In these opening remarks to a 1984 International Conference on Education for the Gifted at the University of Stellenbosch, Union of South Africa, the Director-General of National Education summarizes the South African Government's approach to programs for gifted education. The diversity and complexity of the South African population calls for a…

The report by the Queensland (Australia) Advisory Council for Special Education reviews the roles of government and voluntary associations in providing services to the handicapped. An historical review follows a discussion of principles underlying the education of handicapped children. Current Queensland provisions for the education of handicapped…

This report reviews the development and history of school guidance, which began in 1936, among the various cultural groups in the Republic of South Africa. It explains how political and economic factors influenced the nature and character of school guidance and counseling and how political structures gradually led to the fact that white education…

Compares the Social Darwinism of the 1890s with neo-conservatism of the 1980s. Discusses the ideologies of fair play versus fair shares, the theory of supply-side economics, and the implications of neo-conservatism for higher education. Argues that neo-conservatism is altering radically our conceptions of democracy, equality, and freedom. (KH)

Reviews progress made toward educating handicapped children in the United States under Public Law 94-142. Describes how proposals by the Reagan Administration to reduce Federal involvement in education would place a heavy burden on individual States and would erode recent gains in educational opportunity for the handicapped. (GC)

Explores the evolution of equal educational opportunity from legal, historical, philosophical, and policy perspectives. Suggests how the goals of equal education may be pursued under "new federalism" and current economic decline, and describes the role that State legislatures and departments of education must play. (Author/GC)

Reviews the background, intent, and provisions of the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA), a law designed to simplify and consolidate 30 Federal elementary and secondary education assistance programs. Asserts that significant deregulation will not occur under ECIA, and that the Act will create as many problems as it solves. (GC)

Two sets of opinion exist regarding the control of schools. The first pertains to the freedom of parental choice in education and the right of individuals and associations to run private schools subject to minimal government controls. The second stresses the overriding need to promote greater equality of opportunity in the form of publicly…

In 1984, Canada's Special Parliamentary Committee on Visible Minorities in Canadian Society issued a set of recommendations which challenged government at all levels, institutions, organizations, and individuals to commit themselves to the full development of a dynamic and socially harmonious multicultural and multiracial society. This document…

Explores the evolution of contemporary Federal educational policy and the implementation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (partially Title I and Title VII) and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Describes trends toward reduced Federal involvement in education and discusses the role that States and local education agencies…

The experiences of three educationally strong, desegregated urban school systems are the subject of this report. The three school systems are Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Austin Independent School District, Texas, and the Seattle Public Schools, Washington. The report is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the current…

Discusses the expansion of the federal government's role in American society; focuses on changing federal and state responsibilities in education. (Author/GC)

Presents an overview of childrearing practices in India, chronicles government initiatives in early childhood education, describes the range of programs available, and identifies goals that will shape the future of early childhood programs in that country. Identifies universal education, elevation of teacher status, and preservation of community…

According to a report published by a University of Chicago political science professor, the Reagan Administration attempted to dismantle the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Dr. Gary Orfield argues that during the Reagan presidency, OCR removed the threat of any enforcement of civil rights in higher education. (AF)

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…