In the USA, many of the recent education reforms have been implemented in response to calls from neo-liberal and conservative policy makers to improve education efficiency and reduce public expenditures within an increasingly globalized economy. Consequently, local, state, and federal education policies increasingly employ curricular standards and…

Since the 1970s, finding alternative permanent families for children in foster care who could not return to their birth parents has been a primary goal of the child welfare system. Since that time, significant gains have been made in helping such children find permanent homes through adoption and guardianship. This article analyzes these trends…

This UNESCO monograph reports a study of the history and current state of parent schools in China, focusing on successes and problems with the parent school system. Section 1 describes China's response to the World Summit for Children, and details the study's aims, which are: (1) to understand family life and its roles; (2) understand the role and…

A summary is presented of the deliberations of a workshop devoted to the National Research and Education Network (NREN). It also includes policy papers from 18 organizations that broadly represent NREN constituencies in government, education, and industry. The NREN is one of the major components of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991…

This book asserts that public assistance programs--particularly in countries in Western Europe--have been demonstrated to relieve deprivation and ensure an acceptable standard of living for those nations' families. Contrasting the extensive child welfare programs offered by France with those of the United States, this book describes in detail an…

The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is charged with protecting fundamental rights to equal educational opportunity. During fiscal year (FY) 1990, OCR received 3,382 discrimination complaints, the highest number (as of that year) in the agency's history. OCR's National Enforcement Strategy, announced in 1990, was to focus…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been collecting data on student achievement since 1969. It currently maintains three different assessments: long-term trends, cross-sectional national, and cross-sectional state-by-state data. Although the data are available to researchers outside the Federal Government, limited use has…

The dual job training system in Germany is an essential market parameter of the country's economy and a part of the country's growth policy. By improving human capital (by providing training in high-tech sectors) it will also help safeguard Germany's future as a major industrial nation. Training primarily takes place in handicraft and industrial…

This report addresses the research and development (R&D) organizations and the decision-making processes that the Federal Government needs to enable it to work toward national and global environmental objectives. It is essential that these programs be well organized, adequately funded, and closely linked with the policy-making process. The…

This report from phase 1 of a two-phase study conducted during 1989-1991 reviews 85 programs in 12 federal agencies that authorize the expenditure of funds for adult education services. The impetus for this study was the requirement in Section 6214 of the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988. Data were…

The levy-grant system that operated under Britain's 1964 Industrial Training Act was the most effective incentive mechanism for increasing the volume and improving the quality of training. Strengths of the act's Industrial Training Boards (ITBs) were employer-funded training, collection of data on training in companies to guide planning, and…

This volume presents the report of the Committee on Education and the Workforce regarding the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, including additional and dissenting views. The report, which features both the text of the amendments and the Committee's review of them, covers the following sections of the proposed legislation (H.R. 6), set to go…

This publication contains 36 short essays on the reauthorization of the National and Community Service Act. It begins with two introductory papers: "Visions of Service: The Future of the National and Community Service Act" (Sagawa, Halperin) and "Historical Background: An Overview" (Sagawa). Section I, Why Service?, contains 15…

To assist the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress in identifying and resolving policy issues related to the electronic delivery of government services, this study examined selected innovative information technology applications, management practices, and policies that promote experimentation and integration with new electronic…

The economic upswing in Central and Eastern Europe can be achieved only with a skilled work force. In view of the traditional exemplary reputation of its dual system of vocational training, attention is being directed toward Germany. The dual system differs from that of other countries in that not only the state determines which qualifications may…