This guide was developed to encourage state policy makers and local school boards to implement the national skill standards formulated by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation (NATEF) in high schools, technical schools, and technical and community colleges.…

Accountability in career counseling is receiving increased attention. However, few organizations have specific guidelines for the delivery of career counseling. This digest describes a workbook, developed in Canada, which furnishes a practical, valuative approach for support organizations that provide career counseling services. The procedures in…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a federally supported 3-year project at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges (Pennsylvania) to develop three interdisciplinary "conference courses" in international affairs. The courses were offered in the political science department and were titled "North-South Cooperation…

This book addresses ways the higher education community influences and is impacted by federal policy in the context of the decline of public confidence in higher education and budget constraints. A survey was conducted of 1,554 college and university presidents followed by 140 interviews with leaders in higher education. Results are analyzed in…

This report explains proposed 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). After the proposed new law is presented, a summary of House action is provided along with a section-by-section analysis of the legislation. A statement from the Committee discusses its intention to review, strengthen, and improve IDEA to better educate…

This PTC'97 volume contains papers presented at the 19th annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council, "Pacific Connections: Policy and Technology in the Information Economy" (1997). Three super-session groupings--industry, policy, and technology--provide attendees with a conceptual foundation from which subsequent…

This paper is the result of an intensive case study by an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) review team, whose purpose was to investigate early childhood education and care (ECEC) in the United States, 1 of 12 countries participating in the OECD review between 1998 and 2000. The paper draws on information provided by a…

This overview examines recent research and thinking about school size and bases discussion on two key assumptions: good schools can differ widely in size, and there is no such thing as "optimal" school size. Rather, the "right" size for a school depends on local conditions and contexts. School size means more than total student enrollment. Grade…

This brief report discusses the outcomes of a study that examined statewide behavioral initiatives (SBI) that involve general education, special education, or both. Forty-three state education agencies (SEAs) responded to a survey that investigated the development of SBI, focus of the SBI, and how well the SBI addresses the needs of students with…

Unemployment compensation in the United States is provided through a federal-state system of unemployment insurance (UI). UI provides temporary partial wage replacement to active job seekers who are involuntarily out of work. For older workers, UI is an important source of income security and a potential influence on work incentives. For example,…

For Taiwan, Republic of China, a nation with limited natural resources and a population of 22 million people in an area of only 36,000 square kilometers, the development and use of human resources plays a pivotal role in sustainable economic growth. Vocational education and training are two major human development methods. Since persons with…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the effects of modifications to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1996 assessment designed to encourage the participation of more students with disabilities. Modifications included revising the inclusion criteria with the intention of making them clearer, more…

This report presents San Jose/Evergreen Community College District Governing Board's Strategic Master Plan. This report summarizes the district's mission statement, goal statements, and board priorities. The San Jose/Evergreen Community College District is committed to providing open access and opportunity for success to its multi-ethnic…

This paper examines the relationship of the Chinese National Academy of Educational Administration, the Asian Development Bank, and a consulting U.S. university in a project to provide technical assistance for senior Chinese university administrators in management training and modernization of facilities. Although the higher education component in…

As assessed in 1989, the prior quarter of a century had seen community colleges emerge from the shadow of elementary and secondary education governance. This document notes several changes in the types of state-level boards and agencies that coordinate or govern public community colleges. Between 1989 and 1996 the only net changes in state-level…