Describes the historical relationships between the federal government and research universities, particularly with regard to scientific research. Argues that the autonomy of the research university is being undermined by the vast increases in federal funding of applied research contracts, especially those related to national defense, including the…

Reflects on the rationale for federal involvement in education (particularly on behalf of the disadvantaged), considers the Reagan Administration's efforts to diminish the federal role, discusses research on the effectiveness of federal initiatives, proposes an appropriate federal role, and examines the impact of existing legislation. (Author/PGD)

The federal government's ability to provide the services and products that the American public expects depends on the talents and skills of the federal workforce. Therefore, federal employees must undertake retraining to learn new skills. Accelerating the use of learning technology will contribute to the learning process. A federal task force on…

This paper suggests a variety of topics for the National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) to support as it reviews progress under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act 1998 (Perkins III). Section 1 covers the task most closely related to the legislation itself, which is to examine how community colleges and other…

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's retirement and his successor's selection should be the occasion for rededication to the goals of desegregation of schools and housing. The history of civil rights legislation and school desegregation is traced. Barriers to desegregation and equality should increase a Black individual's determination to…

Describes changes that must be made within and outside of the school district to achieve urban school improvement. Successful improvement must involve support from the local, state, and federal governments, parents, and local neighborhoods. Within the district, there must be changes at the district, building, and classroom levels. (SM)

Tracing the history of federal education policy in the 1960s and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) reveals shared assumptions about poverty and the government's role. These assumptions made educational reform essential to the Great Society, even though the federal commitment did not become local priority. (SLD)

Many colleges address complex problems with a single "silver bullet" strategy. Because value shifts according to the consumer's situation or goal, private colleges should become more aware of their "situational value" and exploit it. This requires an understanding of how students choose colleges. In contrast, popular silver bullets target…

This newsletter theme issue presents two separate articles: (1) "Toward More Integrated Special Education Funding and Services: A Federal Perspective" (Deborah A. Verstegen) and (2) "Toward More Integrated Special Education Funding and Services: A Local Perspective" (Margaret J. McLaughlin). The first article discusses results…

By analyzing contemporary literature, this paper posits a federal role in what is seen as a trend toward "normalizing" college faculty positions and shifting control away from state and local jurisdictions. Three factors are seen as contributing to this shift. The first is the government's role in funding the hard sciences which has, in…

The National Education Standards and Improvement Council (NESIC) was established in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. One of NESIC's duties is to identify areas in which specific educational standards ought to be developed. Several complex issues arise in carrying out this duty, such as: the need for standards in such non-content areas as…

This theme issue of "The Bookmark" provides 1991 perspectives on several library service developments, including papers by three New Yorkers who played an important role in the White House Conference on Library and Information Services: Thomas Sobol, Commissioner of Education; Robert Wedgeworth, Dean of the School of Library Service at…

This paper is intended to stimulate debate about the need for national policies of early childhood education in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by arguing that each country should have a set of policies that give early childhood education the importance it deserves as an arena for promoting human and social development. The paper reviews…

The Project on Adult Literacy was an independent, nonpartisan research effort that examined the role that the federal government has played in promoting adult literacy and the role that it should play. The project began operation in July 1988 and issued its final report in January 1989. It was discovered that the literacy problem in the United…

This national and state review provides a synthesis of current thinking and practice concerning prekindergarten programs in public schools. Section I discusses the need for preschool programs in terms of the changing family and workforce, the baby "boomlet," and socioeconomic factors. Section II reviews early childhood programs,…