Although Black and Hispanic congressmen managed to overcome redistricting of urban areas and maintain or increase their seats in the House, demographic trends remain a threat to minority representation. There are two solutions: (1) a break-up of de facto residential segregation, and (2) increased willingness of White majorities to elect minority…

Using North Carolina state legislators, investigates alternative explanations of sources of rural-urban differences in activities of political elites. Examines influence measures of legislative position, power, and decision-making. (AH)

Describes a college course which studies the U.S. House of Representatives. The course examines the origins of the House, life on the hill, rules, committee assignments, leadership, legislators, and the bureaucracy. (RM)

In a modified replication of the Miller-Stokes study, constituents from two Oklahoma congressional districts were interviewed to see how well they could identify the names of their members of congress and their stands on five issues. Results showed that participants were more politically informed than the Miller-Stokes study would have predicted.…

Discusses historical antecedents and the formation of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). Reviews the records of participating congressmen and congresswomen, outlines CBC strategies for legislative change, and assesses the effects of the current political climate on the future of the organization. (GC)

A survey of state legislators reputed to be leaders in the field of education reveals their backgrounds, present activities, and plans for the future. (MLF)

The role of Black legislators in the development of African-American policy is assessed. Also considered are the influence which Blacks have exerted upon governmental actions within the United States, as well as the impact that Congress, in general, has had upon the development of foreign policy. (Author/GC)

Concludes that Congressional committees have four types of relationships with the media: hostile, neutral, publicity-seeking, and collaborative. (GT)

Reviews how economics came to be a required course in Georgia high schools. Explains that the change was made at a time when businesspeople predominated in the state legislature. Indicates that the business community was divided over the issue, whereas most teachers resisted. Concludes that business interest pressures led to the requirement's…

Recent political action by the Higher Education Assistance Foundation, the largest student-loan guarantee agency, has highlighted the increase in contributions by administrators, faculty, owners of proprietary schools, and lobbyists to legislators' campaigns, and the growing sophistication of the process. Supporters call it prudent; opponents…

The nine articles of this theme issue provide overviews of legislative program evaluation and demonstrate the tensions caused by the conflict between utility and rigor in such evaluations. Legislative evaluation is concerned with evaluation utilization because legislators commission evaluations they expect to use. (SLD)

Reports on Senator Arlen Spector's interview of Anita Hill during hearings on Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and her allegations of sexual harassment. Examines the social structures and argumentative strategies Spector invoked to place Hill in a position of "powerlessness." Argues that the key resource contributing to the…

The United States is undergoing rapid demographic change leading to growing racial, ethnic, religious and economic diversity in our classrooms. Our students can be sensitized to this growing diversity through exposure to the concept of social justice. The purpose of this article is to provide examples of how social justice issues can be included…

Colleagues, legislative staff, interest groups, administrative agencies, universities and think tanks, the media, and constituents are some of the more commonly recognized sources of information for state legislators. Results of a survey of 507 legislators in 12 U.S. states reveal that ethnic associations, grassroots organizations, the Internet,…

This research study explores the policy expansion of school choice within the methodological approach of event history analysis. The first section provides a comparative overview of state adoption of public school choice laws. After creating a statistical portrait of the contemporary landscape for school choice, the authors introduce event history…