Three plans for reforming the financing of students wishing to attend college, therefore improving college affordability, are outlined: (1) improving the college loan system; (2) mitigating high tuition with high student aid; and (3) making comprehensive changes at all levels of the college finance system (the Plan of the National Commission on…

Discusses the portability of computer-related media in international distance education. Factors that influence portability of educational media are considered, current and potential applications in both developed and developing countries are described, and strategies to plan for portability are suggested that include political, social, and…

Explores the individual-level relationship of return migrant status to employment outcomes, taking into account local and regional factors such as the Puerto Rican level of employment. Findings using 1970 and 1980 Census data support a negative influence of return migrant status. Mediating factors are discussed. (SLD)

Analyzes the complex interaction between economic, political, and cultural variables demonstrating how the Choctaw Nation, in the southeastern Oklahoma timber region, has become a politically dependent labor force alienated from its land resources. Discusses benefits of Choctaw economic initiatives as well as potential moral and cultural costs of…

Examines the first 30 years of school medical services in one English local education authority against the background of social and educational legislation, the first world war, political and economic uncertainties of the interwar decades, and changing public opinion. Details the rise in importance of school medical officers in this period. (DSK)

Discusses cultural dynamics shaping relationships between universities and urban black communities, arguing that universities are responsible for addressing inner-city problems. However, cultural differences impede social relationships between colleges and urban communities. Constructs a framework for exploring impeding factors. Links the renewed…

The Great Leap Forward disaster, characterized by a collapse in grain production and a widespread famine in China between 1959 and 1961, is found attributable to a systemic failure in central planning. Wishfully expecting a great leap in agricultural productivity from collectivization, the Chinese government accelerated its aggressive…

In this article, the author looks closely at the recent history of the East African coast and the Swahili people who live there. In doing so he hopes to highlight the inadequacy of the area studies/continentalist approach to studying and teaching the Swahili and to propose a different way of considering their past. His contention is that one can…

It is argued that both economic concerns and political factors can be synthesized within a new framework to improve city policymaking. This approach is based on a systematic empirical study of policymaking in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) and Baltimore (Maryland) in the 1970s and early 1980s. Numerous government documents and extensive interviews with…

Rather than describing shortcomings of educational planning or proposing new techniques, this paper draws on a 25th anniversary International Institute for Educational Planning seminar to show why planning is more dispensable than ever. Planning units should be strengthened and enabled to collect and analyze data, help detect major trends and…

This paper discusses economic, social, and political trends and values/beliefs that will affect the quality of life of persons with developmental disabilities and their families to the year 2000. The paper describes four plausible future scenarios: "America Revitalized"; "Post-Industrial Reformation"; "The Stressed Society"; and "The…

Federal involvement in higher education during 1950-1983 is reviewed. Policies and programs that have governed federal support of academic science and higher education are considered, particularly support for basic scientific research. The Soviet's success with Sputnik promoted change from modest funding for defense-related research at selected…

Factors that influence college admissions and articulation are considered, based on testimony of the admissions director of Prairie View A&M University, Texas. The following concerns are addressed: the rationale behind college admissions at a small, rural four-year college serving a predominantly black student population; societal, political,…

The progress of the indicators project of the U.S. Department of Education is reported as a follow-up to a 1985 Department of Education publication, "Indicators of Education Status and Trends," which attempted to identify those items that could be considered as significant indices of the health of education in the United States. In…

Economic and social factors that affect young people's sense of obligation for community service are identified, along with the influence schools and government can exert on students. The recent management of the American political economy has given young people concern for their own survival. College students who will graduate during the 1980s…