The project described in this paper was designed to test specific ways of improving the dissemination of school finance information in two big city school districts (St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri), in order to enable them to compete more effectively for State aid. Part I presents the political and fiscal environment in which Kansas City and…

State budgeting for higher education is a complex, multifacted process which is influenced by conditions outside both state government and higher education including the historical traditions, political culture, economic and demographic aspects of a state. Noted is the need of higher education to compete with other policy areas for resources and…

The results of three week-long seminars attended by the decennial Academic Administration Internship Program class are presented in digest form. Major themes in higher education were surveyed to help the fellows establish agendas, and emphasis was narrowed to permit concentration on fiscal matters and statewide coordination, as well as higher…

While Colorado politics is in a state of flux, education has consistently maintained a position of prime importance and concern in the State. Public elementary and second education in Colorado is the most expensive governmental service provided by State and local government. This report examines Colorado's socioeconomic and political conditions…

Successes and failures in Polish higher education reform since the fall of communism are outlined. Successes include legal support for reform, access to higher education, new schools, international collaboration, enhancement of academic careers. Problems include inadequate structure for science, little structural change in higher education,…

Describes the terms and benefits of the 1889 Welsh Intermediate and Technical Act. Regards the Act as a victory for the Welsh middle class and Nonconformists because it produced a secondary school system free from Church of England influence and recognized Welsh national identity. Notes that the Act emphasized equal education for girls. (CH)

The current state of education in Russia strongly correlates with the socioeconomic crisis, which negatively impacts education. Responsibility for education falls to the state and other social institutions, which form a system of education. The many laws, decrees, and rules about education have had little impact on practice. School democratization…

This document presents findings of an independent committee that was organized by the Twentieth Century Fund to study the Federal role in shaping educational policy, and includes the comprehensive background paper (prepared by Paul E. Peterson) on which the task force discussions were based. The report describes current problems in elementary and…

Foundation involvement in policy development for public education raises basic questions concerning the control of a prime societal function. During the Cold War era (1945-1970) the Carnegie Corporation of New York funded projects according to its philosophical interests, using its financial and organizational prominence and cooperative strategies…

The rhetoric of the community colleges presents them as democratizing agents, enabling the underprivileged to move upward in society through education. While this is their purpose, the community colleges also aspire to gain acceptance as regular members of the system of higher education. In Connecticut, the image of the community colleges suffers…

This book closely examines the functioning of the Education Committee of the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention. As an administrative assistant to the committee throughout the convention, the author was able to gather detailed information about the committee's activities through personal observation and interviews with committee members.…

An important question about school financing is the possible financial consequences of school systems varying along a continuum from more to less political. This variation is "political relatedness," which is measured here with already available data from published sources. The impact of this political relatedness compared with other classes of…

China's plans for higher education change include awarding scholarships for merit and charging tuition, increased local government responsibility for providing education, increased institutional autonomy in hiring, greater student curriculum choices, university training for industrial workers, and practical courses for humanities students. (MSE)

A survey commissioned by the National Education Association studied how state legislators, especially those in leadership positions, view the current landscape for higher education in their states. The findings are based on in-depth, one-on-one telephone interviews conducted from July 2000 through February 2001 with 64 house and senate education…

After two decades of increase, state funding for higher education is drying up because of inflation and declining state revenues due to recession. States need to reemphasize the importance of higher education. Political action may be the way to reverse the downward trend in state financing of higher education. (MLW)