What do young black males say about what stands in the way of their academic success? Rather than rely on scholarly researchers to answer this question, the authors talked with a number of black males between ages 13 and 22 in Washington D.C., and Milwaukee, Wis., to learn what they had to say. These young men rarely talked about schools or…

Online learning, also referred to as distance education in this article, involves a variety of approaches, such as making resources available electronically and creating rich, interactive online experiences with class activities using Web tools like chat and discussion groups. Online courses offer flexibility as they may not require learners to…

Improving the quality of public education is high on the policy agenda in Washington and in state capitals throughout the country. Despite disagreement over specific policies, policymakers appear to recognize that an important element in any plan to improve educational quality is the measurement of student performance. Here, it is argued that most…

A systematic overview of major changes in Wisconsin public school policy suggested by the State's Commission on Schools for the 21st Century is provided in this paper, which is organized around the major themes of the commission's final report. A reform strategy is outlined to meet educational objectives in the following areas: outcome-oriented…

The purposes of this working paper are to analyze the changes in the family which necessitate substantial out-of-home care for Wisconsin's preschool and school-age children, and to propose a plan for action promoting high quality child care in the 1980s for these children. Section I documents changes affecting the family over the last thirty…

Thirty papers from a 1980 University of Arizona conference on higher education financing policies and the state government-college relationship are presented. Papers and authors include the following: "Higher Education Financing Policies: A Context" (Ernest Boyer); "The State Board Perspective" (William Arceneaux); "The…

Four essays are designed to provide perspective and dimension to the Stout Data Analysis and to the Business and Education Survey. The essayists who interpret the Stout and survey data represent the viewpoints of (1) business (David Horn), (2) a researcher in vocational education (Orville Nelson), (3) a vocational educator (Albert Pitts), and (4)…

This monograph is designed to serve as a vision for guiding the future of vocational education at the middle level. Chapter 1, "Understanding Early Adolescents" (Frances Smith), provides an overview of early adolescent development as a basis for developing middle-level vocational education programs. Chapter 2, "Essential Elements of…