In order to have a public education system that caters to the cultural, policy, and pedagogical preferences of communities, more citizens need to participate in local school board elections. This report discusses why school board elections should be moved on cycle (i.e., held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of an even…

The article proposes and illustrates a methodological framework that aligns with the action-research models and utopian methodology in particular, although it represents a more substantial leap forward, especially regarding the distributed nature of decision making in the different processes of research/intervention, and its multiple and…

This article recalls a time when local government infrastructure was strong and a Chief Education Officer's (CEO) vision could be realised across a region, in Clegg's case the West Riding of Yorkshire, one of the largest of the pre-1974 counties in England. It is timely to revisit Clegg's educational leadership and practice from 1945 to 1974, as a…

The public funding of early years education and care in England has been transformed. Historically, local councils had the main responsibility for decisions regarding nursery education and child day care, but in 1996 the Conservative government introduced a nursery education voucher scheme. Parents of four-year-olds could exchange the voucher for…

This design case details the critical design decisions used in the development of an e-learning module library for North Carolina local government officials focused on land use regulations. These modules cover topics from an introduction to land use regulations, to evidentiary hearing conduct guidelines, defining vested rights, and explaining how…

This paper provides theoretical and methodological arguments to study the politics of space in small marginal and depopulated areas of Spain. The case for research is the Riaza river valley in the province of Segovia. Usually the analysis of rural space (and the geographical space in general) provides opposing presentations: vertical, between…

In order to help middle school students understand the many aspects that go into making decisions about environmental issues and concerns, as well as identifying the players involved in these decisions, an environmental town meeting activity was developed by the author. It includes opportunities to learn how the viewpoints of environmental…

This document presents a summary of the report, "How Eight State Education Agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region Identify and Support Low-Performing Schools and Districts." This larger report describes and analyzes how eight state education agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New…

Reported is a demonstration of the use of basic economic principles to aid local governments in decision making. The problem analyzed in this study is the possible acquisition and development of a golf course by the City of San Buenaventura, California. Three purchasing alternatives and several financing options are examined. Researchers conclude…

Recent developments, such as passage of the Children Act 2004, subsequent implementation of "Every Child Matters: Change for Children" and increase in funding to councils for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the Local Government Association (LGA) asked the NFER to examine the funding mechanisms and priorities in…

The Advanced Further Education (AFE) Pool was conceived in Britain in the 1950s to distribute public funds for higher education. The 1980-81 pool broke with tradition by having a fixed amount to be apportioned by local authorities rather than having a size determined by institutional needs. The change is seen as fundamentally political. (SE)

This report addressed to policy making officials in local government deals with the role of federal assistance in future developments of information systems by local governments through an assessment of the Urban Information Systems Inter-Agency Committee (USAC) Program, which, beginning in 1970, provided grants to five municipalities--Charlotte,…

To help high school students learn first-hand about county and local government, educators in New York state developed a community internship program. The program stressed frequent discussions between students and officials to review meetings they had attended and to assess student progress on journals of local government activities, community…

Using natural resources data from a system developed by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, an Extension program to educate public officials who make land use decisions was conducted in a series of workshops over three years. Program effectiveness is evaluated and positive and negative results are noted. (MF)

Since 1974 the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) has provided support staff for capacity building and innovative programming for the experiment stations and extension services of 28 land-grant universities in 13 southern states and Puerto Rico. The Center exists to provide the best possible information and assistance to extension and…