This report contains the testimony of Preston Cooper, a senior fellow focusing on the economics of higher education at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), to the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies concerning the federal role in postsecondary education, and the…

It's fairly well known that high-quality preschool programs can have life-altering impacts on disadvantaged children, including reductions in school dropout and crime, and increased earnings. Not as well known is that terrific preschool programs have important academic and social benefits for middle-class children too. Decades of research indicate…

Argues that the propensity and capacity of many adults to conduct self-directed learning projects is now well proven, and that researchers should now infuse a spirit of self-critical scrutiny into this developing field of research. Advances four criticisms regarding the current state of self-directed learning research. (Author/CT)

Leila Christenbury is well known as a writer and researcher in English Education: her classic book "Making the Journey," [ED437654] now in its third edition, has been a guide to countless middle and high school language arts teachers. In her new book, this veteran teacher and teacher educator reveals what did and---more surprisingly---did not…

In the June "Kappan," Marc Tucker summarized the "Tough Choices" report, the sequel to a report issued in 1990 by a predecessor group, which attributed the nation's low productivity growth in the 1970s and 1980s to inadequate American schools. The authors critiqued it and charged Tucker with trying to stampede policy makers into adopting reckless…

Demographic forces will change U.S. higher education. Leaders of higher education need to gain more direct experience with the national diversity in age, in ethnicity, and in regions. Suggestions for dealing with the inevitable changes ahead are provided. (MLW)

Contends that educational policy during the Reagan Administration has been characterized by restrictive attempts to reconcile cultural diversity with traditional values, while reducing federal support to public schools. Argues that a democratic education must extend excellence and equity to all citizens. (FMW)

When the first black colleges were founded more than a century ago they filled an important need for youth who were denied access to all but a few white institutions. Today these same private colleges must compete with more affluent, prestigious white colleges and universities for funding and for black students and teachers. They are losing in…