This paper focuses on the importance of providing students with a broad humanistic education while, at the same time, maintaining accountability to urban taxpayers. The author describes the contemporary situation of tax revolts, millage defeats, and concern over student proficiency exams, and attributes these phenomena to the public's desire to…

As the percentage of societal investment in an organization such as a local school district increases, so too will the amount of external regulation and control, and the organization will proliferate a formal structure responsible for self-evaluation. With the increase in extra-local control, evaluation tends to be used externally rather than…

The book, second in a series concerning the habilitation of the severely and profoundly retarded, was compiled to facilitate rapid professional dissemination of reports from the Specialized Training Program at the University of Oregon. Titles and authors in the section "Issues in Habilitation" include "Vocational Training and…

Citizen participation may be defined as consisting of voluntary activities undertaken by persons in their roles as ordinary citizens, or amateurs, to influence public decisions or the actions of public officials. Citizen participation is the latest mechanism of a democratic people for dealing with "big government" and making it accountable.…

This document presents a research effort intended to improve the economic information available for formulating politics and making decisions related to Information Analysis Centers (IAC's) and IAC services. The project used a system of IAC information activities to analyze the functional aspects of IAC services, calculate the present value of net…

Evaluations occur within a political decision-making mileau, where multiple stakeholders are contending for limited funds. Given the subjective basis of empirical information, different conclusions or recommendations about a program may result from different ideological, theoretical, and disciplinary perspectives. The logic behind the…

Some of the critical choice points in the development of collective bargaining in public institutions of higher education are traced. The single most important aspect of the bargaining process that determines the nature of collective bargaining is enabling legislation. Changes that have appeared to influence the probability of unionization concern…

This learning module on performance-based vocational education (PBVE) in South Carolina is one of nine developed for use in training administrators, teachers, and prospective teachers in the utilization of Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States (V-TECS) catalogs of performance objectives, criterion-referenced measures, and performance…

In order to determine how much objective evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of career education programs in U.S. schools, American Institutes for Research in Behavioral Sciences (AIR) conducted a comprehensive, national search for well-evaluated activities. The initial nominations of 394 programs were received from state career education…

Current formula funding practices in the South and implications for the future are analyzed. Formula funding systems are used in 12 of the 14 states belonging to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). Changes that have occurred in the formulas of each state since 1973-74 are described. Data from 1977-78 academic year are compared to the…

The ramifications of a decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court that legislation shall provide for the maintenance and support of a "thorough and efficient" system of free public education for all children in the state from ages 5 to 18 are discussed. Salient points made by the court in the decision are examined, and ensuing reactions…

This article is an attempt to assist open education advocates in seriously defending their commitments to humanistic or open education. The first section defines the term "open education" and traces its background. The remainder of the article is an attempt to generate principles to guide and defend open education as a viable alternative. Several…

This report describes an accountability program--the Responsive, Evaluative, Accountability System Operating Newark Schools (REASONS)--used in an Ohio school district. First, the planning model is discussed, including rationale for a management system that will assess and improve education in the district. Next, developmental objectives and…

Suburban migration has been seen as a means of improving one's standard of living; the high quality of education in suburbia was believed to be one way of achieving this improvement. However, it appears that the suburbanites' belief in the American dream and their support of the educational system have cooled. Dissatisfaction among middle class…

A changed curriculum will be necessary for education in the future. Current social and demographic trends emphasize the need for futures studies and systems dynamics. Educational personnel must be aware of and understand social trends of increased information generation, numerical literacy, the growing importance of and dependence on machines, and…