nation; maintains that ECEC is a broad issue that bridges socioeconomic, ethnic, and regional divisions; and addresses the main problems and issues in…

Presents survey results on the movement to abolish corporal punishment in public education. Reports that fundamentalist Protestants are more supportive of corporal punishment than others. Predicts that religion is likely to be the route for public mobilization on this issue. Suggests that the greater punitiveness of Protestant fundamentalists…

This report for the National Academy of Engineering's Office of Public Awareness represents the second phase of an examination of public opinion about engineering and technology. This document presents an analysis of six qualitative, focused group discussions or focus groups. Five of these groups were college educated Americans and one was…

Asserts that educational research always has suffered from severe underfunding by comparison with research in the natural sciences. Argues that educational researchers have an obligation to raise the "educational literacy" of the general public. Discusses the need to improve the quality of educational research. (CFR)

This report presents an analysis of public and leadership opinion survey data about engineering and technology over the past 10-15 years. It examines public attitudes toward technology and engineering, and provides implications about views concerning specific issues related to these general subjects. The volume is organized thematically, into…