The issue of Intercom promotes an awareness of the world as a system that poses new possibilities and obligations for educators as well as policy makers. The first part includes interviews with and excerpts from the works of Denis Meadows, joint author of Limits to Growth; Mihajlo Mesarovic, co-author of Mankind at the Turning Point; Robert…

This case study is designed to determine the structures, actors, processes, and relationships that are involved when State government in Michigan determines policy for the public schools. The report looks at an instance of policymaking in each of the issue areas of finance, desegregation, and program improvement -- in this case, State assessment.…

The increasing use of educational performance or outcome measurements for a range of policy purposes points to new procedures for adjusting data for population composition. The purposes include: program formulation, budget resource allocation, grant-in-aid designs, performance incentive payments, consumer information for school selection, and…

Data on the problem of the loss of professional manpower by developing countries to develop countries is reported and analyzed from a survey of over 1,300 foreign students in over 30 U. S. colleges and universities. The ideological and scholarly debate generated by the brain drain and approaches to the study of professional migration are reviewed,…

The purpose of this case study is to provide a description and an interpretation of the process by which State-level policy decisions are made for the public schools of Georgia. The report begins with brief treatments of the socioeconomic environment and political culture in which education takes place. State governmental arrangements for public…

This case study deals with the process of educational policy formulation at the State level for public elementary and secondary schools in New York. The social, economic, and political context is described since it provides a backdrop from which to view the structure of State government and education. The enduring pattern of State educational…

The extent to which the language planning that has been pursued in many localities and in many periods has been guided by nationalism, that is, by "...the social movements, attitudes, and ideologies which characterize the behavior of nationalities engaged in the struggle to achieve, maintain or enhance their position in the world" (Wirth 1936) is…

The purpose of this paper is to develop a rationale for the conscious integration of a political component into professional practice. The rationale involves a re-definition of professional roles in the human services as a powerful means of political struggle. The aim of the political strategy is to eliminate the sources of social, economic and…

Under the guidance of the Council of Europe's ad hoc Committee for Educational Research, a survey was conducted in 1970 to provide detailed yet concise information on the educational research policy of member governments, on the main educational research organizations, and on the major educational research projects reported or in progress at that…

This report states the positions and goals of the Council of Chief State School Officers relative to State-federal relationships. The report covers (1) the need for cooperative efforts in State-federal relationships, (2) the establishment of national goals and priorities, (3) the administration and services of the Office of Education, (4) the…

A discussion of the age of accountability in American education is presented. The point is made that this new element is causing many educators to think more precisely about their goals, how they can be achieved, and how they can determine the degree to which they have been achieved. State laws are appearing and school policies are being defined…

Dimensions and implications of the role of the federal courts in the formulation of educational policy are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the function of social scientists and social science data and techniques in the legal process. The document contains seven articles. Article I presents background information on the relationship between social…

Based on a review of the literature on mid-career crises and various intervention strategies and on collection of a representative inventory of services currently available, a strategy and role for adult career education was developed and priorities and highlights of a research and development strategy were suggested for the National Institute of…

This is the executive summary of the National Home Start Evaluation interim report. Home Start, a federally-funded 3-year (1972-1975) demonstration program home-based for low-income families with 3- to 5-year-old children was designed to enhance a mother's skills in dealing with her own children and to provide comprehensive social-emotional,…

This report presents results of a policy study which examined and made recommendations concerning professional education certification, program approval, and continuing education for school-based personnel in Illinois, and voluntary professional education accreditation at the national level. The recommendations are the work of three task forces,…