This position paper examines the current Head Start training and technical assistance (TTA) system and proposes specific improvements. These include the creation of regional TTA offices, the use of satellite and interactive communications technology, and a reevaluation of the role of teaching centers, national training contracts, and Head Start…

The relationship between international knowledge exchange and the international exchange of persons, particularly through and to higher education systems, is examined. Higher education policy is discussed as one case of international knowledge exchange. Attention is directed to the following policy areas: immigration policy (particularly the…

This paper assesses federal legislation and programs affecting education for children with disabilities. The enactment of Public Law 94-142 sought to ensure that every handicapped child aged 5-18, and later 3-21, receive appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Studies support the importance of early intervention programs…

Describes staff roles in federally funded technical assistance agencies (TAAs) for promoting sex equity in schools, through implementation of Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments. Examines congruences between these roles and clients' expectations, barriers to adopting TAA roles supportive of sex equity, and ways to improve TAA staff…

The Better Care for the Babies (BCTB) Project was initiated in April 1989 to help states improve the quality of infant and toddler child care, especially for low-income children whose parents are in the labor force and/or making the transition from welfare to work. The BCTB Project initiated ongoing, negotiated, goal-directed technical assistance…

Suggestions for a new role for the Department of Education's regional offices should reflect the new goals and purposes of federal services to education as well as the needs of regional education clients. The U.S. Congress set 7 purposes when it created the Department of Education, and present Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell established 12…

In the six-state region of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 182 counties have been identified as having an agriculturally based economy. Characteristics of these counties have been identified using data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Agriculturally based counties have lost…

A joint research project of the psychology departments of the University of Newcastle (Australia) and National University of Malawi has addressed common national issues, producing practical recommendations concerning community development, stress management, and poverty reduction that apply to both countries. In addition to development through…

The idea that food should be a universally accepted human right has been the focus of worldwide attention aimed primarily at increasing production at the national level and on reducing price fluctuations in world markets. However, the problem of individual human needs must be simultaneously addressed. The largest number of hungry people live in…

If schools are to respond successfully to increased accountability requirements, they must find ways to address non-cognitive factors that can impede student learning. Findings from a study of school districts along the U.S.-Mexico border show educators grappling with the impact of poverty and poor health on students' readiness to learn. These…

Presented is a brief written in response to a government discussion paper on competitiveness and security in Canada's international relations. The brief emphasizes that the universities must play a vital role in the development and pursuit of foreign policy and that the knowledge on which the nation's social and economic development increasingly…

Attempts, most unsuccessful, to reform India's university examination system are chronicled, including curriculum reform, increased frequency of public examinations, introduction of internal assessment, development of item banks, changeover to a grading system, shift to semesters, improved administration, and creation of autonomous colleges. The…

As new European Community (EC) objectives become prominent in the coming years, vocational training policy will assume increasing importance. The socioeconomic context of the 1990s will be characterized by an accelerating pace of change and the growing role of intangible capital. New forms of work organization with new requirements for…

The United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971 as a result of the suport of the most broadly based coalition assembled since enactment of the major social legislation of the early 1960s. Nevertheless, on December 9, 1971, President Nixon vetoed the legislation, contending that "neither the immediate need nor the…

Federal legislation to improve education passed in 1994 is reviewed and two major bills are discussed in greater detail. Emphasis is on the legislation's provisions for improvement of educational standards and access to improved education for all students, especially the disadvantaged. An introductory section highlights the provisions of three…