This introduction to a collection of articles on the status of the relationship among educational research, policy, and practice in countries around the world notes that, while research findings influence the development of pressures for change in educational policies and practices, the policy-makers and practitioners, in their turn, influence the…

The issue highlights two articles on the topic of legal and educational factors in serving handicapped students. The first, "Governance and Management of Special Education: A Exploratory Analysis of New York City" by N. Bordier, reviews the impact of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) on policies and practices…

This issue of "Policy Notes" concerns the restructuring of American education during the past quarter-century, with centralization and legalization being the two most noteworthy changes in educational governance. David Kirp claims that the increased control of schooling by state and federal authorities, the elaboration of new…

A conference is reported in which experiential education practitioners addressed the utility and acceptability of the policy guidelines for work oriented experiential education developed by a national advisory panel of management, labor, education, and community representatives. The first part of the report contains the full text of the five…

This bulletin focuses on the views of four authors. The first, Daniel R. Davies, describes the rise and fall of local control and local school board policies and predicts how the vacuum will be filled. Specifically, he analyzes the concomitant waning of local control and school board policymaking power and forecasts stages in the transition from…

On June 5, 1989, the Council of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs of the European Economic Community passed a detailed and comprehensive Resolution on continuing vocational training in Europe. Some of the possible consequences of the resolution are the following: (1) the prospects for the implementation of the Resolution are highly…

A discussion of public policy concerning bilingual education looks at why and how policy should be re-focused on helping Limited English Proficient (LEP) students make academic gains. It first examines some characteristics of the highly diverse and rapidly growing LEP population, including varied academic background, tendency to reside in small…

For more than a year the 2.3 million member National Education Association (NEA) and the 900,000 member American Federation of Teachers (AFT) engaged in merger negotiations. The plan was to bring American teachers together in one union for collective bargaining, political action, and education policy. This report gives a detailed picture of the…

This publication reviews a public-engagement program entitled "Calling the Roll: Study Circles for Better Schools." The program, which was implemented with help from the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, called for policymakers to interact with the public in study circles in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The report relates what the…

An analytical report on educational policy in Zimbabwe, three associated commentaries, and a concluding summary describe ways in which the findings of educational research can be translated into policy in a developing nation. The emphases are on student achievement and equitable allocation of resources. (SLD)

The first two volumes of the Research in English Acquisition and Development (READ) Institute journal, which cover 1993-1995, contain reports of research and programs in English-as-a-Second-Language instruction, bilingual education, and services to limited-English-proficient individuals. Articles include: "Second Language Teaching: A Theoretical…

The politics of education has been ignored in educational administration programs; it has been not enough taught in American programs for educational administrators and not enough emphasized in discussions of administrative roles. Administration increasingly includes political as well as rational decisions. Thus, administrators need a unified…

By setting academic standards, America takes its first critical step toward providing a plan that will create an excellent educational system for the 21st century. It is important for those working on standards and those educating students with disabilities to work together as standards are being developed. Four kinds of standards need to be…

This collection of short articles addresses several issues. The first article briefly discusses the growing lack of confidence in schools, with a glance at the role of the mass media. The second article, an interview on the same topic, looks at the state's loss of credibility regarding education and other areas in the United States and other…

Researchers have discovered that the physical condition of a school can make a difference in student achievement. To further this knowledge, seven articles on school environments, ranging from school repair to strategies for infrastructure funding, are presented. The first article, "The Cruel Conditions of Our Nation's Schools," (Michael…