The 1996 welfare reform law--the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act--has contradictory aspects. It gives the states greatly increased fiscal flexibility and at the same time sets extensive and elaborate new behavioral requirements. The dynamics of welfare since the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935 have been…

A discussion of the future of education for language-minority students in the United States looks at proposed legislation and other government initiatives and prevailing educational reform movements. It is argued that reform in this country must begin with a change in attitudes toward and expectations of language-minority and…

When President Reagan took office in January 1981, the federal government had a four-fold function in public secondary and elementary education that included financing high-cost programs of overriding national significance and advancing the cause of civil rights throughout the nation. According to Reagan's "new federalism," the role of…

Since 1971 dramatic changes have occurred in the field of adult education, especially in competency-based adult education and life skills/adult performance level curricula. In the 1080's, adult education will have reduced federal aid. Other changes may include a return of operational authority to the states and localities, a redefinition of the…

This policy study of official efforts to develop the relationship between education and employment in the United States focuses on both the transition of youth from school to work and the education and employment system for adults. Federal legislation is overviewed, and federal programs for youth to improve the relationship of education to…

Eight papers from a one-day conference for lawyers, judges, and policy-makers discuss the effects on intergovernmental relations of the emerging body of laws, regulations, and court decisions governing federal grants and their recipients. The expanding importance of federal grants, notes an introduction to the papers, has meant both less leeway…

This paper outlines the skills and learning challenges that Canada faces to ensure it meets its skills and learning requirements for the 21st century. It proposes a series of national goals and milestones against which progress can be measured over time and reported on regularly to Canadians. Following an introduction, Sections 2-5 discuss the…

Key to the mission of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is answering fundamental questions about how a single fertilized cell eventually develops into a fully functional adult human being and how a multitude of genetic and environmental factors influence that process. This document details part of NICHD's…

The governor of Colorado believes we cannot find solutions to today's problems because we are not asking the right questions. Questions dealing with the problems of resource management, energy, the elderly, economic development, immigration policy, medical policy, and political change are raised. (IS)

Adult education in the United States is again beginning to emerge as a potentially important dimension of national policy as a way to retrain the work force to be internationally competitive. Skepticism has been expressed about what "retraining" actually means. Federal government initiatives for adult and continuing education have been few and far…

Renewed attention on educational quality is forcing educators to consider experimenting with new organizational structures for achieving public school objectives. Eight recent reports on the state of public precollegiate education in the United States address the need for better educational quality. Although the eight reports vary in emphasis,…

This policy paper explores the nature and significance of human capital development. Its intended audience includes policymakers, students and researchers, and citizens who bear the ultimate responsibility for public policy. An introductory section defines human capital broadly to include all productive capacities acquired at some cost and…

This document presents summaries of the four presentations and two panel discussions from a conference that focused on the need for schools, employment and training systems, business, foundations, and other resources to coordinate efforts to address educational and employment problems of disadvantaged youth. "Public Subsidy or Private Payroll"…

The U.S. Department of Education (DE) has initiated several planning efforts and projects geared toward the attainment of excellence in trade and industrial education (T&I). One such effort involved the formation of a task force composed of educators from the various vocational curriculum areas who were brought together to focus on the impacts…

The role of the federal government in higher education in the United States is considered in an address to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The federal government is reducing expenditures in education and seeking to limit the government's involvement in developing education policy. The federal support for higher education…