This report documents the factors involved in the consideration of two bills by the Minnesota legislature in 1977. The first bill, designed to increase the level of state foundation aid to education, was affected by public concern over inflation and property tax rates and by the impact of enrollment decline. Lobbying efforts by organizations of…

Educational purpose, policy, and practice in America have changed in important ways since World War II. For example, there have been three time periods with different educational purposes during the last forty years. For each of these periods, there were implicit assumptions made about why we educate, how we educate and where we educate. The first…

The federal government is the primary source of funds for social research in the United States, and academic institutions are the primary focus of social research performed with federal funds. Five distinct purposes underlying federal support of academic social research and five associated funding patterns are hypothesized. Actual patterns are…

This study focuses on the political feasibility of some of the alternatives open to States for raising educational revenue and allocating funds to local school districts. Eight states -- California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Oregon -- were chosen for study, to represent a range in (1) the level of State…

The objective of this study was to explore, by means of the correlational analysis of aggregate data, the relationships between State governmental structure and education policies. More than thirty indexes were developed in the categories of (1) environmental conditions, (2) political system characteristics, and (3) policy outputs. Data from many…

An analysis of structured interviews conducted in 1973, 1979, and 1984 with state legislators and school lobbyists and 14 case studies that investigated issues in Minnesota state school policymaking reveal that influence relationships do not correspond to the bureaucratic model. Political leaders influence policymaking far more than do…

The major purpose of this discussion is to project future consequences of public education resulting from the current wave of taxpayer revolts. More specifically, a scenario for the 1980s is described that includes eight specific trends that will gain impetus from the Proposition 13 syndrome. (Author)

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…

Shrinking state funding and pressure for accountability are forcing institutions of higher education to overhaul their missions, take stock of their spending, and inevitably, reorganize themselves as they prepare for an increasingly competitive college market. Data on average state tuition increase, and appropriations to higher education are…

The 1984 legislation for public funding of Catholic schools in Ontario exposed two primary conflicting values held by different groups. An analysis of policy change in terms of value conflict, and an examination of the consequences for organizational structure and administrative practice are the themes of this paper. The context in which the…

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…

Eight perspectives on higher education are provided in essays based on papers presented at a 1982 seminar. The historical perspective is provided by Harold Perkin with attention to turning points in higher education in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Maurice Kogan considers the political view and specifically intrainstitutional issues, the…

THE EFFECTS OF POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLES ON EDUCATIONAL POLICIES OF THE 50 STATES WERE EXAMINED IN THIS DOCUMENT. UTILIZING A SYSTEMS ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK, THE AUTHOR EXPLORED NUMEROUS SYSTEMIC OUTPUTS SUCH AS PER PUPIL EXPENDITURES, PER CAPITA EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURES, AND AVERAGE TEACHER SALARY. THE PRINCIPAL FINDING OF THE…

This study examines federal aid to local school districts as it influences local priorities in relation to other sources of income. Sections deal with the basic theory of resource mobilization applied to questions of federal aid, factors influencing the latitude a school district will have in mobilizing funds, factors influencing use of federal…

The educational funding system in Massachusetts has become less equitable than before, since the passage of Proposition Two and a Half. A decision-making process driven by zero-sum economics, rather than educational needs, is particularly harmful to urban youth; failure to educate every young American threatens the nation's social and economic…