Choosing to homeschool or to educate a child traditionally is often a difficult and confusing decision for parents and guardians. To help them make the best possible choice, this brochure answers basic questions about homeschooling and suggests other useful sources of information. The questions include the following: (1) Do families have a right…

Issues surrounding parental decisions to privatize their children's education are examined in this paper, which focuses on three issues: (1) the declining credibility of state-sponsored education; (2) the nature and causes of privatized education as a viable alternative; and (3) the context in which this option occurs. The first section discusses…

In recent years, provincial laws in Alberta, Canada, have required children of certain ages to attend school. A legal issue related to attendance that is seldom addressed in provincial legislation is the definition of nonattendance. Many jurisdictions in the United States offer statutory definitions of truancy that range from 3 to 10 days' absence…

The 18 papers of this conference were divided into five topics ranging from literacy to the history of progressive reform to history of education from an international perspective. Part 1 includes: "Isabella Graham and Joanna Bethune's Early American Experiments in Educating Illiterates" (L. Townsend); "The Dilemma of Equivalency:…

In March of 1984, the Kentucky General Assembly revised and approved a senate bill that made kindergarten mandatory beginning with the 1985-86 school year. This paper reviews several national and state research studies which help demonstrate reasons why early education would be beneficial to a student population. Particularly discussed are the…

Increasing numbers of children are meeting state compulsory education requirements at home rather than at school. Although home instruction was once the mainstay of frontier American education, some educators now regard the practice as suspect. This paper hopes to reconcile opposing views by examining home schooling, including numbers of children,…

This document sets forth in English and French the draft recommendation regarding compulsory education proposed for adoption by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It is followed by an explanatory memorandum that presents findings of a hearing on "The Teacher in Question," held in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, May 12-13, 1985,…

The article describes a national study of the "state of the art in adult secondary education," reports that "there is no field of adult secondary education," and discusses the implications of that dismal finding, focusing on attitudes and policies regarding certification of adults. Adult education faces increasing formalization…

This summary of three research reports presents general findings and recommendations on the subject of physical education programs in the province of Alberta, Canada--specifically on (1) the nature of the compulsory program of physical education and its acceptance by students and parents; (2) the imposed costs to students for their participation…

This report is an examination of the legal structure underlying state compulsory school attendance requirements and the likely legal and policy consequences that might result from repeal or amendment of the statues that form that structure. Its purpose is twofold. First, it is to provide a useful presentation of the massive amount of federal and…

Reviews the Wisconsin vs Yoder case, where the United States Supreme Court held that the First and Fourteenth Amendments prevent states from compelling Amish children to attend formal high school to age sixteen, and examines the actions of various state officials attempting to follow that case. Available from School of Law, Washburn University,…

Author contends that student religious clubs have a constitutional right to exist in the public schools, because such meetings are within the scope of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Landmark Supreme Court church-state decisions are cited. Available from Emory University School of Law, 1722 North Decatur…

An historical overview of the precursors to compulsory school attendance is presented. Emphasis is placed upon the beginning stages of American schooling, the Common School Movement, and its impact upon the restriction of educational choice for the majority of those in society. (Author/EVH)

The author tempers enthusiasm with logic, hindsight with foresight, as she charts developments in preschool education in the decade since the Plowden Report was published. (Editor/RK)