This publication presents the outcomes of a distance education course on development and dissemination of indicators used for educational planning. The course took place from November 2000 to February 2001 and was attended by representatives from the ministries of education of Brazil, Cambodia, Estonia, Gambia, Lithuania, and Thailand. The overall…

The 1976 project of the "Michigan Law Review" deals with the significance of the educational system in shaping social order. Three major parts include: the state's requirement of compulsory education and the individual's right of access; individual rights within the public school system; and control of educational decision-making. (LBH)

Examines parents who teach their children at home. While families have complex motives for home schooling, a common factor is parents' desire to maintain or further develop family unity, and to resist the effects of urbanization and modernization on the family. Suggests benefits of home/public school partnerships. (AF)

Examines the conditions that facilitated the creation of the first national educational systems in nineteenth century Europe. Performs a longitudinal regression and event-history analysis of educational expansion in 17 Western countries. Suggests that paths to mass education involve linkages among the central state, societal groups, and the…

Draws on publications, agency records, professional literature, and historical studies of the reformers who lobbied for regulation of child labor and compulsory school attendance. Examines the role of social workers in implementing the reforms and reactions of low-income families affected by the laws. Notes that professionals' failure to…

Briefly explores differences between educational systems in Switzerland and the United States. Discusses 9 assumptions and 21 contradictions concerning shortcomings of compulsory public schooling in the United States. Suggests that schooling has moved away from intellectual development or skills training toward socializing students to become part…

Examines a policy providing for the differential distribution of educational resources in urban Toronto, Canada. Although this policy addressed systemic social inequality through schooling by placing increased resources in the hands of innercity school staff, it also reaffirmed a normative relationship between mass compulsory schooling and the…

Explores the historical context and institutional linkages that contributed to the genesis of special education early in the twentieth century. The conflict between the compulsory attendance mandate and practical aspects of educating everyone is reviewed, and early linkage between special education and the male reformatory is recounted. (SLD)

During the 1970s, the Hong Kong government declared elementary and lower secondary schooling to be free and compulsory and increased funding at all levels. Analysis of census data on birth cohorts in their upper teens in 1971-86 found increasing educational attainment over time and decreasing effects on educational attainment of parent income and…

Recent educational developments in Southeast Asia provide strong evidence to support the assertion that education reform is the major means of buttressing a society's economic, political, and cultural development. Nearly all these countries have expanded compulsory education, boosted education quality and equality, and implemented…

Focuses on English-language education in the Swedish compulsory school, where the framework and foundation for the achievement of English fluency is established. Oral skills and practical aspects of English learning are emphasized in the compulsory school curriculum. (Author/VWL)

Like many other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, children in Slovakia are allocated to different types of schools at an early age based upon their perceived aptitude. Part of the selection process includes an attempt to identify those children who are particularly academic-oriented. Primary and secondary education in Slovakia is divided…

Two separate historical traditions have influenced Swedish literacy: the church and formal schooling. In answer to the challenge of the International Literacy Year 1990, Sweden has formed a national committee to address such issues as future literacy missions, support of international understanding, and stimulation of research. The National Board…

The purpose of this report, one of several prepared for a comprehensive study of early childhood education in Illinois, was to collect, compile, and analyze specific data concerning early childhood education policy and practices from all fifty states. Each state was queried regarding the following: (1) compulsory attendance age, (2) mandated…

Many boards of education have attendance policies imposing grade reductions and/or loss of credit on students with unexcused absences. This paper reviews state legislative action on the subject, specific court cases, and the interpretations of statutes and practices by attorneys general and commissioners of education. Most states have general…