This edition of "Bright Futures" highlights 12 states (Alabama, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Guam, Maine, Pennsylvania and Kansas) that have received grants to support the development of an Early Childhood Advisory Council. Other features of this edition include announcements of state early…

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is a province-wide partnership program whose goal is to improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority. It is currently ending its third cycle and ninth year of implementation. "The Colloquium on…

Annual reports from 45 states, the District of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces are presented. They focus on problems, activities, achievements, and other areas of interest to the postsecondary education community. Each state commission on higher education reviews such topics as pertinent legislative actions, priorities, enrollment,…

In fall 1996, the British Columbia Ministry of Education, Skills and Training released a strategic plan calling for the development of block transfer agreements between institutions to eliminate the time-consuming process of course-by-course credit assessment. Currently, institutions conduct independent evaluations of elements of an incoming…

The Public School Forum of North Carolina examined how to identify and prepare school leaders who can meet the challenges of the 21st century in the state's public schools, and it made recommendations for making the current system stronger and more productive. In searching for comprehensive approaches that could provide leadership preparation…

Determined general and specific processes of program approval and program review found in 50 states and 8 foreign countries. Defines models that depict these procedures and discusses strengths and weaknesses of each. Suggests alternatives to current practices by U.S. state agencies. (SLD)

The report on areas needing further development in provision of quality literacy services for Ontario's (Canada) native populations, based on site visits to native literacy programs, identifies seven key areas for change: (1) strategic planning for program development and implementation and advocacy; (2) program growth and administration; (3)…

This issue contains annual reports from 48 states, the District of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces (Manitoba, the Maritime Provinces, and Quebec), focusing on problems, activities, achievements, special projects, and other areas of interest to the postsecondary education community. Reports are not included for Iowa and North Carolina. (MSE)

Upon completion of a collaboratively generated plan for curriculum development in the state of Victoria, Australia, in the early 1980s, the state's education ministry appointed a committee to create and carry out a strategy for implementing the newly developed policies. The committee consisted of representatives from the state's education…

The Ministry of Education in the state of Victoria, Australia, prepared six papers outlining new educational policies in the early 1980s. To encourage local implementation of the recommendations contained in the sixth paper, "Curriculum Development and Planning in Victoria," the ministry's Curriculum Branch is writing 10 "curriculum…

In 1995, efforts to develop Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system focused on implementing Australia's first national strategy for VET, Towards a Skilled Australia. All stakeholders in VET worked to advance Australia's national strategy for VET, which revolved around the following four themes: responsiveness (maximizing…

This report presents results of a project to produce a set of strategies to ensure the compatibility of Australian state and territory information systems with the requirements of the National Management Information and Statistics System (NATMISS) and the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard…

IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA, A STUDY OF POPULATION GROWTH AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA POINTED UP THE NEED FOR A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO POST-SCHOOL NON-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. AFTER REVIEWING PROGRAMS IN OTHER PARTS OF CANADA AND IN THE UNITED STATES, THE AUTHOR ANALYZED THE CURRENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN ALBERTA…

Objectives and components of British Columbia's Year 2000 program are described in this paper. Purposes of the program are to develop educated citizens and a learner-focused system. The curriculum acknowledges the many influences on learning and the multifaceted spheres of literacy. The restructuring of basic programs--primary (K-3), intermediate…

The AccessMichigan Electronic Community Health Information Initiative (AMECHII) is a response to a recommendation of the Michigan Information Technology Commission Report recommending improved access to high-quality health care information for all Michigan stakeholders. This project is multi-type, including public, general academic, academic…