This 10th and final hearing in a series related to the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, focused on three specific areas: (1) the challenges posed by demographic changes in the college student population--nearly half of all students attend community colleges where the average age of students is 29; (2) the challenges and opportunities…

This book documents goals, challenges, and prospects in contemporary efforts to develop alphabetic literacies in traditionally unwritten languages, using case study examples of indigenous language development in the Americas. An introduction and conclusion by Nancy H. Hornberger, "Indigenous Literacies in the Americas" and "Language…

In spite of political pressure, bilingualism is emerging as a strategy for improving the academic achievement of all students. Two-way bilingual or dual-language programs integrate language-minority and language-majority students for instruction in two languages. Site-based decision making has enabled schools in cities that border with Mexico to…

This report examines the status of Burundi's formal education system, focusing on elementary and secondary schooling. It addresses the issues of access to education and quality of education as well as the role of the state and donors in funding the system. It explains how the protracted civil war in Burundi has paralyzed the education system,…

This paper lays out a performance-based model to better leverage the mission and power of school boards toward improving student learning. It moves beyond discussions about whether boards should be elected or appointed, instead arguing that mode of selection is less directly responsible for board success than clarity and focus about its mission…

The purpose of this monograph, which is aimed at educational planners, is to explain the essential aspects of the relationship between planning and law. It is intended to illustrate the role of law in the planning and administration of school systems and thus familiarize education specialists with the tools needed to understand legal…

The Native Schools system was a system of village primary schools for Maori children operated by the New Zealand state from 1867 to 1969. The official purpose of the system was assimilation. Virtually all previous historical accounts of the Native Schools have been written by Pakeha (non-Maori, usually of European descent) and based on material…

During the 1980s and 1990s, state legislatures became significantly involved in developing policy that determined how and where students should be offered their K-12 education. These legislative acts have occurred most notably in the passage of revision of policy dealing with public school finance, charter schools, home schools, choice enrollment,…

This paper examines the education of New Zealand's Maori people, noting historical achievement and enrollment gaps between Maori and non-Maori students. This gap is due to family economics, educational resources, cultural and racial barriers at school, negative school attitudes among older Maori students, and the student achievement testing…

This book explores the various forces affecting the culture of higher education, exploring that environment by examining the feelings, attitudes, and actions of the faculty, staff, and administrators who work in U.S. colleges and universities. Through discussions and numerous case studies the book's seven chapters examine the following issues: (1)…

This book was written for scholars, policymakers, and educators and provides both an introduction to issues in literacy and language diversity and compelling questions for those who work in the field. Based on national data, the extent of language diversity in the United States is explored; what is known about English literacy, native language…

This collection of essays is authored by social scientists who are concerned primarily with relationships between academic knowledge and political power, rethinking the traditional view of politics and science as mutually exclusive fields of study. Chapters are organized into three parts: "Introduction"; "The Institutional Politics of Knowledge…

This publication includes six essays that were presented at the first of three tri-national seminars on diversity issues in higher education. The seminars brought together representatives and observers of higher education from India, South Africa, and the United States to explore the role of higher education in promoting understanding of human…

This report describes the efforts of South Dakota's six public universities to increase their quality, accountability, and efficiency. Through the initiatives of the South Dakota Board of Regents, which is the governing authority, they have moved from a system that funds institutions by enrollment to one that provides base funding with incentives…

This paper explores paradoxes of southern school and university segregation, analyzing how National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) litigation and local African American activism altered southern public education. The paradoxes first surfaced in the 1940s, when the constitutionality of separate and unequal salary…