Sound approaches to needs assessment can assist practitioners in using resources effectively to improve program decision making. An analysis of uses of the term needs assessment provides the basis for discussing purposes and strategies. Following a critique of major approaches, practical suggestions are offered for conducting needs assessment…

This brief summary is based on analysis of the Annual Reports to Congress on implementation of the Education for the Handicapped Act (now Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) by the Office of Special Education Programs. Narratives and graphs demonstrate the continuing increase in numbers of special education students, the leveling out of…

The trend toward increased institutional evaluation in Swedish higher education is examined from several viewpoints: as part of a broad system of policy formation, as a phase in an active process of change, and as an interactive process within a complex institution. (MSE)

This report focuses on several reasons for questioning the appropriateness of the standard measures of returns to education in deciding about education programs and evaluating their comparative advantages vis-a-vis other investments in developing countries. The goal is to provide some guidelines in selecting future research options in the field of…

Problems resulting from Australia's recently adopted policy of charging full educational costs to overseas students and actively marketing its institutions in Malaysia are discussed, including the response of foreign governments, educational issues, and the concerns of Australia's faculty. (MSE)

In developing countries, educational systems are beset by a lack of textbooks and other instructional materials, overcrowded classrooms, poorly qualified teachers, high attrition and illiteracy rates, and disparities between urban and rural schools. Traditional solutions do not respond to the expanding demand for primary education in these…

Contrary to pervasive assumptions about the need for lifelong learning, U.S. and Canadian adults' collective learning efforts far outpace workplace requirements. Underemployment has several dimensions: the talent-use gap, structural unemployment, involuntary reduced employment, credential gap, performance gap, and subjective underemployment.…

The education literature provides numerous estimates of community college diversion and democratization effects measured in terms of educational attainment. Kane and Rouse [J Econ Pers 13 (1999) 64] suggest testing for diversion by comparing the impacts of two-year and four-year colleges on the changes in educational aspirations that underlie…

In 2000 the World Education Forum, sponsored by UNESCO, met to assess and act on educational opportunities for children, youth, and adults around the world. The forum agreed on six goals for education considered to be essential, attainable, and affordable, given strong international commitment and resolve, and on a program called Education for All…

Based on interviews with private-tutoring-business entrepreneurs, this paper provides a qualitative analysis of some organizational and ideological transformations in the teacher profession with the advent of market professionals within the private-education sector. No longer simply a means to generate additional income, the private-tutoring…

Recent Australian policy allowing higher education institutions to market their services to overseas students at full cost and the resulting pressures to privatize public higher education further are discussed in the context of both general educational and economic principles and the specific conditions of Australian education. (MSE)

Enrollment management is discussed with focus on the expanding role of admissions professions and their increasing impact on institutional policymaking. Enrollment management influences the size, shape, and characteristics of a student body by directing student marketing and recruitment as well as pricing and financial aid. Attention is also…

This report offers an analysis of college faculty supply and demand as well as an evaluation of currently available data on this issue. The report was undertaken in response to three concurrent trends which point to significant faculty shortages beginning in 1995. The report begins with a descriptive overview of current faculty demographics that…

Since the publication of the original report, entitled "Fiscal Profile of America's Public Schools, 1981-85, and Associated Energy Implications," the national school revenue picture reveals: (1) a decline in federal aid to education, (2) a decline in state fiscal capacity, (3) a reduction in the state-local portion of public l 826/827 sector…

The factors influencing demand for vocational education and training (VET) courses in Australia by individuals, enterprises, industries, communities, and regions were examined through a review of Australian and selected international research. The following were among the key findings: (1) current definitions of "industry" may not be…