Analysis of state-mandated strategic planning in a small, rural elementary school in northern New South Wales (Australia), reveals that although student outcomes were enhanced as a result of programs developed by staff, there were difficulties implementing corporate modes of management in a rural working-class community with deep racial, class,…

This report overviews the rationale for conducting an ethnographic study of cultural factors that influence student aspiration in Tremont, a small rural community on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Although Tremont is the poorest community on Mount Desert Island, Tremont students scored as well or better on the Maine Educational Assessment than did…

Results of a 1980-81 survey of the perception of the Brazosport (Freeport, Texas) community regarding the Brazosport Independent School District (BISD) are summarized. The survey instrument consisted of: (1) a cover letter from the superintendent; (2) Part I--a series of multiple-choice questions on various education issues in Brazosport; (3) Part…

This document, the third in a series of research reports on student financial aid, examines attitudes of Americans toward borrowing to finance educational expenses between 1959 and 1983. The impetus for the study was interest in the effects of the Federal Government's shift in student aid emphasis from grants to loans during this period. The study…

On November 14, 1984, the Navajo Tribal Council approved a new set of educational policies (the "Mission Statement") intended to improve the quality of education for all Navajos, specifically some 56,810 students in 223 schools on or near the Navajo reservation. The Mission Statement asserts that the Navajo Tribe, as a sovereign nation,…

The humanist position for the teaching of values can be turned against English teachers and literature education when it is based primarily on the assumption that literature directly portrays life, a strategy which was used by a religious fundamentalist group, Renaissance Peterborough, in its dispute with officials of Peterborough County, Ontario,…

This paper addresses the issue of community relations through a presentation given by the four members of the school board and administration of a medium-sized school district in Salem, Oregon. Community relations is defined as two-way communications between a school district and the public. Public feedback is necessary for improvement of…

In an attempt to formulate a set of testable propositions about the dynamics of Hispanic life that will be valuable pedagogically and as a basis for public policy formation, this study assesses the impact of Hispanic Americans on Wichita, Kansas. Chapter 1 identifies the Hispanic origins of Kansas' 63,339 Hispanics who represent 2.7% of the…

Sage Institute of Canada, Inc. measured the priorities for improving education that are held by professional staff, the boards, and the public in the Alberta counties of Newell, Vulcan, and Warner. Over 1,800 people participated in identifying issues, conditions, and suggestions for improvement. They then assisted in validating the information and…

Child abuse and neglect among American Indians is a political as well as a clinical problem, as the victims belong to one cultural group and health professionls who detect maltreatment generally belong to another. Reluctance to diagnose and report child abuse, although universal, is probably more significant in Indian communities for several…

Rural school districts in five Arkansas towns set up school-based development corporations (SBDCs) to provide vocational and career training relevant to the needs of rural high school students and the community and to improve the economic and social welfare of the community as a whole. Each SBDC owned and operated businesses using student labor…

A review of studies conducted from 1973-1984 shows continuing inequalities between rural Appalachian and non-Appalachian school districts in Kentucky, particularly in the areas of expenditures, sources of revenue, and holding power. The gap between Appalachian and non-Appalachian school systems in per pupil expenditures and the percentage of…

This case study considers why community members of two rural New York School districts reacted so strongly against a referendum for school district reorganization in February 1983. State and local school officials introduced into this reorganization effort a unique plan designed to achieve community support for the merger. Rather than have the…

This paper contains two reports on using competency based techniques in curriculum development. The first, on Clayton Junior College in Georgia, describes a 1975-77 study designed to identify competencies which faculty members reasonably expect from students having completed the general education portion of the core curriculum, to discover the…

This report consists of two sets of criteria developed by the NEA Task Force on bilingual/multicultural education. The criteria presented are for: (1) effective bilingual/multicultural education programs, and (2) state legislation which establishes such programs. The first set of criteria includes factors such as state and federal laws, student…