In fiscal year 1987, approximately 12,000 inmates, or 29 percent of the 44,000 incarcerated adults at least 18 years old, enrolled in adult basic education (ABE) programs. Six thousand five hundred completed their programs. Another 3,500 enrolled in the General Educational Development (GED) program and 2,800 received diplomas. All inmates who…

Cases that address the issue of home schooling are summarized in this report. Organized chronologically, each case description includes quoted material from the court ruling. Issues involve parent actions regarding compulsory student enrollment, parent qualifications for home teaching, student certification, church-state separation, constitutional…

The author records her impressions of Egypt's gradual move towards compulsory schooling. (Editor)

Even as school standards rise, the on-time graduation rate remains generally stable and the proportion of the American population that has completed high school is the greatest in our history. Negative estimates are based on a lack of definitions and data discrepancies. Two strategies for increasing the graduate rate are discussed. (PS)

Arguments over student discipline tend to overlook that: most students are not at school because they choose to be. Compulsory education has not lived up to its promise. A viable alternative is to repeal coercive laws and to offer twelve years of free schooling, to be taken at any time. (KH)

This article reviews studies of the effectiveness of continuing education in the health professions, notes weaknesses in the continuing education system, and suggests strategies for improving it. (Author/CT)

Philosophical justifications for compulsory education derived from arguments for the welfare of the child, or paternalism, are examined. Dangers of paternalism are outlined, and two necessary and sufficient conditions for justified paternalistic policy up to a certain educational level are proposed and discussed. (MSE)

Parents, guardians, caregivers and school administrators will sometimes disagree over whether a student resides in a school district and can be enrolled in a district public school. The information in this manual is designed to help parents, guardians and caregivers understand the legal concepts involved in residency disputes, and to inform…

This paper estimates the effect of education on participation in crime and incarceration, using data from the U.S. Census and changes in state compulsory attendance laws. Increases in compulsory schooling ages are not correlated with increases in state resources devoted to fighting crime. Research suggests that additional years of secondary…

Home instruction issues involve state laws' implicit or explicit allowance or disallowance of alternative instruction as well as their procedural requirements and their criteria for academic equivalence. Attempts to change laws are being made in Nebraska and Indiana. South Carolina and New Jersey have developed guidelines for home schooling. (RW)

Provides a macrohistorical, conflict perspective on students' resistance to schooling in contemporary America. Proposes that adolescence is not a universal stage of life, but a social category produced only in industrial societies; resistance to schooling thus represents the most recent stage in the struggle between age strata over social goods.…

Educational issues in South Africa have become basic to the struggle for equality. Compulsory education at all levels and higher education for Blacks must be brought up to the quality level of education currently received by Whites. (CJ)

Truancy continues to be a pervasive problem in American education. This article describes the extent of the problem, strategies for early intervention, legal sanctions, and school conditions as a source of students' alienation. (Contains 10 references.) (LMI)

Examines the "special relationship" doctrine as it applies to school officials' duty, under federal constitutional law, to protect students from peer sexual harassment. Examination of the 1871 Civil Rights Act, Section 1983, and relevant case law shows that the special-relationship claim has proved an ineffective avenue for students.…

Uses data collected from London school to explore processes through which inner-city, working-class students leave school at the age of 16. Draws attention to issues of identity and inequality. Highlights the ways in which the young people viewed themselves as "not good enough" and "knew their limits" in relation to…