"Political correctness" has recently been appropriated by organizations and individual advocates seeking to attack and focus negative media attention on reforms in higher education. This report documents both the facts and media distortions that have shaped almost a decade of campus debate on affirmative action, multicultural and…

California, in response to pessimism about the efficacy of public education, adopted the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST), a three-part test of reading, writing, and mathematics required of teacher applicants. This paper takes a critical look at the genesis, passage, implementation, and consequences of the CBEST legislation. In…

The management crisis within higher education in developing countries reflects the wider crisis in educational management and public administration. The contemporary management context is further threatened by narrowing management capacity and capability due to the continued dwindling of already scarce resources and the increasing across-the-board…

This sociological perspective on multicultural education focuses on racial and cultural groups, but accents class and power correlates. The results of the civil rights movement took the nation to visions of integration, and when these faltered, to the recognition of diversity in the form of cultural pluralism, which nonetheless implies structural…

The countries of the European Community represent a commitment to European economic and political unity as part of a trend toward the globalization of the world's economic life. Economic, social, and political challenges are bound up in economic competitiveness. Countries are examining human resource issues in order to compete for the world…

One of a series of studies related to the Delphi research project: "Policy Instruments for Higher Education in the Western Europe of the Future", this paper presents interviews by a Dutch researcher with 15 authorities on U.S. higher education and the written contributions of two other experts: M. Peterson, E. Hines, M. Gade, G. Rhoades,…

A systems model for the study of state higher education policy is adapted to reflect structural relationships within and among key units of government and organizations informally involved in the policy-making process, as well as more fluid political and economic contextual elements that mediate and shape the interaction between them. The model is…

Internal and external changes affecting higher education and responses that student personnel workers can take are discussed. Societal changes that influence colleges include a declining birth rate, changing sex roles, and shifts to an information-based society. Notable political trends that affect colleges include accountability requirements,…

The context for financial aid policy affecting black doctoral students in Oklahoma and Florida was studied using the case study method. Attention was focused on environmental and organizational variables affecting the implementation of financial aid policy. Historical patterns surrounding race relations in both states before the 1973…

Results of a study which examined the impact of the Lebanese civil war on the ethnic orientation of Armenians in Lebanon are presented. A brief historical overview of the presence of Armenians in Lebanon is given first, focusing on the evolution of Armenian-Arab relations. A theoretical framework is then provided to guide the discussion of the…

The dissatisfaction theory of American democracy (Ianneccone and Lutz, 1970, 1978) purports that citizens do not become politically active until a high level of dissatisfaction is present and that superintendent turnover is the end result of a process in which the school board becomes increasingly unresponsive to its community, dissatisfaction…

Health planning is a complex procedure in the American federal system of multi-authorities and multi-levels of responsibility. Because of its public nature, responsibility for the area of health planning is delegated to the health professional for its substantive dimension, but to the politician-bureaucrat and public-decision-maker for its policy…

Homelessness has emerged on the public agenda of economically advanced nations but not all such issues become recognized as "legitimate" social problems. National politicians and policymakers have an interest in defining the problem narrowly in order to avoid response and implied criticism of existing policies and institutions. Local…

Actions taken on higher education by the 1985 Arkansas General Assembly and the First Extraordinary Session are summarized. Successful and unsuccessful legislation are identified, and the appropriation and funding process for each institution is shown in chart form. The general revenue appropriations for higher education for the 1985-1987 biennium…

The technical, social, and procedural phenomena that facilitate the effective utilization of analytic models in decision-making are examined. Attention is focused on the theoretical issues associated with: (1) selection and fit of the model to the needs of the decision setting; (2) human factors such as cognitive style and the political climate…