Many social policy and education programs start from the assumption that people act in their best interest. But behavioral science shows that people often weigh intuition over reason, make inconsistent choices, and put off big decisions. The individuals and families who need services and the staff who provide them are no exception. From city…

How do open and distance learning institutions review and renew themselves to ensure their continued fitness for purpose? Here we report on the work of a change team in the UK Open University, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning created to examine, innovate and improve student support. The existence of the Centre for five years from…

Based on informal discussions with personnel at selected federal agencies and private sector organizations and on additional research, this publication addresses issues and problems of software maintenance and suggests actions and procedures which can help software maintenance organizations meet the growing demands of maintaining existing systems.…

Reviews the development of European Union's early childhood social policy agenda over the last 15 years, examining what part of the agenda addresses early years issues and what problems the EU should focus on. Raises questions that require attention and makes a series of suggestions as to what a distinctive European approach for early year…

Coordination of early intervention for children with disabilities is discussed, including barriers to interagency coordination. A 2-year study of 6 diverse states identified 13 ways in which public agencies are different from one another. Recommendations are offered to assist agencies to develop a coordinated service system. (Author/SW)

An important first step in addressing the issue of obtaining a better fit between unemployment insurance (UI) and retraining was taken in 1970 when the federal government enacted a provision permitting workers to enroll in training without denial of benefits due to application of the work test. Little was done, however, to pursue state compliance…

Egypt's educational system has divided its attention among a series of humanistic, social, and economic goals. Recently, however, the increasingly rapid pace of technological change within the country has caused Egyptian educational policymakers to place greater emphasis on reforming and updating its technical education system. The approach to…

Six papers prepared within the Office of Career Education during the period 1975-76 are contained in this monograph. The papers are presented in their order of preparation, each intended to make some contribution to refinement of the career education concept. "Career Education: A Crusade for Change" discusses the need for, nature of, and…

Prepared as an address to the White House Conference on Families, this addendum includes state by state summaries of recommendations for solving some of the key problems facing American families today. Included are recommendations from the following states: Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, and…

This book presents the results of an extended study of service integration efforts in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, and Oregon, highlighting the nature of existing service integration and the potential of systemic reform efforts. The first part of the book examines the range and complexity of current service integration efforts, offers a definition…

This paper deals with the need to redefine and comprehensively restructure teacher education programs, emphasizing what teachers can best learn, in what contexts, and at what stages of their cognitive and social development as professionals. The report is organized into 5 parts: Part 1 concentrates on what schools should do that they are not…

Prefaces this journal issue on policy-making in early childhood services. Reviews ideas about policy-making processes and policy agendas and what processes shape them, with particular reference to the relationship between research and policies on early childhood services, setting a context for the subsequent articles in the journal. (Author/AA)

Presents guidelines to help children's librarians develop libraries that will meet the future needs of children. Highlights include developing leaders; winning allies; improving public relations efforts; policy formation; organizational change; changing library education; doing research; and the need for evaluation. (LRW)

Three types of surveys were developed to obtain specific recommendations from key educational personnel for improving preservice teacher education programs. Deans, directors, and chairpersons of Florida teacher education programs provided profiles of faculty and students; the institution's standards for admission, selection, and retention of…

This paper discusses the difficulties many school districts have in fully complying with the assistive technology requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), especially the broadened requirement in IDEA 97 to consider the need for assistive technology in developing each Individualized Education Program for students with…