Rising youth unemployment has been arousing increasing concern in nearly all the industrial democracies, while it has become more clear throughout the 1970's that prolongation of schooling has brought severe problems of adjustment for young people who are being held in school through a combination of parental and societal pressures, and are not…

A profile of the humanities in American education and public life is presented, and means for strengthening them over the next decade are recommended. The humanities are examined in terms of education, cultural institutions, and public and private funding. Broad definitions of literacy, vocationalism, and the purposes of education at all levels…

The rising cost of college textbooks has recently become a topic of intense public debate. It is perceived as a significant barrier to college attendance, and an assortment of legislative remedies has been proposed. This position paper of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges explains that profit is just one of a complex series of…

On July 22, 1997, a panel of approximately 25 individuals, including members of the Accountability Committee of the National Association of State Directors of Vocational Technical Education, participated in a focus group for the following purposes: to identify the information needed for program accountability; to assess the National Center for…

The National Association of State Directors of Vocational Technical Education Consortium (NASDVTEC) supports enactment of legislation that is dedicated solely to vocational-technical education (VTE). NASDVTEC urges the 105th Congress to build on the existing foundation of a strong state role in VTE by drafting legislation that achieves the…

This document synthesizes reports on quality issues and trends in vocational education and training (VET) in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Discussed in the report's five sections are the following topics: quality concepts and their application to VET (VET in Europe, quality concepts and their application…

During the 1920s, progressive women activists invented welfare to help mothers and their children survive when breadwinning fathers either died or abandoned their families. During the 1930s, the local mothers' pension programs of the Progressive Era became part of the emerging national welfare state, which was conceived to relieve poor single…

The Rural and Remote Education Advisory Council of Western Australia developed a 4-year plan to improve educational access, participation, and achievement by rural people of Western Australia. The plan outlines seven priorities: (1) ensuring that rural students are able to participate in quality education and training; (2) ensuring a broad…

This document outlines the educational programs and issues affecting American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students in early childhood, K-12, adult, and postsecondary education at the start of the 107th Congress (2001). The national American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian education agenda requires the formal…

Although the Workforce Reinvestment and Adult Education Act contains several provisions that move the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program in the right direction, it fails to respond to the needs of Latino workers and job seekers in a meaningful way. Although WIA's stated purpose aims to serve all populations, implementation of the new system…

This document details the position of the Further Education Development Agency (FEDA) regarding 21 issues included in a recent initiative to introduce compulsory initial teaching qualifications into further education (FE) and the requirement that such qualifications should meet national standards. The following are among the positions taken by the…

This document presents information on how the Western states are responding to some of the major policy issues facing U.S. higher education today and on the strategies they have used to implement change. The study, prepared by the Western Policy Exchange Project, defines today's higher education environment as characterized by dynamic global,…

Australia's new information technology training package emphasizes assessment occurring in the workplace or in a simulated work environment. The options available to Australia's technical and further education (TAFE) institutes in delivering institutionalized training to meet this requirement were explored. The following four options were…

As a medium for delivering lifelong learning, the Internet makes it possible to customize education to individual needs, deliver education anywhere and anytime, and enable learners to interact with other learners and teachers collaboratively to solve problems and learn new skills. Nevertheless, as a medium for delivering lifelong learning, the…

The National Assessment Summit was designed to bring together users and producers of assessments and engage them in a discussion of unmet assessment needs and untapped assessment capacities. The meeting was truly a summit in that national foreign language organizations and associations were asked to nominate representatives to bring their…