Policies restricting bilingual education have yielded to policy frameworks touting its benefits. This shift corresponds with evolving lines of debate, focusing now on "how" bilingual education can best support racialized bilingual learners. One element of this new debate is the perspective on language underlying curriculum in bilingual…

In this article, the authors review the antecedents, analyze the evolution, and draw recommendations for educational policies in the regions of California and Catalonia over the last 50 years, especially regarding bilingual education. This analysis is necessary due to the size, representativity, precociousness, and success of bilingual policies…

Home education support groups and associations are increasingly becoming hubs for home learning communities to share resources and knowledge. This literature review examined (a) motivations for joining homeschool groups; (b) values and beliefs that led to the formation of homeschool groups; and (c) how the culture of homeschool groups aids in…

Although competency-based education (CBE) has existed since the early 1970s adult-focused degree programs, interest in CBE has spiked in recent years due to the increased attention on higher education affordability and accountability. This article reviews the extant literature on CBE to address the following questions: (a) What are the definitions…

The literature addressing how family and community involvement impacts a culture of college and career readiness suggests there is a positive association for certain types of involvement. Providing support and encouragement, as well as assisting with planning, increases the probability of attending and graduating from college. Key points include:…

In 2007, the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI) was launched in California's 109 (now 110) community colleges. This initiative responds to an increasing awareness that state policies favoring "open access" also result in the enrollment of large numbers of students who are underprepared to succeed in college-level work. Identified as a key…

Reports of three groups studying California's higher education system are discussed, focusing on emerging ideas about the role of education in a pluralistic society. The groups include a state commission of business and community leaders and governing board members, California legislators, and an Organization for Economic Cooperation and…

This report describes how California is providing direct intervention to improve structures and processes in districts, which is intended over time to improve curriculum, instruction, and student achievement at the school level. For districts subject to federal Corrective Action under NCLB, California's approach is "top down" in that…

Designed to keep educational practitioners informed of current trends and practices, this policy brief explores the changing identity of the nation's community colleges and presents four special inserts describing specific trends for the community college systems of California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, respectively. The brief reviews the…

This report discusses a plan for more effective use of new technologies in California higher education, including their coordination, financing, quality control, and incentives. The report begins with an examination of the potential that new technology has for revitalizing educational practices and alleviating some of education's persistent…

State programs offer greatest promise for practical strategic actions to enhance the quality of the nation's adult work force. Three steps in the recursive process that create a model of state action are as follows: (1) documentation of the platform for action, which consists of current adult work force attributes and current institutional…

This paper was prepared to provide background information for use by a committee on adult literacy, composed of superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, teachers, school board members, curriculum specialists, business leaders, individuals from higher education, legislators, and legislative staff. The purpose was to highlight…

This four-part report examines the management of retrenchment at six representative Southern California community colleges and two community college districts: Victor Valley College, Mount San Jacinto College, Citrus College, Chaffey College, Mount San Antonio College, Riverside City College, the San Bernardino Community College District, and the…

The state of California faces trends which will significantly shape higher education in the coming century and which require public debate and decision in the near future. The trends are enrollment growth coupled with continued slow economic growth with consequent low appropriations for education. A study by the National Center for Higher…

Developed under mandate by the Master Plan Commission, this report reviews the organization and governance of the California community colleges and offers recommendations regarding structures and processes. Part I provides an introduction to the need for the study of governance and organizational problems and offers a summary of findings drawn…