This ERIC Digest examines how changing family patterns have affected the full-day/half-day kindergarten issue, discussing why schools are currently considering alternative scheduling and describing the advantages and disadvantages of each type of program. The following changing family patterns affecting the choice of full-day kindergarten programs…

Smaller families in general (including the one-child option) are becoming more popular. This ERIC Digest focuses on changing trends in family size, reasons for choosing to have only one child, differences between only children and those with siblings, and the advantages of being an only child. Changing family patterns, economic concerns, and new…

This digest discusses the use of benchmarking as a strategy for assessing and improving efficiency and productivity of administrative processes and instructional models in colleges and universities. Benchmarking, developed by the Xerox Corporation in the 1980s, is defined as an ongoing, systematic process for measuring and comparing the work…

There are more than 100 democracies in the world today. All but three of them--Great Britain, Israel, and New Zealand --have written constitutions. This digest examines the importance of constitutions and constitutionalism and the teaching of these concepts through the use of comparisons. The primary objectives of civic education for democratic…

The impact of student aid policies on women is assessed. Patterns of enrollment and economic profiles differ for male and female students. Women, for example, far surpass men as adult, part-time, independent, and unclassified students, the categories most likely to present barriers to participating in most financial aid programs. Gender issues in…