Based on the experience of the past, current viewpoints, and opinions about the future as conceived by the Committee on Vocational Education Research and Development (COVERD), this paper explains a framework for considering alternative policy options and discusses the relationships among the social environment, status and trends in vocational…

An analysis of the major federal goals in postsecondary education is undertaken along with a consideration of the effects of federal programs on these goals. Also included are topics for deliberation by the 95th Congress. The paper focuses on labor market effects of postsecondary education, future policy questions, federal efforts to achieve equal…

This article suggests eight sequential steps by which the public school teacher can involve the school counselor more directly with the classroom. They are, basically, that the counselor should be sized up, confronted, invited, stimulated, praised, informed, convinced, and enjoyed. Counselors need "warm fuzzies", too. (Author/BP)

State and federal policymakers should consider research findings that demonstrate how quality early childhood programs prevent later academic failure among children from low-income families. Recommends ways funding and programs should be implemented. References included. (CJH)

The history of medical school financial aid is reviewed and the development of an institutionally based, privately financed loan program is described. Programs such as Dartmouth's MELCO can help preserve adequate financial aid for medical students as federal programs decline. (Author/MLW)

Proposes a way to streamline federal categorical program management while maintaining equity and equality. The proposal has three components: (1) incentives to state governments to adopt programs that meet federal objectives; (2) schoolwide coordination of programs; and (3) waivers from categorical program requirements under certain conditions.…

This book is the fourth of four volumes in a directory of more than 1,000 discretionary grants and contracts supported by the Research to Practice Division of the Office of Special Education Programs. This volume focuses on projects concerned with technical assistance, dissemination, parent information, and state improvement. The Technical…

Because of an increasingly challenging fiscal climate, state lawmakers are faced with making tough financial decisions regarding their early childhood systems. This document describes and examines various funding sources used when making decisions about possible early childhood initiatives combined with policy choices that may be considered in…

This booklet provides concise information about the schools, colleges, and other educational programs and activities of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP). During the 2000-2001 school year, OIEP directly served about 49,000 Native students in 185 K-12 schools operated by the BIA or by tribes with BIA…

The issue brief describes the research base for the National Center for Children in Poverty's (NCCP's) framework to assess welfare changes from a children's perspective and points to lessons from current and past welfare-to-work evaluations. Many changes are now implemented in welfare policies due to new legislation titled the Personal…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) collects data on a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs, classrooms, teachers, parents, and children examining the quality and effects of Head Start. Three waves of data collection have occurred: in 1997, 2000, and 2003. Information presented in this publication is…

Informational, diagnostic, prescriptive functions of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are best served by governance structure composed of federal, state, and local members and a standing technical advisory board. Structure protects NAEP from undue federal influence and special interest groups, builds bridges to educators and…

Future federal education policy should shift from complex, detailed regulations to broader grants of authority to state governments, with clear guidelines that specify national goals. Past federal activities, classified as distributive, regulatory, or redistributive, are reviewed to assess factors indicating effectiveness. (CJ)

To relieve the increasing shortage of skilled workers in the United Kingdom, the government established boards to stimulate and regulate private industry's training efforts and also provided direct training services in Skillcentres (formerly Government Training Centres). The article describes the Skillcentres program, training objectives, program…

Section 439A of the Education Amendments of 1976 restricts the dischargeability of federal student loans to cases of "undue hardship." The origin, applications, and legal procedures involved in Section 439A and in Section 523(a) of the new Bankruptcy Code are examined and suggestions are made for determining the meaning of "undue…