The need for adult education programs and services is great, yet federal and state funding and enrollment have declined. This reality means that the field is burdened to protect what federal dollars still exist. One approach to address these funding challenges is to engage students in making the case to funders and policy makers for addressing…

Several states, including Arizona, have enacted English-only legislation, within the past decade, impacting the schooling of students who are identified as English language learner (ELLS). As a result, ELLS in Arizona are assigned to a prescriptive program--apart from their fluent English-speaking peers--for 4 h a day, during a time "not…

The article discusses a legislation that would effectively terminate Mexican American Studies programs in k-12 was passed in Arizona in 2010. In this article, the author traces how this legislation drew from discourses of anti-Americanism and wickedness initiated by the state's superintendent of public instruction against Mexican American Studies…

The economic meltdown has hit U.S. college campuses, and higher education is on the chopping block in state budgets, with cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars already approved and hundreds of millions in more cuts on the way. As veteran legislators, the authors have seen this story play out before in previous recessions. The mindset on…

This article profiles Jacqueline Thrasher, a longtime elementary instrumental music teacher from Phoenix who was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in November 2006. She is currently band and orchestra director at Lookout Mountain Elementary School. When asked about her new life representing District 10, Representative Thrasher makes…

While there has been an increase in the number of women elected to state legislatures, little is known about the impact of gender on state legislation. A longitudinal analysis was conducted of bills proposed by individual legislators in the Arizona State Legislature between 1969 and 1986 to investigate the relationship of gender to public policy…

Describes a research project conducted by twelfth grade students in American government classes. States that the project's objectives are to have students become aware of the approachability of legislators and to realize that input from informed citizens is central to the democratic process. (RDS)

Results of a survey of public attitudes toward the activities conducted by Arizona's three public universities are presented, with a focus on the total Arizona university system rather than individual institutions. Priorities were assigned to the activities conducted by the three universities by all Arizona legislators and trustees, and random…

The Arizona state legislature met from November 1979 to April 1980 for the sole purpose of restructuring and codifying rules that define school financial policy and reforming tax structures that support educational institutions. This case study investigated the role of special interest groups in shaping state educational policy at that session.…

Events leading to the passage in 1984 of Arizona's bilingual education law are examined using interviews with policy elite and concepts developed by D. E. Mitchell and others (1985) for studying distinctive cultures of state educational policymaking. Passage of a mandatory or more comprehensive law was not likely. (SLD)

Individual members of state legislatures wield the greatest influence in state level policy formation. This was one of the findings of a study that identified the power and influence context of state-level policymaking. Data were gathered from six states (Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois) using an instrument…

A study was undertaken to define the missions of Arizona's community colleges in specific operational terms and to assess the support provided for these missions by the various constituencies of the community colleges. A survey instrument, consisting of 60 activity statements, was developed and administered to 4,000 individuals including all state…

A study was conducted in 1981 by the State Board of Directors for Arizona Community Colleges to define the missions of the colleges in specific operational terms and to assess the support for these missions by the colleges' constituencies. Specifically, the study sought to determine the services, clientele, and purposes of specific college…

Institutional effectiveness can be defined as the extent to which internal priorities coincide with the priorities of the external groups that provide funding and support for the institution. If a lack of congruence exists between these priorities, a college administrator has the options of attempting to change the values of the external groups or…