This guide contains suggestions for citizens to follow in exploring and addressing policies that affect children. The guide focuses on federal child policy, but the strategies described also apply to policies at the state and local levels. The first part of the guide describes sources of information on government policies relating to children.…

With the growing demand for accountability by legislators, outcomes assessment has become a much higher institutional priority for community colleges. According to a recent survey, two-thirds of the states have implemented formal assessment initiatives, compared to a very few states only 1 year earlier. Institutions, however, must be careful that…

Background information on lobbying will help secondary and college students and adults develop a clearer understanding of how U.S. democracy works. Discussed are what lobbying is, who the lobbyists are, lobby regulation, and the different kinds of lobbying groups. As an example of the environment within which lobbyists work, lobbying efforts…

A survey of state legislators was conducted in 1981 by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the National Center for Research in Vocational Education to determine state legislators' views about vocational education and its outcomes; their views of what vocational education should be doing and how it could be improved; and their…

The current status of state policy on minimum competency testing in Wisconsin, and the political process that produced that policy, are explored in this report. The document presents the preliminary findings of research conducted for a doctoral dissertation. The research methodology, mentioned only briefly, involved participant observation,…

This document presents the full text of two United States Senate hearings before the Subcommittee on Child and Human Development of the Committee of Human Resources on the subject of child care and child development programs. The hearings were held to gather information and examine how best to shape future federal legislation involving child care…

A study conducted in Illinois determined how or if decision-makers actually used the results of a community problems needs assessment survey ("Illinois: Today and Tomorrow") of 15,000 persons in the state. Data for the use study were collected from sixty in-depth personal interviews with randomly selected cooperative extension advisors…

The report of the subcommittee favoring continuation of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences consists of four parts: (1) the history of the university, the reasons for its establishment; (2) the findings and conclusions of the subcommittee on the discontinuation of institutional funds; (3) the subcommittee's recommendations for…

This publication expresses the major concerns and opinions of legislators and others on the topic of world trade in conventional arms. The Congressional Hearing where these testifiers expressed their opinions was held in 1977, at Des Moines Community College in Ankeny, Iowa. Testimony was given by high school students, university professors,…

The implications of faculty workload and formula budgeting issues on higher education in the 1980s are discussed. Because of declining enrollments and tight resources it is suggested that state legislative committees in the 1980s will accelerate their requests for faculty workload data related to formulas for the allocations of full-time faculty.…

A study was undertaken to identify and analyze dysfunctional elements in the administration of ESEA Title I, and to determine the impact of these elements on administrative behavior and program effectiveness at the local educational level. A model of administrative behavior and hypotheses was developed, and the literature reviewed for discrepancy…

In an era of increased governmental control and of inflation, the relationship between higher education and state legislatures is of some concern. The diverse units of higher education must identify the roles they are to play in the political process. A survey was undertaken to learn: how much weight the information provided by higher education…

State regulation of postsecondary education institutions has been ever-increasing; this leads to greater efficiency in education and acts to stabilize the educational system in the state in such a way that system-wide problems and difficulties are handled in an orderly and routine fashion. This study reviews state regulation of community colleges…

Intended as background material for the annual meeting of the Education Commission of the States, this document attempts to answer basic questions inherent in teacher negotiations. The first section discusses teacher militancy, current status of legislation, and contents of teacher negotiation laws. The second section considers issues facing…

This study focused on the influence of selected personal factors on North Carolina legislators' perceptions of the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service. A review of the theories of perception and related research was coupled with interviews with 145 members of the 124th General Assembly of North Carolina. Concepts of the district or…