National data comparing public and private schools show many systematic differences in source of support, degree of parental choice, student populations, teacher qualifications and salaries, school and class size, professional autonomy, instructional practices, and support services. Larger and better financed than most private schools, public…

Discusses the blurring of boundaries between state and private education system that has occurred since 1979 in Britain. Notes that the system has always maintained degrees of support for private and state-supported education. Investigates the social and political influences involved in the implementation of school vouchers and the 1988…

The voucher "air war" is a conflict between two longstanding elements of the American political tradition: a time-honored commitment to maximum personal choice and individual freedom versus an equally compelling belief in need for a common civil infrastructure and communitarian interests. Will embracing vouchers further erode the public…

Goals 2000 is the offspring of "A Nation at Risk," a 1983 teacher- and school-bashing report. IBM CEO Louis Gerstner named the problem and defined the solution, claiming the need for choice, competition, and technology, recasting students as human capital, and marketizing the teacher/community relationship. Tables summarize critics'…

The study analyzes the factors that lead elementary school students (grades 6-8) to general or vocational high schools. The effects of gender, SES, academic achievement, living in a rural/urban area as well as the effects of parental involvement on school choice (N=866) used as independent variables in Canakkale, Turkey. There are clear…

This literature review, while not comprehensive, is aimed at informing the Strengthening Local Education Capacity project under way in Indonesia. Strategies that strengthen educational capacities at the school and local levels were reviewed, followed by strategies for local governance. Two school governance models, public choice and public…

This guide provides information about how middle schools can promote the development and education of adolescents, especially about how they can focus students' attention on career opportunities and training. It also offers families some ideas about how they can encourage their children's career awareness, and it presents some criteria for parents…

This paper reviews 1993 trends and issues in urban education in five sections. Following an introduction, the first section describes the economic conditions of today's diverse urban public school students and the way that poverty differentially affects various ethnic and racial student groups. A second section analyzes key educational policies…

Trends in poverty and income inequality and potential solutions for such social problems are discussed. The complicated attitudes of the general public toward public policy and social problems are reviewed, with an emphasis on the persistence and intergenerational transmission of poverty, the extent of welfare dependence, and the emergence of an…

In 1987, parents and teachers from diverse neighborhoods of a local school district in New York (New York) founded the Bronx New School, a small public elementary school of choice that was meant to be learner-centered, with high standards for all. The school was organized into heterogeneous, multi-age classes and structured to encourage…

The following 14 essays consider relationships among schooling, education, and the state; alternatives to existing systems; and educating minorities and the disadvantaged: (1) "Growing Up Blighted: Reflections on the 'Secret Power' in the American Experience" (C. Burgess); (2) "The Evolving Political Structure of American…

A preliminary evaluation and report were conducted of the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Public Schools' (MPS) Parental Choice Program (PCP) following its first year of operation. The state legislated program provides an opportunity for students meeting specific criteria to attend private, non-sectarian schools in Milwaukee. A payment from public funds…

Written under the joint auspices of the Educational Excellence Network of Vanderbilt University (Tennessee) and the National Conference of State Legislatures, this book contains nine chapters, by leading educators, divided into five sections that explore the major issues in education reform. Following a foreword by John Martin and an introduction…

This catalog, an outcome of the Project To Access Choice in Education (PACE), lists examples of public schools throughout the nation offering choices in education. "Schools of Choice" are defined as those offering one or more of the following three dynamics: (1) open enrollment, the freedom for families to choose the elementary or secondary…

Reforms in education have raised two critical fiscal policy issues: How is education reform to be financed? and Do the dollars spent on education reform make a difference? Schools can successfully meet these challenges by practicing sound fiscal management and placing an emphasis on cost-effectiveness and accountability. In the future, a…