Accountants have urged "harmonization" of standards between the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board, recommending similar reporting of like transactions. However, varying display of similar accounting events does not necessarily indicate disharmony. The potential for problems because of…

Presents and evaluates the National Education Association's for-pay software review program. Also reviews the 98th Congress's legislation relating to school software. (MD)

Personal rights have been targeted by the Supreme Court, executive branch, Congress, state and local governments, private pressure groups, and the public. All are looking for quick solutions to society's problems. Current threats to academic and artistic expression are substantial, but some free speech advocates are still willing to meet the…

This issue brief examines how policies and programs for children and families are changing. It focuses on specific trends in human services, health care, economic development, youth development, and education and describes the implications of these changes for educators and school-community partnerships, paying special attention to the role that…

Despite Hong Kong and Macau's cultural, economic, and political similarities, their higher education systems differ. Hong Kong has a well-established system and tradition of government control. Macau's system is smaller, younger, and began as a private enterprise. Trends in government financing, policies, and student loans are bringing the systems…

Middle school curriculum development in the Netherlands is following two divergent paths, and the central government should bring about unification. This paper describes change in administrative dominance of curriculum and management of curriculum programs since 1975, analyzes outcomes, and recommends unification. After program initiation,…

The current pattern of higher education funding in India is examined, and desirability and feasibility of several alternative funding methods are discussed. It is argued that, in view of resource constraints and equity considerations, wholly public funding is not appropriate and that a mix of support sources should be used. (Author/MSE)

A strengthened student aid partnership between the federal and state governments and colleges needs to use existing funds more efficiently, regulate how students receive aid more effectively, and delineate the rights and responsibilities of each of the major partners more adequately. Better cooperation would benefit taxpayers, institutions, and…

This document analyzes the Romanian education system since the political changes of 1989. The objectives of the report are: (1) the analysis of the education condition, insisting on the obstructions that prevent the starting of the reform itself; (2) the analysis of the main developments in the educational system in the first three ears of the…

Recent research demonstrates that many countries are asking similar policy questions about financing higher education and answering them in very different ways. No government seems entirely satisfied with current methods of sharing higher education costs, and many are simultaneously introducing changes in their institutional funding and student…

Discusses changes implemented in Italian higher education during the last 10 years to bring it into line with other European systems. Main changes included the introduction of short-cycle courses, changes in the mechanism related to public financing of universities, greater pedagogical self-regulation, and establishment of a system of periodical…

The purpose of this volume is to provide or identify the major sources of information used by the National Science Board Committee in preparing its report: Four public hearings were conducted and testimony received from knowledgeable leaders in higher education, the scientific community, industry, and government. This volume is principally a…

Title IV-B of the Social Security Act authorizes federal funding for services to help families address problems leading to child abuse and neglect and prevent unnecessary separation of children from their families. Subpart 1 of Title IV-B provides funds for almost any child welfare activity, but has statutory limits on foster care maintenance and…

New Jersey is strengthening its high-technology economy by encouraging technology transfer through supporting advanced technology centers, funding academic researchers for technical problems of immediate industry interest and application, and forming other, less-structured alliances. Better interaction between the state's research community and…

Explores quality-assurance mechanisms for higher education and their use as a government policy instrument. Outlines several national or system-level approaches adopted worldwide; reviews an Australian quality-assurance program conducted from 1993 to 1995 and its successor program; and comments on ways in which the government used quality…