In this monograph, the author examines the often controversial area of compulsory attendance, its philosophy and implementation. Through various case histories, the State's power vs the fundamental rights of individuals is studied at length. Litigations are reviewed in which a 3-way balance was sought among the State's interest, the child's…

A recent United States Supreme Court ruling requires that school staff with contagious diseases be treated like other handicapped employees who may be "otherwise qualified" to continue work under reasonable accommodation. Compulsory education laws are facing court challenges in several states, as parents seek more flexibility in…

Presents abstracts of articles about laws on compulsory education in China; legislation affecting handicapped students in Czechoslovakia; laws on comprehensive schools in Finland; educational research on secondary education in Hungary; and reports of the Japanese National Council of Educational Reform. (CLB)

This study examines whether education had a causal impact on health, following synthetic cohorts using successive U.S. Censuses to estimate the impact of educational attainment on mortality rates. It focuses on compulsory education laws from 1915 to 1939, a time when at least 30 states changed their compulsory schooling and child labor laws, as…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the spread of astronomy contents throughout the Spanish pre-university educative system as stated in the curricula established by law. Possible contents of Astronomy were first classified in groups and then looked after in the official curricula of the different subjects throughout the Spanish…

As the secondary school has become an agent of mass education, it has been beset by complex problems, particularly in the identification of its educational role and its purposes as a social institution. Key features of the identity crisis in Australian secondary schools are described. (MLW)

British standards governing school attendance have been modified and strengthened by the 1993 legislation. The required education may be received outside the public school system, but alternative schools in the private sector remain subject to control or regulation. (77 footnotes) (MLF)

Data collected from 501 University of Central Queensland students required to attend at least one residential activity, such as science lab, found that significant numbers did not find residential experiences useful or important. The many reasons students choose distance education make it imperative that any necessary residential activities be…

Free but compulsory state education systems may be untenable. Contradictions appear between education in newly democratized eastern Europe and in Britain, where the government advocates free market but centralizes control of curriculum and instruction. Other contradictions lie between state education as social control and consumer choice. (SK)

Of the 50 states, 37 do not mandate education in prisons, although 8 are considering a policy change. Many programs include incentives and sanctions, and various evaluation criteria, such as General Educational Development achievement, test scores, and retention in the program are used. (SK)

Numeracy in the workplace is much more complex than the simple application of mathematical knowledge and skills learned in school or vocational education. Although the knowledge and skills developed in compulsory education or in formal adult and vocational education and training courses play a foundational role, they are inevitably transformed…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the adequacy of educational services available for the implementation of the ideals of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Southern Nigeria. Using the multistage sampling technique, 800 primary school teachers were selected from the three geo political zones in Southern Nigeria as participants in the…

Based on studies carried out on qualitative data an instrument was constructed for investigating how larger numbers of students handle graphics. This test, consisting of 18 pages, each with its own graphic display(s) and a set of tasks, was distributed to 363 students, 15-16 years of age, from five different schools. The format of the questions…

A review of material on driver education in Illinois was conducted to support the recommendation that the state mandate for driver education be removed. Examination of the historical background and the components of the mandate suggested that there were three major goals for driver education: traffic accident reduction, provision of driver…

In response to recent nostalgia about education's past, the author reviews the reality of educational history. In the 1950s schools were affected by disruption and violence. In the 1930s declining standards were cited. In the teens there was a 50 percent dropout rate. In the 1900s problems of student boredom and violence were documented. (MD)