In view of the national attention that has recently been brought to public school improvement, a list of suggestions is presented in the form of leading questions to guide communities in assessing the quality of their local schools and in promoting beneficial change. The evaluative questions touch on a wide range of issues: school financing…

Noting that access to higher education has expanded dramatically in the past several decades, Sara Goldrick-Rab and Kia Sorensen focus on how unmarried parents fare once they enter college. Contrary to the expectation that access to college consistently promotes family stability and economic security, the authors argue that deficiencies in current…

A parent recounts the process leading to placement of her severely retarded and cerebral palsied son in a residential situation using Community Training Homes, a foster home program in Connecticut. (DB)

This document provides nine papers presented at a 2-day conference where representatives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) described the future of space exploration and discussed the implications of that future for educators. The proceedings begins with an introduction by Ralph Winrich, NASA Aerospace Education…

Parents need information about the range of community resources and services available to them as soon as they learn their child has a disability. Schools must take a more active role in directing parents to community resources. (Author/CB)

This booklet is a collection of stories by people who have facilitated Personal Futures Planning groups. The groups provide an individualized, structured approach to life planning for people with developmental or other disabilities and have been implemented since 1988 in Minnesota. Introductory material describes the process, which starts when a…

A set of principles that focus on issues concerning implementation of a successful dropout prevention program is presented by a consortium of national educational organizations. The key elements of this "blueprint" consider local adaptations and effective results among various programs. The booklet discusses seven principles for dropout…

This report is the second to appear in a series of studies carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) during the past 5 years. The first report concerned the integration of handicapped young people into ordinary schools. The present report deals with what happens…

Aided by a 21-member Elementary Education Study Group, the Secretary of Education has prepared the first comprehensive report on elementary education in the United States in more than three decades. The report finds America's elementary schools in pretty good shape, and states that they do their job especially well in the early grades, only…

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations from the Children's Policy Project, which examined the child welfare system in Illinois. The report: (1) outlines the project's findings about the difficulties faced by existing child welfare services; (2) proposes ways to improve existing arrangements; (3) examines the fundamental problems…

This book explores factors that contribute to antisocial behavior among students and reviews the literature on preventing and responding to antisocial behavior. Chapter 1, "A Culture of Violence," links the widespread perception that school violence is increasing to a broader culture of violence. Schools are increasingly turning to…

In 1994 the Carnegie Corporation of New York convened the Carnegie Task Force on Learning in the Primary Grades to examine all the forces that contribute to children's learning and development during the age span from 3 to 10. The 33-member group of business and political leaders, scientists, educators, researchers, and practitioners conducted…

This pamphlet presents the Executive Summary of the Report of the Carnegie Task Force on Learning in the Primary Grades. Results depict a pervasive pattern of underachievement for millions of U.S. children. The document outlines nine principles of effective practice for all institutions key to children's learning, and calls on these institutions…

This book speaks to three challenges that face higher education in its quest to redefine the academic community: (1) beliefs about ourselves, our circumstances, our relationships, and our problems; (2) beliefs about personal and organizational change; and (3) beliefs about academic life, about reform and revolution, competition and cooperation,…