This review of some of the economical and educational dilemmas touching teacher education deals with the meaning of knowledge and the psychological requirements for the development of a knowledge base for teachers. Before teachers can play an innovating and flexible role in education they must first accept their roles themselves. The imbalances of…

An overview is given of the state of teaching materials and aids used in schools in Japan. In section I, an outline is presented of the Japanese system of providing teaching materials. Several laws and regulations regarding the provision and use of textbooks are described, including: (1) school education law; (2) law concerning the organization…

This paper discusses the politics of retrenchment in education in Manitoba, Canada, in response to public calls for government accountability. In a successful effort to enhance the system's educational objectives, Manitoba Education sustained a level of support that allowed the province's individual divisions and districts to revise their method…

This issue paper focuses on financial aspects of special education, with implications for state and local education policymakers. Background information is supplied on the mandate for free appropriate public education contained in P.L. 94-142, The Education For All Handicapped Children Act. Subsequent sections address the following topics: the…

One of the priorities of the 70's will be the preeminence of professional development for teachers already in the field. Both fiscal realities and personnel practices demand that the focus of teacher training be on inservice education. This paper considers the vital question of governance of the inservice enterprise, looking at position papers…

Presents the arguments, pro and con, on the use of the local property tax to finance the schools. A bibliography is appended. (SJL)

Identifies higher education subsidy concerns and evalutates two papers on student financial assistance in this "Economics of Education Review" issue. Faults Ehrenberg and Luzadis for not addressing the Social Security Student Benefit Progam's effect on college attendance decisions and wealth neutrality. Criticizes Schwartz's paper for…

This paper provides a state-by-state overview of the 1999 legislative sessions. It includes a comparative analysis of state school-finance legislation from 1994 through 1999, and offers the results of an analysis that examined established and emergent trends. It claims that in 1999, 563 bills on school-finance legislation were passed and signed…

This report compares elementary and secondary schools in the United States to schools in 11 other countries. It analyzes the role of schools in preparing students either to continue their education or to enter the labor force. It addresses such questions as "Are there more children in poverty in the United States than in other countries?" and…

This article analyzes education and finance in Texas. It reports that Texas spends less per pupil on education than many other states in the nation--despite a greater than 10 percent increase in state appropriations for education since 1996. There is also high variance in per-pupil expenditures from one district to the next, with some school…

California's public school system lacks the capacity to deliver on today's higher standards and expectations for all its students. Educators and policymakers believe that greater capacity will require additional funding. The more complex question, however, is, "How much funding would be adequate for California public schools?" This…

School spending decisions are made locally in California, mostly by the leaders in each school district. In making these decisions, local districts have to comply with the provisions of local collective bargaining contracts with employee unions and with state and federal regulations regarding how some money must be spent. An analysis of school…

This report examines research on education vouchers. It discusses how most studies have focused on the systems in place in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York City. Although researchers have accused each other of specious findings, some generally consistent results have arisen: families that are served by vouchers are generally low income, parents…

This article describes the past 25 years of school finance policy reforms, illustrates tensions among various value proponents, and distills commonalities of reform efforts and their effects. Speculations on the probable points of conflict for the 1980s are provided. (Author/LC)

Recent changes in the age and race composition of the population and in educational governance indicate that the public will be more receptive to educational vouchers. These changes, points of agreement and disagreement, and the history of educational vouchers are described. (CJ)