This study of school districts in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas is part of a larger study entitled, "School District Organization for Missouri" (ED 026 171). After a discussion of political, social, and economic factors affecting schools in most metropolitan areas, the paper focuses on Kansas City and St. Louis, where gross…

Although elementary-secondary and higher education have traditionally been treated as separate objects of political action, various pressures are bringing this arbitrary division into question. In an effort to understand how these two levels of education interact in the political educational arena in different States, the Education Commission of…

The first chapter of this book describes the physical and cultural environment of Central America and includes analytical comments showing the complexity of the problems confronting the region. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama are then treated in separate chapters including: 1) political, economic, social and…

Describes the impact in Colorado of the shift from categorical federal aid to block grants under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act. Covers Colorado education's demographic, socioeconomic, and political context; variations in program impact among school districts; the shift's effects on redistribution of federal aid; and selected…

Voters in California will vote June 2, 1998 to decide the fate of Proposition 227, a measure proposed by businessman Ron Unz that would substantially change the way that students who are not proficient in English are taught. If approved by the voters, Proposition 227, the Unz Initiative, would essentially eliminate bilingual education programs in…

Presents a scathing review of supply-side economics and its effect on social programs. Argues that the Reagan administration purposefully incurred massive government debt in order to justify reducing social spending. Maintains that Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney followed a similar course. Includes trenchant criticism of Canada's public…

Discussion of European funding models for higher education looks first at different funding mechanisms used in several countries, with particular attention to formula funding and its increasing use. Institutional responses to differing financial and planning environments are noted, particularly when circumstances produce unwanted outcomes.…

Current conditions at U.S. colleges and universities are discussed. Consideration is given to the nature of special interests and factions in American society and the system-wide influences of corporate power, militarization, racism, sexism, and overquantification as they pertain to higher education. The internal and external governance of…

This book traces the process by which the British government's formal commitment to increasing access to higher education and expanding continuing education has gone hand in hand with severe cuts in extramural departments, insistence on self-financing, and emphasis on vocational training for regeneration, at the expense of liberal education for…

An overview of the process of university participation in state politics is provided, including the way in which a university interacts with the governor's office and the way it competes with other universities and other agencies for budget dollars. The following 23 articles are included: "The Influence of State Constitutional Conventions on the…

An exploration of the decision-making processes of state legislators on public school finance issues focuses on major school finance changes that occurred in Michigan in 1973 and in Washington and Missouri in 1977. Roll call votes, primarily in the lower chambers of the state legislatures, on both selected amendments and the complete versions of…

A map of the field of higher education at the state level is presented that defines theoretical and conceptual frameworks, approaches to analysis, research designs, and methodologies that have been used in the study of the relationships between state governments and institutions of higher education or of state policy structures and processes.…

This monograph is based on a conference that was held under the sponsorship of the Midwest Administration Center, Department of Education of the University of Chicago, in February 1977. The conference centered on varying interpretations of the role of the school, the home, and the state in the governing and financing of education in Illinois and…

Despite the New Jersey Public School Education Act of 1975, Jersey City remains one of the poorest municipalities in New Jersey in terms of per capita property wealth, and this is having a negative effect on its educational system. Even though the new law increased State aid to public education, conditions in Jersey City have worsened. Educational…

Some of the papers in this collection attempt to define equality of educational opportunity, while others present evidence that such equality is not being achieved. Also discussed are (1) the effects of a changing national economy on schools, (2) some political aspects of educational finance, (3) finance problems in urban schools, (4) legislation…