Dissemination in career and technical education does not simply disperse information, new products, new practices and materials, and new ideas designed to stimulate local change but does so in ways that promote its use. Federal efforts to promote dissemination of research-based information in education are: (1) deeply indebted to the agricultural…

The creation of a quasi-market in England and Wales schooling has changed pupil, parent, and school behavior in a way that has reinforced the dominance of traditional, academic schooling. A study summarized results of research into this quasi-market behavior, with particular emphasis upon the upper secondary age group. The study found that while…

Analyses completed prior to November 2001 provided a context for examining vocational education (VE) and a description of participation at secondary and postsecondary levels, a logical first step in evaluating VE's status and effectiveness. They were a small, but significant part of a comprehensive research agenda being conducted under the…

Job placement, unemployment insurance, and active labor market policy in Germany were reviewed. The following were among the review's main conclusions: (1) measures of active and passive labor market policy are still regarded as important to combating unemployment and improving the matching function of the German labor market; (2) the many…

The Sierra Leone National Education Master Plan 1997-2006 deals with all aspects of the formal and non-formal sectors of the education system, providing support for basic education, education for the physically challenged, disadvantaged and gifted learners, women and girls' education, technical/vocational and science education, tertiary education,…

Ideological arguments are made for open learning, economic ones for distance education. If it can produce similar results to those of conventional education at a lower cost, then distance education has a powerful appeal. With increasing demand for access to educational opportunities at all levels, and often decreasing budgets in real terms for…

Strengthening the innovation system in the Netherlands is a priority for raising productivity growth, which has been relatively weak in recent years. Knowledge creation in the Netherlands is strong -- scientific publications per capita are the sixth highest in the OECD -- but innovation activity is only around the average for OECD countries…

In the last twenty years, courts throughout the country have entertained claims relating to disparities in school funding. Early school finance suits sought to equalize "inputs" in terms of per pupil or overall expenditures. More recently, the advent of rigorous state accountability plans and the federal No Child Left Behind Act has…

On March 25, 2003, the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) received a Management Letter that outlined the expectations of the Ministry of Advanced Education for the B.C. Council on Admissions and Transfer in 2003-2004. In this Annual Report, BCCAT details how the Council has addressed and met those expectations and…

The size and adequacy of the federal workforce for carrying out scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities are ongoing concerns in many policy circles. Experts both inside and outside of government have voiced fears that this workforce is aging and may soon face a dwindling labor pool, a problem that could be compounded…

Canada has a national network of over 150 colleges and institutes in over 900 communities in all regions of the country. These institutions are mandated to support the socio-economic development of the communities and regions. Colleges and institutes develop education and training programs to meet employer needs with direct input from business,…

What students do in college matters as much as anything else in terms of their educational success. Educationally effective colleges and universities - those that add value to the student experience - intentionally craft policies and practices that channel students' energy to the activities that matter to student learning. Students who…

The National Accessible Reading Assessment Projects (NARAP) is a collaboration of two projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education to conduct research and development on accessible reading assessments for students with disabilities that affect reading. The goal of these projects is to produce research findings and assessment techniques that…

The Higher Education -- Students Speak II survey was developed by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) and the Educational Policy Institute to identify the types and breadth of work-based learning activities that four-year college students experienced during high school, and to determine the correlation of these activities on…

Efforts focused on improving quality processes based upon the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence may hold promise for fundamentally improving K-12 education. This policy report examines the information available on improving school quality through implementation of the Baldrige criteria. It provides a snapshot of what…