This document reflects Federal Student Aid's solid progress in meeting strategic objectives since becoming a Performance-Based Organization. Specifically, the plan addresses continuing efforts to increase program integrity, improve customer service and achieve measurable results in the management and administration of the Title IV student…

Many major corporations and national organizations have been pointing to the need for improved K-12 and collegiate opportunities for minorities since the early 1970s. They have argued that such an infrastructure would be necessary to provide Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and others with the background to enter the science and engineering…

Too often, conversations about Latinos in education are based on ignorance. Put simply, ignorance is "not knowing." As often as not, people in these conversations assume they know more than they actually do--based on individual experiences or cliches shared by others--rather than on data. Excelencia in Education addressed this by providing…

In the last decade, unprecedented rates of job growth and improvements in adult education were accompanied by increased numbers of children living below the poverty line and a decline in real income for most families. There are several possible explanations: (1) a kind of job growth that produces disincentives for a significant number of people to…

This report attempts to present the main issues that emerged in the discussion during the four topical sessions and three roundtables of the second meeting of the International Consultative Forum on Education for All. The Forum reflected the widespread dissatisfaction over the irrelevance and poor quality of much basic education today, as well as…

This issue of the Canadian quarterly "Transition", in French and English language versions, examines issues related to the demographic shift Canada will experience as the baby boom generation enters "old age." Major articles in this issue are: (1) "Of Mutual Benefit," which outlines some of the challenges Canada faces…

This study examined the characteristics of dislocated workers' wage profiles upon reemployment. In particular, it related these profiles to the model developed by Mincer and Ofek (1982). An inference from this model was that workers recovered wage losses relatively rapidly. Explanations for a steeply sloped reentry wage profile were as follows:…

School choice is a controversial topic in educational politics in the United Kingdom. This paper focuses on how parents choose between state and private schools. The theoretical framework is based on P. Bourdieu's work, "Distinction" (1986). It is argued that choice is a key mechanism in the uneven accumulation and reproduction of…

In this volume, the Rural Sociological Society Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty analyzes the leading explanations of persistent rural poverty and points out new directions in theory that should provide a firmer foundation for antipoverty policies and programs. Written by over 50 leading social scientists, the Task Force report explains that…

An intervention designed to increase the reading skills, habits, and styles of low-performing elementary school students was implemented in the Dallas Independent School District (Texas). The issues surrounding implementation illustrate many of the problems of inner-city schooling and disadvantaged students and offer some solutions. The Reading…

This book provides an overview of economic trends and social issues in the 13 states and 399 counties of Appalachia, with emphasis on implications for families, children, and communities. It places the trends and issues of the Appalachian region within a national context. These trends include declining employment opportunities and wages, increased…

The following presentations are included in this document: "A Nation of Students" (Lamar Alexander); "Businesses Are Clamoring for Skilled Workers" (Betsy Brand); "We Need to Be Partners in Reality" (Roberts Jones); "The Value of a Working Parent as a Role Model" (JoAnne Barnhart); "Human Capital Is…

A study examined the role of employer training in ameliorating skill shortages and enhancing productivity and competitiveness. The study established that formal training by specialized personnel accounts for only 5-10% of the time newly hired workers are engaged in training activities and that existing labor market research instruments fail to…

The "new" economics of education replaces the "old" economics expressed in human capital theory, which viewed education as contributing to individual enhancement and ultimately to economic betterment. The "old" economics foundered on the rising levels of youth unemployment, a result of declining productivity and…

The first of three issues presents seven articles dealing with recent developments in educational research. The first article, "Black College Faculty: A Dwindling Resource," discusses the relative lack of black college teachers and the declining interst of new black Ph.D.s in careers in academia. The second article, "Introducing the…