This volume consists of a report of the President concerning the state of small businesses as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration annual report on small business and competition. Addressed in the President's report are the following issues: the role of small business in the economy; the foundations of small business policy; and problems…

Isolation, the legal status of Indian tribes, and structural barriers impede full participation in the educational process by Native American Indians and thus create a time lag between the adoption of the best educational practices in schools serving Indian students and the adoption of those practices in other schools. While physical isolation is…

To project the effects of population change on vocational/technical education, a project surveyed the literature (1977-79) on the futures of general and vocational education and on the effects of declining enrollment and applied these concepts and projections to the field of vocational/technical education. Vocational/technical education seemed…

This report focuses on a study that examined whether the implementation of the sex equity provision of the 1976 Vocational Education Amendments has resulted in equitable access to and benefit from the nation's vocational education system by women and men, girls and boys. The study focused on such issues as funding mechanisms; federal and state…

With the passage of the Schools of Education Assistance Act as part of the reauthorized Higher Education Act, institutions of teacher education have a long awaited federal mandate for their own redesign and redirection. This legislation provides a principle: that schools, colleges, and departments of education represent a valuable resource for the…

As the decision in the Bakke case drew near, Chicanos addressed the question of what they and higher education could do to insure increased minority admissions into graduate and professional schools. Commonly suggested proposals of changing formal admissions criteria and direct intervention by the law and government often cause more problems than…

States must ensure that all citizens, regardless of race, have real opportunities to gain the education and skills needed to achieve the American Dream. If state policies, especially economic policies, fail to acknowledge the growing numbers of poor Black undereducated and unskilled urban youth, that dream of equal opportunity will continue to be…

The Holmes Group report and the Carnegie Task Force report concur on the American problem of decreasing standards for entry into teaching during times of teacher shortage. This article compares and contrasts the two reports, refers to similar proposals, and raises issues not covered in either report. Four footnotes are appended. (IW)

Most female workers in developing countries do not have wage jobs. However, the preponderance of female workers in non-wage jobs is not consistent across all developing countries. It is highly likely that the proportion of non-wage female workers in developing countries is greater than is suggested by the statistics. Consequently, mothers in the…

To ensure that school districts and schools meet acceptable performance levels, many school districts and states have enacted various accountability policies. Two of the most controversial approaches to accountability are reconstitutions of schools and state takeovers of school districts and schools. For each approach, this policy brief presents…

Keeping the existing information technology (IT) workforce viable and rapidly increasing the number of these workers presents a United States public policy workforce development (WD) challenge at all government levels. Public policy human capital investments have been undertaken to address the IT workforce supply and demand mismatch. States seem…

In autumn 2001, the United Kingdom's (UK's) government published the following key documents concerning workforce development: (1) "In Demand: Adult Skills in the 21st Century"; (2) "The UK Productivity Challenge"; and (3) "Building a Stronger, Fairer Britain in an Uncertain World." Key positions and policies included…

This study is designed to improve understanding of the supply of and demand for information technology (IT) workers in America and contextual issues surrounding that topic. Chapter 1 examines aspects of the political context concerning IT workforce issues. Chapter 2 outlines a way to distinguish IT workers from a much larger class of workers whose…

Considers the problematic nature of the role of the state in developing nations' education, specifically Latin American education. Analyzes several major challenges: (1) reconciling bureaucratic efficiency with educational equity; (2) allocating dwindling resources to ensure both basic adult education and higher education capable of producing…

Examines several recent decisions of the more conservative and constructionist Rehnquist Supreme Court. Discusses those judgements that challenge the regulatory power of the federal government. In separate cases concerning mandatory retirement of state judges and regulating toxic waste clean-up, the high court ruled in favor of state control. (MJP)