Case study focuses on origin and development of Metro-East Education Task Force, regional school/community effort to improve education in two-county region of Illinois. Primary goal is to develop relationships between/among schools, businesses, other community agencies. Tables show what businesses and social agencies were doing in cooperation with…

In the studies described, focus groups were conducted with recreation administrators, special-interest groups, and the general public to determine needs and opinions about recreation and leisure activities. The ways in which the groups elicited information about the needs, language, and history of the community are discussed. (SLD)

Assesses distributive effects of state subsidies to undergraduate education in Illinois public universities and community colleges during 1989. The existing system of public subsidy to undergraduate education favors lower- and middle-income groups earning less than $40,000 yearly. Middle-income groups are major beneficiaries of community colleges.…

Economic and demographic changes are dramatically increasing the need for adult education, basic literacy, and English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) programs. Millions of Illinois residents lack the level of literacy skills needed to obtain good jobs, perform well on the job, and function well in an increasingly complex society. Addressing the scope…

Results of the Black Metropolis Model (BMM) of service learning are analyzed and illustrated in this article to explain how to "put the learning in service learning." There are many soup kitchens or nontransforming models of service learning where students are asked to serve needy populations but internalize and learn little about the…

Five trends are emerging that will not only change the role of human capital in the United States but will also challenge the legacy system of workforce development, skills and competency-focused institutions, and assuredly, community colleges. Workforce investment boards, for example, are currently geographically constrained in environments that…

The 12 states comprising the North Central Region have been affected in similar ways by the farm crisis of the 1980s. Statewide surveys show sizeable proportions of farm operations that are experiencing moderately high levels of financial stress. The problems caused by chronic stress on family structure and functioning, the loss of mainstreet…

This volume attempts to document ways in which several communities have dealt with the problems of declining school enrollments. Each case study outlines some type of public participation in the task of adjusting to population changes and fiscal pressures. The first chapter supplies an introductory overview of issues related to declining…

A unit cost analysis for fiscal year (FY) 1979 was conducted by the Illinois Community College Board using mid-term enrollment data and uniform accounting information from each of the state's 51 community colleges. Unit costs for instructional areas were determined at three incremental levels: (1) net instructional cost (NIC), which includes…

Speeches and reports from participants at a two-day conference on voluntarism in adult education are presented. One major program goal was to explore the possibility of stimulating growth and development of service voluntary efforts in Northern Illinois. Special conference concerns included the use of volunteers in adult basic education, general…

This report contains focus statements and priorities statements from 11 public universities in Illinois: Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, Southern Illinois University at…

A variety of articles about family literacy efforts in Illinois is provided in this special report prepared by the Illinois State Library, intended for librarians, adult educators, teachers, and family literacy practitioners. Articles contained in the report are: "Family Literacy: A Definition" (Cyndy Colletti); "Why We Need Family…

Illinois law that pertains to public building accessibility for the physically handicapped is being enforced in Illinois through the initiation and development of 22 Project Break-Thru groups at the local level. (EA)

In this monograph, technical jargon is avoided and a variation is described from the common approaches to evaluation that emphasize experimental design and pretesting and post-testing. In this variation the emphasis is upon the processes and procedures of the bilingual programs in Illinois and information is obtained by visiting teams, hence the…

A survey questionnaire was sent to speech instructors at 55 public and private community and junior colleges in Illinois to determine the status of small group discussion instruction and curricula. In addition, careful examination was given to course catalogs and general sources that have a direct relationship to the community and junior colleges…