People classified as "cultural familial retarded" form a segment of the U.S. population that is easily overlooked by society, yet constitutes a growing problem. Individuals with this inherited form of mental retardation (estimated to number in excess of 5 million) are reared in a culturally inferior milieu and have a need for life-long social…

State advisory councils have been established by Congress to serve as an instrument for developing systematic, effective communications linkages between the world of education and the world of work. They are also intended to serve as advisors and independent evaluators of vocational education programs and to report their findings to appropriate…

This paper reports the results of a study of the implementation of multicultural education policy initiatives in Australia. An outline of the study's methods follows brief discussions of the emergence of multicultural education as a policy issue and the context of multicultural education in Australia. To assess the impact of multicultural…

This study focused on the implementation of "top-down" California state-initiated reform in secondary schools and the impact of that process on several outcomes: student academic achievement and the capacity of the organization to carry out ongoing reform. The research was part of a broader study of secondary school reform and how the…

Within the context of the reauthorization of the Vocational Education Act of 1963, as amended, the predominant issues for vocational education in the eighties will be refined into policies. Central issues related to reauthorization and to the larger picture of the future of vocational education can be generally grouped into four broad categories:…

Demands made by the feminist movement in the 1960s are examined, with particular emphasis on influences of the black civil rights movement on these demands. It is suggested that the black civil rights movement encouraged women to demand an end to institutional discrimination in matters of sex as well as race, push for sex discrimination amendments…

Rural conditions influence the implementation and effect of vocational education policies dealing with funding, accessibility, economics, and local values. By law funding formulas must consider two criteria: relative district wealth, often determined by property values, which have a low correlation to median family income; and concentration of…

The current status of and future prospects for the nation's children and their families are discussed in this progress report by the director of the Office of Child Development. Successes of the Head Start program are noted, with particular mention of the parent involvement component. Other early intervention programs are cited, many of which…

Papers included are: (1) Presidential Address, (2) Challenges to Early Childhood Educators, (3) The Home Start Program in the U.S.A., (4) Early Childhood Training Programs, (5) Initiatives being Taken in Early Childhood Education Field by the Australian Government, (6) Audiovisual Materials for Parents' Discussion Groups, (7) The Role of the Adult…

Interviews on the quality of day care in the United States are presented in this transcript of a program broadcast in the National Public Radio weekly series, "Options in Education." Writers, day care center personnel and others describe and evaluate the current situation. Federal legislation concerning children is examined, and…

Ways in which pluralistic communities can exist in peace and harmony through consent rather than force are discussed. Historical and sociological determinants, which should be considered when coexistence is sought, are politics, color, religion, nationalism, national aspirations, language, employment, and educational systems. Problems which arise…

This report to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child contains observations of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) concerning the application of the Convention by Turkey and observations regarding violence against girls in Turkey. The report is presented in three major parts. Part 1 asserts that despite the considerable…

This paper explores the potential pitfalls associated with the new federal accountability role precipitated by the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. The paper presents worst-case scenarios with the assumption that it is worthwhile to consider the potential for unanticipated consequences so as to avoid problems before they occur. After…

The Industrialized Needs study identified the perceptions of Malaysian educators and employers regarding the role of vocational and technical education (VTE) in the economic development of Malaysia. The first survey used a random sample of 300 (276 responses) from the population of 4,316 VTE educators in public VT schools and polytechnics in…

Challenges to civil rights and affirmative action in the 1990s are identified. Five cases of racial, sex, ethnic, and reverse discrimination behind the Civil Rights bills of 1990 and 1991 are discussed. The ultimate challenge is to demonstrate that if civil rights litigants win, others need not lose. (SLD)