Program presentations on issues related to the use of statistics by research libraries and business meeting minutes are combined in this report from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The full text is provided for the three papers on the program theme that were presented at the meeting: (1) "Information to Manage--The Economics of…

In response to the current intensified public interest in education, some professional organizations have undertaken to draft public policy responses. These responses are constrained by a variety of issues. When practitioner task forces analyze policy under time constraints, they face issues in policy definition, and the definition used affects…

While the rationalistic approach traditionally employed in research and development efforts in the social sciences may be the best method of inquiry to use in the physical sciences, social scientists, and, more particularly, vocational education researchers, would do better to adopt a naturalistic method of research. The naturalist approach to…

Information available on rural education remains startlingly inadequate--partly because of the great diversity of rural areas, because agencies responsible for data collection disagree on the definition of small/rural schools, and because large metropolitan schools have received far more than their share of attention, research, and financial…

At a December, 2000 shared leadership symposium 101 parent and community leaders engaged in structured discourse and debate about key issues related to family support and family and community strengthening. This document presents a consensus statement about key issues related to strengthening families and communities. The document includes…

Resolutions on the role of state higher education agencies are presented, along with related excerpts from the newsletter of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). The resolutions represent the position of SHEEO concerning the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The resolutions call on the U.S. Congress to: define…

The National Association of State Directors of Vocational Education takes the following position in four areas regarding the reauthorization of the Vocational Education Act of 1963: (1) In regard to governance of vocational education, the Association recommends the continuance of the cooordination of local, state, and federal governments.…

A study examined the literacy needs and activities of prison inmates in Australia. To gather data for the study, the researchers interviewed and administered questionnaires to 62 inmates from five Australian prisons. This report consists primarily of the comments and views of the individual prisoners who were clients, potential clients, and…

On July 22, 1997, a panel of approximately 25 individuals, including members of the Accountability Committee of the National Association of State Directors of Vocational Technical Education, participated in a focus group for the following purposes: to identify the information needed for program accountability; to assess the National Center for…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 mandates the creation of youth councils to bring together the major resource and delivery systems that have youth as a major "customer." These systems include the following sectors: education; public housing; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families agencies; WIA partners; the justice system; and…