In the Federal Republic of Germany, the individual states have exclusive responsibility for publicly run education, which includes vocational schools. Responsibility for vocational training on the job rests exclusively with the federal government. The roots of vocational training are in medieval apprenticeship training and religious and industrial…

This report, one of a series on Changing Patterns of Finance in Higher Education, examines important changes in the funding for higher education in England during the 1970s and 1980s. Until the early 1970s, English universities were funded by quinquennial grants from the government through the University Grants Committee; the public sector…

An analysis of rural population growth and its economic consequences in California, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Vermont helps explain the changing conditions in rural America and indicates the direction policy should take. Despite their distance from financial centers and their low density, rural areas are generally characterized by a more…

To identify causes for low enrollment in secondary agricultural schools in Yemen, the United States Agency for International Development and the Yemen Ministry of Education surveyed 990 preparatory (junior high) students, examining their educational aspirations, differences between rural and urban youth, major influences on student aspirations,…

Developed under mandate by the Master Plan Commission, this report reviews the organization and governance of the California community colleges and offers recommendations regarding structures and processes. Part I provides an introduction to the need for the study of governance and organizational problems and offers a summary of findings drawn…

This report examines the economic impact of cultural institutions on their communities in Columbus (Ohio), Minneapolis/ St. Paul (Minnesota), St. Louis (Missouri), Salt Lake City (Utah), San Antonio (Texas), and Springfield (Illinois). For each city, tables are included which list data in the following categories: (1) audience per capita spending;…

A study was conducted to assess the purpose, design, and impact of three specific governmental policy initiatives, instituted between 1981 and 1984, upon the role and function of the 15 community colleges in British Columbia. The three policies included the introduction of a provincial model for long-range planning, the establishment of a formula…

While the federal government has always been a junior partner to state and local agencies in financing and operating public schools, the impact of federal policies on schools continues to be a topic of debate by researchers, policymakers, and the public. This paper reviews the rapidly expanding but dispersed literature on federal involvement in…

This paper presents a discussion of the Malaysian television phenomenon and associated implications for the country's politics, governance, and social development. As a background to the problems of television's adjustments and adaptations in Malaysia, difficulties and complexities of television in the west and other developing countries are…

This newsletter contains articles, policy statements, and reports of research concerning the transition from school to work as well as youth education issues, especially in the United Kingdom. This issue of the journal is organized into two parts. Part 1 contains reports on research projects on student retention in a forest farm community project,…

Section 1 of this report develops the thesis that while illiteracy is deeply entrenched in certain areas of India, it is also confined to specific pockets of the population. Recognition of this fact should be the basis, according to the author, of literacy strategy. Section 2 provides a history of the levels of priority given to adult education…

The system in the Netherlands of "privatization," a government policy of financially supporting private schools and encouraging people to use them, depends on conditions in Dutch society that are conducive to a large nongovernment, nonprofit sector. These include cultural heterogeneity, coupled with the lack of a single dominant culture…

Elements in the composition and process of higher education blue ribbon commissions that influence their effectiveness were studied. Blue ribbon commissions, which have been used as one type of statewide planning strategy, are defined here as commissions with (1) a predetermined life span; (2) authority established by the legislature and/or the…

An overview of current educational issues is offered as a background for an analysis of the status of educational research, guidelines for future research, and a general assessment of the National Institute of Education (NIE). Also included are discussions of the National Council on Educational Research's activities and NIE's study of its…

In collaboration with a county hospital and two local government planning offices, Greenfield Community College (GCC) conducted a survey of 1,200 randomly selected residents of Franklin County, Massachusetts, to obtain a demographic profile of area citizens and to identify their needs in the areas of postsecondary education, health care,…