Demographic and socioeconomic changes are reshaping the fortunes of small communities and pose policy issues. Such communities find it especialy difficult to deal with rapid growth or decline, or a switch from one to the other. Small communities now enjoy greater autonomy, but at the cost of reduced federal aid. Freed from federal mandates, each…

The characteristics of California's Student Aid Commission grant program applicants and recipients were examined to assess the extent to which aid programs meet state goals. Attention is directed to major problems confronting the three Cal Grant programs and a range of possible policy and program options. The three programs are: Cal Grant A State…

These proceedings consist of the following eight papers: "Vocational Training in Brazil--Aspects of Economic Policy and Planning," by Gustav Schachter "Economic Stabilization and Medium Term Development Strategy in Brazil," by Peter T. Knight; "Training and Development," by Manuel Zymelman; "The Organization of…

Excellence is required in academic and vocational education to meet the challenges of an information age. There can no longer be divisiveness between the academic and vocational fields; cooperation is needed so students can see the connections between what they learn and what they will need to do on the job. The report issued by the National…

Background questions to support a federally-sponsored assessment of major student aid delivery system options are addressed. Attention is directed to: (1) information needed by the U.S. Secretary of Education to decide about changes to the delivery system; (2) reasons that delivery system redesign is a critical issue; (3) what can be learned from…

This paper explores ideological factors that influenced child labor reform and the image of the child as depicted in romantic and sentimental literature of 19th century England and the United States. In both countries the image of the child and the view of the relative roles of the parent and the state in bearing responsibility for children…

This paper presents a set of new ideas which support the value of school desegregation in the United States. First, school desegregation efforts have been almost universally effective, no matter what implementation strategy was employed. Even busing, although widely criticized, has been effective. Second, desegregation efforts have usually…

This Congressional report contains the testimony presented at a hearing focusing on the need for expanding available medical facilities and services for older U.S. veterans in New Jersey. Included among those agencies and organizations represented at the hearing were the following: the Veterans Administration; the Division of Health Policy…

This exploration of the growing field of literacy voluntarism encompasses the literature, history, trends, and issues of the volunteer role in literacy programs. The majority of the literature is characterized as descriptive and program specific; the research is found to lack definition and theoretical foundation. The literature also reflects…

Presented in nine separate chapters are nine studies involving the direct observation of science classrooms. Eight of the nine chapters are based on qualitative data collection techniques which typically aim for depth of insight and understanding. Studies included are: "Critical Barriers to the Understanding of Elementary Science: Learning…

Strategic planning in higher education is discussed from the perspective of institutional research. Attention is directed to: institutional mission, institutional assessment, institutional leadership, environmental assessment, market analysis, and competitive position. Strategic planning merges incrementalism, which focuses on flexibility,…

This compilation of conference materials consists of: programme, inaugural and closing addresses, working group reports, background papers, and a reference document. The principle substantitive items are the working group results and the background papers. Within the overall conference theme of "Education and New Information…

A decade's explosive growth in the scope, funding and complexity of national social policy has created serious problems in the United States. This first overview report notes that the Office of Economic Opportunity (now known as the Community Services Administration) has ceased to provide a focal point for national social policy. It was this state…

Summaries of 89 studies on rural health care (underway or recently completed) in the United States as of December 1976 are reported. Information on each study includes: title; principal researchers' names, addresses, and professions; major objectives of the research; methodology; findings (on completed research); financing organization; current…

Based on a study by the Department of Community Service Education, Cornell University, to evaluate human service planning (HSP) nationwide, this paper discusses the premises that HSP may be defined as community learning and that the community (according to the Robert Boyd and Jerold Apps model for adult education) is both a beneficiary of and…