Social changes in Sweden have engendered concrete problems for young people. For example, an extensive government-sponsored day care system has left many youth longing for social contacts with adults. The Swedish society is giving material welfare higher priority than social welfare. Possible solutions are discussed. (RM)

Communicative tasks are defined as activities in which meaning is primary, there is a goal which needs to be worked toward, there is a real world relationship and the interaction among students is the means for achieving the task outcome. However, it was assumed that adopting communicative tasks alone is not adequate as it leads the learner to…

New research conducted by Boston's Center for Collaborative Education documents significant achievement by students who attend the city's Pilot Schools. Pilot School students are performing better than the district averages across every indicator of student engagement and performance, including the statewide standardized assessment (MCAS). In…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Saving Futures, Saving Dollars": Five Percent Increase in Male Graduation Rate Could Lead to Savings of $8…

This report presents results for the first trial school-district-level science assessment in NAEP at grades 4 and 8. Ten urban public-school districts voluntarily participated: Atlanta City, Austin Independent School District, Boston School District, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, City of Chicago School District 299, Cleveland City School…

Evidence is clear that urban high poverty public schools are failing to meet the educational needs of its students, particularly students of color. The present study examines the effectiveness of two types of high poverty parochial schools for 354 African American middle school students. Results show that alternative middle schools, known as…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on expanding perspectives in human resource development (HRD) research. "The Concept of Culture in International and Comparative HRD Research: Methodological Problems and Possible Solutions" (Alexander Ardichvili, K. Peter Kuchinke) discusses the following topics: (1) alternative…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to determine who is being served by the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program (FSE&T program), what services are being provided through the program, and what is known about the program's outcomes and effectiveness. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not collect nationwide data on…

This report details findings of the eighth annual (2003-2004) national survey of the attitudes and plans of American adolescents. Participating in the telephone survey was a nationally representative sample of 1,003 students aged 13 to 18, in ninth through twelfth grade. The report summarizes findings "at a glance" and discusses findings…

Although it is commonly assumed that children living in public housing are at greater risk of experiencing academic and behavioral problems than other low-income children, there is little research available documenting the circumstances and experiences of these children and examining whether differences in outcomes between them and their…

The number of disadvantaged school leavers facing a shortage of chances to participate in society and work is growing. Austria, Germany, and Switzerland have different regulations regarding length of compulsory schooling. All three regard participation in apprenticeship as a kind of standard, and their governments direct strong efforts to bring in…

A study of research was conducted to determine how welfare and work policies enacted in 1996 targeted at low-income parents have influenced their adolescent children. Using meta-analytic techniques, the research synthesis integrates survey data collected from parents in eight studies of 16 different welfare and employment programs, focusing on…

In the classic employment contract, especially at large companies, wages were not strongly responsive to the labor market. Instead, individual companies had distinctive company wage levels and patterns. An exhaustive study of employers and employees in the United States and Japan examined whether the "old employment contract" has been…

Globalization is an evolving concept characterized by economic, technological, social, and political dimensions. Vocational education and training (VET) practitioners and the VET system must make more conscious efforts to lead thinking about the social dimension of globalization. The mission of Australian VET today is largely couched in economic…

A study examined experiences of early leavers in the United States (US) and Australia in the first two years beyond high school. Data were from these comparable longitudinal surveys: US data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988; Australian data from the 1975 cohort of the Youth in Transition surveys. Findings indicated similar…