The purpose of "Focus" is to provide coverage of poverty-related research, events, and issues, and to acquaint a large audience with the work of the Institute for Research on Poverty by means of short essays on selected pieces of research. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Changing poverty and changing antipoverty policies…

To ensure reliable, accurate, and timely data capable of monitoring the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 46 indicators of important developments and trends in U.S.…

This report describes a study which examined trends and future prospects in the placement and provision of services to children with special education needs (SEN) in Scotland, United Kingdom, in the context of recent policy changes toward increased integration, increased parental choice, and devolved school management. The study involved…

By 1996, Training Credits (TCs) will be available to all 16- and 17-year-olds leaving full-time education or training in Britain. They are funded by the transfer of resources that would otherwise be paid to technical colleges for part-time provision for this age group and through resources allocated for the Youth Training program. The aim of TCs…

This booklet is intended to provide useful information to students and others in the process of making career choices or seeking satisfying employment. The first half of the booklet covers various aspects of the career choice/job search processes. Included among the topics discussed are the following: self-assessment of career planning knowledge,…

This Spanish/English guide was written by parents for high school parents. The guide's first section deals with how to select the right high school. This is followed by a lengthy section on the high school years, which covers the following topics: how to keep up with what the student is doing; how to connect with the school; requirements for…

This report describes the Educational Voucher Demonstration, serves as a guide for its documentation, and offers an extensive bibliography. Part 1 gives background information and summarizes the implementation of the Alum Rock Demonstration based on a transitional voucher model and involving six public schools, each offering at least two distinct…

As desegregation alternatives to busing are explored in the Dallas school district, educational equity remains a priority. Components and goals of the Dallas educational equity plan are presented in this address. The two most consistent challenges are recruiting minority staff and getting white students to attend schools in predominantly minority…

In April 1984, more than 350 parents, teachers, principals and administrators from major urban school systems in Massachusetts met to define what an "excellent" desegregated urban public school system should be. This conference report, following excerpts from a keynote address by John E. Durkin, documents seven workshops which focused on…

This directory was developed in response to requests for information on alternative programs for dropouts and potential dropouts. The scope of the dropout problem in Iowa is defined. Presented are definitions of dropout prevention alternative programs as well as a detailed account of useful prevention approaches. The directory includes needs…

This module, one in a series of competency-based administrator education learning packages, focuses on specific professional competencies needed by vocational education administrators. The competencies upon which these modules are based were identified and verified through research as being important to the success of local administrators of…

The history of the school choice idea is briefly traced, and then some contemporary family choice models are examined in detail. "Tracking" was the major choice mechanism in public schools prior to recent efforts to expand the options. The alternative movement within individual schools began in the late 1960's, with many forms…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) has evolved over the years to include a plethora of skilled training opportunities for both secondary and postsecondary students. While postsecondary programs are viewed as being on the "front end" of education's effort to prepare students for the workforce, it is often the secondary-level programs…

This third edition of this book explores traditional economic and political models and contemporary issues that affect the social, political, and economic state of schools. Like the previous two editions, this edition takes a balanced approach to understanding school finance issues by using paradigms of both the economist and the political…

This collection of papers analyzes various urban school reform strategies. There are 13 chapters in five parts. After "Introduction: Rethinking Urban School Reform" (Louis F. Miron and Edward P. St. John), Part 1, "The Courts and Urban Schools," contains (1) "School Desegregation is Over in the Inner Cities: What Do We Do…