Factors that have shaped the practice of federal program evaluation in Canada are discussed, including accountability, federal policy issues, political actors, organizational structures, and political and governmental changes. A key issue is that of promise versus performance. (SLD)

Reviews five federal policy-based initiatives for children and families (Project Head Start; lead poisoning prevention; Medicaid; Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and Earned Income Tax Credit), discussing aspects of federal prevention program design, implementation, policy, and research. (Contains references.) (SM)

Discusses the growth in Social Security Administration (SSA) disability programs and suggests that one means of assisting SSA beneficiaries to reduce dependence is for the SSA to directly or indirectly fund competitive employment initiatives focusing on vocational rehabilitation for individuals who are currently served in nonremunerative day…

Analyzes pricing, aid, access, and choice in higher education and draws implications for national higher education policy. Argues that the United States needs a program that provides more assistance to students who are the neediest. (JOW)

Using an educational ideology and curriculum design perspective, a British initiative to promote nurses' lifelong learning was analyzed. The program creates a clash between romanticist and revisionist ideology. From the perspective of Beattie's fourfold curriculum model, it fails to acknowledge the uniqueness of nursing knowledge, the field's…

Depression-era vocational programs trained local workers and "warehoused" the unemployed. Examines Depression-era enrollments in federal vocational programs and analyzes mechanisms affecting the match between federal policy goals and local policy outcomes in three southern states. Black enrollments responded to funding differences. White…

Evaluation of the implementation of Individual Learning Accounts in Britain revealed five themes that may explain the program's lack of success: individualistic approach to adult education, conflict of individualism with partnership, ineffective targeting of low-skilled populations, lack of linkage with a lifelong commitment to learning, and…

Analysis of the United Kingdom's Modern Apprenticeship program, designed to increase intermediate job skills, shows that in many sectors, apprentices leave without completing qualifications, especially in sectors with no history of apprenticeship. A key problem is lack of employer demand conflicting with the government's focus on improving social…

In response to Fischer (HE 527 626), the author considers a proposal to simplify need analysis in Pell grants and other federal need-based student aid as having merit but threatening serious financial harm to many current Pell grant recipients and their institutions. It is argued that focus on budgetary advantages ignores potential dislocations…

In response to Fischer (HE 527 626), the author considers a proposal to simplify and unify need analysis in Pell grants and other federal need-based student aid as appropriate. It is also argued that a single need analysis is needed because the complexity of the existing systems is a barrier to achieving the programs' central goal. (MSE)

The United States Department of Education's tenth annual report on the implementation of Public Law 94-142 contains improvements but shows overdependence on reporting numbers of students without descriptions of evolutions in service delivery, and raises questions about the effectiveness of monitoring efforts carried out by the Office of Special…

Considers the effects of the Leadership in Educational Administration Development (LEAD) Program. Reviews both program and project specific accomplishments. (JOW)

Aside from promoting school choice and easing regulatory restraints, the federal government's role seems limited to continuing Chapter 1 and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. "First Generation" federal programs are a poor match for the problems afflicting urban schools. A new federal strategy is needed to stimulate local planning and…

This paper examines how leadership from the Reagan Administration has galvanized a national effort to improve school performance in pursuit of excellence and economic growth with a minimum of federal expenditures and no direct intervention in state and local educational affairs. (TE)

Describes the NorthWest Service Academy (NWSA), part of the AmeriCorps national service initiative, that focuses on community work programs in education, the environment, health and human needs, and public safety in parts of Oregon and Washington. NWSA participants receive a weekly living allowance and basic health insurance, as well as a $4,725…