Reviews "Lifelong Learning During Adulthood: An Agenda for Research," one of the reports issued by the College Board in its Future Directions for a Learning Society program. States that the report's content seems ambivalent in its philosophical position and its indication of research needs. (MF)

Analysis of variance was used in a study of 47 Irish high schools to discover--with respect to four standardized achievement tests and l3 public examinations--the percentage of variance lying between schools, between classes, and within classes. (Implications for research on school effectiveness are discussed). (CTM)

Analyzes changes in the representation of Black teachers in 176 urban school districts between 1968 and 1986. Concludes that northern districts have been moving toward greater representation of Blacks over the past 20 years at a rate significantly faster than the southern districts. (FMW)

In 1998, 27 percent of rural children in the South were poor, compared to 17 percent elsewhere; the rural South also had more severe child poverty. Nationally, poor children were more likely to live in mother-only families; be Black; and have younger, less-educated, or unemployed parents. These factors were more prevalent in the rural South than…

Identifies factors that account for the necessity of regionalization and constitute the basis of the process of regionalization. Describes the vision of educational space that determines the three stages of regionalization of the content of Russian education. States that educational regionalization in Sverdlovsk Oblast (region) is approaching the…

This study examined the perceptions of students and instructors in regard to learner-centered pedagogy and web-based learning at a regional public university in a southern state. The study focused on recommendations for online learning, studies of learner-centered pedagogy, and online learning practices such as collaboration, problem-based…

We use data from a sample of applicants to a national means-tested school voucher program and a national sample of the population eligible for the program to evaluate the factors leading families to use school vouchers. Our analysis divides the process of voucher usage into two distinct stages: initial application and subsequent take-up. Using a…

This study examines cross-national differences in returns to literacy skills and explores possible explanations for such differences. Data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) are analyzed using multilevel models. Returns to literacy skills are higher in liberal market economies (LMEs) than in social market economies (SMEs).…

A research study was conducted using the small population of current graduate preparation faculty who were both NASPA members and former student affairs practitioners (n = 38). The purpose of this study was to discover the benefits and challenges faced by practitioners when moving from an administrative position to a full-time faculty position in…

Although many observers have drawn attention to the low levels of trust in physicians among members of racial/ethnic minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status, the reasons for this mistrust are not well understood. Using a social distance perspective and a large, nationally representative data set, I find that blacks and Hispanics are…

In unidimensional absolute identification tasks, participants identify stimuli that vary along a single dimension. Performance is surprisingly poor compared with discrimination of the same stimuli. Existing models assume that identification is achieved using long-term representations of absolute magnitudes. The authors propose an alternative…

Many test-based accountability systems, including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), place great weight on the numbers of students who score at or above specified proficiency levels in various subjects. Accountability systems based on these metrics often provide incentives for teachers and principals to target children near current…

Group differences among ethnic and racial groups on a series of educational measures and outcomes are examined. African-American and Hispanic students perform substantially lower than white and Asian students on the SAT I. These substantial differences also exist on a variety of other admissions tests used for undergraduate, graduate, and…

A survey of 830 institutions of higher education in the United States explored the status of initiatives to promote information literacy, which is defined as a subset of critical thinking skills that consists of an individual's knowing when he/she has an informational need and how to access, evaluate, and effectively use information. The survey…

This pamphlet answers four basic questions: (1) What is known about working mothers in North Carolina? (2) What is known about child care arrangements in the state? (3) Are regional differences in maternal employment and child care important? (4) What do the answers to these questions reveal about public policies that could improve the well-being…