Findings from a study that examined the effects of partisanism on suburban school board elections in Canada are presented in this paper. The study focused on the effects of formal political parties and more loosely organized political slates on political aggregation in school board elections. Questionnaires were completed by 11 partisan school…

Findings of a case study that examined how nonincremental policy changes occurred in Ohio education are presented in this paper. Specifically, the paper applies Mazzoni's two arena models of policy innovation to understand the 1989 passage of S.B. 140, or the Omnibus Education Reform Act. In the first model, policy innovations occur when the…

Outcome based education (OBE) is a way to organize curriculum and instruction so that the focus is on what educators want students to achieve. Key principles are defining clear outcomes, expanding learning opportunities to better achieve these outcomes, and having high expectations for learning success. OBE must be viewed as a process, rather than…

The report examines the development and implementation of performance indicators at institutions of higher education, through presentation of position statements on 11 countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and United Kingdom. General conclusions are summarized in an introductory…

The paper examines trends in the assessment of children in the public schools. A brief history notes changes in the role of school personnel relative to the assessment process, and considers economic factors (specialization and accountability) influencing the assessment function. Among the social/political factors influencing the assessment…

A large research project on state governance and coordination of higher education is introduced. Attention is directed to the objectives, intellectual roots, and interdisciplinary scope of research that is necessary on the topics of state higher education executive officers, their agencies, and their boards. Following a brief review of relevant…

Richard Nixon's 1952 "Checkers" speech was an innovative use of television for political communication. Like television news itself, the campaign fund crisis behind the speech can be thought of in the same terms as other television melodrama, with the speech serving as its climactic episode. The speech adapted well to television because…

Noting that the key issue in Italian educational politics is the over-supply of students and under-supply of both professors and facilities within the universities of Italy, the author discusses present efforts at reform in light of the social, economic, and political factors affecting the situation. (JT)

Outlines a planning philosophy and a preliminary model that links the State's role in trying to effect change with that of the Federal government and of other constituencies. Describes how New York State has implemented the model in two specific projects. (Author/WM)

In developing countries ideology plays an important role in the political process, for the level of disorganization forces political leaders to look for support and loyalty rather than efficiency. (Author)

Reviews the Democratic Republic of Zaire in geographic, economic, demographic, historical, and educational terms and concludes that to date the reorganization required by new policy goals has been implemented by "fiat." The government of Zaire needs to fashion an authentic process of educational planning. (Author/WM)

A study of the agenda-setting influence of the mass media on adult viewers explored (in a series of five experiments) how political knowledge stored in long term memory can be activated by the media, leading to decisions about issue salience. Spreading activation theory formed the basis for the study, and priming--the concept that the activation…

A study investigated the political socialization patterns of politically active vocational educators. Six groups of vocational educators were examined: agriculture education teacher educators, agriculture administrators, home economics teacher educators, home economics administrators, trade and industrial education teacher educators, and trade and…

The paper describes the present state of education in Nigeria with emphasis on the cultural, socio-economic, and political influences affecting special education. After a brief summary of education in Nigeria since independence (1960), the paper looks at problems identified in special education and at Section 8, that portion of the National Policy…

The relationship between higher education and governors and state government is explored in eight articles. Brief introductions are provided by Samuel K. Gove of the University of Illinois and Governor Lamar Alexander, who served as a National Governors' Association chairman. An overview of the 1985 Wingspread Conference, which focused on the…