Drawing from six years of qualitative research, this article analyzes the broad range of proposed and existing homeschool regulations throughout the United States. It argues that current homeschool regulations--and most proposals for how to improve them--misjudge the complexity of such an endeavor; state resources are misused and the basic…

Special education teachers working in intermediate grades and in middle school grades face many challenges as they teach both developmental reading skills and subject matter material. Not only must they deal with the increased vocabulary and domain demands of teaching informational text, they must also handle the needs of students who have not yet…

This article discusses similarities in educational trends in the United States and the United Kingdom, and criticizes the back-to-basics movements in each country. The need for further research in education and its application to the fullest development of children is suggested. (BH)

Discusses six fundamental reforms needed to improve the quality of education in this country: (1) restore discipline, (2) end drug and alcohol abuse, (3) raise academic standards, (4) encourage good teaching, (5) restore parents and state and local governments to their rightful place in the educational process, and (6) teach basics. (JOW)

The author proposes four steps to improve reading and writing skills instruction in secondary schools, in line with the call for a return to "basics" in the CBS television special "Is Anyone Out There Learning?" All articles in this journal issue comment on this television program. (SJL)

Discusses the undereducated U.S. workforce and the resulting need for workforce education. Highlights include personalized systems of instruction; individualized instructional programs; cognitive processing; prior knowledge; time on task; feedback and assessment; metacognition; motivational links; and the need for a multilayered approach to…

Recent studies indicate that the popular acceptance of linking education instrumentally to high technology leads to contradictory outcomes (for example, Sweet 1984, Rumberger and Levin 1985). Education is better directed toward the more fundamental skills of criticism and reflection on these technological changes in society. (24 references) (CJH)

This Opportunity 08 position paper advises that the next President of the United States should focus on lifting the achievement levels of our nation's schoolchildren. It recommends that the new President should mount a determined effort, together with states and local school districts, to boost the academic performance of low achievers by: (1)…

Essay on educating children for the 21st century discusses lifelong learning, fundamental skill development, topics future-oriented curriculums should include, and educational trends. Agencies specializing in various aspects of the future are listed in teaching resource guide. Instructional materials including software, learning kits, books, and…

Discusses decision making and politics in teacher education. In Papua New Guinea, poor command of the English language led to implementation of an intensive, controversial program in teacher education colleges. The article presents comments on teacher education, language, and competency testing in England, Wales, Brazil, Canada, and the United…

This paper explores the issue of establishing and evaluating objectives for local career education programs. It presents a perspective on the state of the art based on reviews of the literature. Although it is addressed principally to local program developers and managers, the paper is also aimed at state career education coordinators. After a…

American society is based on work. The industrial revolution exposed a growing proportion of the population to unemployment, underemployment, and dislocation. Early theoreticians believed that unemployment was a temporary labor market imbalance that would correct itself with downward wage adjustments. John Maynard Keynes, on the other hand, argued…

Today, this country is facing awesome challenges. Technology is changing all aspects of life, while work force requirements shift rapidly, swelling the numbers of workers who need to be retrained. At the same time, information technologies are creating changes in the automated office. Higher-level literacy is required for most workers in this…

The relationship between literacy, numeracy, and employability was examined by analyzing data on basic skills that were collected in two of Great Britain's birth cohort studies--the National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study. The functional literacy and numeracy skills of samples of 10% of the participants in each study…