Considers biotechnology's influence on international relations, focusing on agriculture, environmental issues, law, commerce, and biological warfare. Claims that, because biotechnology cuts across international boundaries and affects public and private interests, it necessitates the rethinking of international systems theory. Urges international…

Traces the development of teacher certification throughout the century, and discusses the current alternative certification movement. The discussion provides a context for the remaining articles of this special issue. These studies indicate the feasibility of alternative certification in teacher recruitment. (SLD)

This article provides an overview of policymaking in relation to state and local district testing and accountability and concludes by identifying continuing policy issues and strategies for local implementation of standards-based secondary education that aligns with current testing and accountability policies. Governance models for curriculum…

Assesses the distribution of poverty areas in the United States relative to public library outlet locations to begin discussion on the best possible public library funding and development policies that would serve individuals in poverty areas. Provides a comparative analysis of poverty relative to public library outlets using two common methods of…

This article discusses concerns with the No Child Left Behind definition of scientifically based research and its preference for random-assignment experiments from a single/within subject research perspective. A comprehensive program of research that can focus on the bridging the gap between research and practice is proposed. (CR)

Today, a college education is increasingly viewed as the gateway to the American Dream--a necessary prerequisite for social mobility. Yet recent policy reforms in the United States effectively steer former welfare recipients away from an education that could further their career prospects, forcing them directly into the workforce where they often…

The Education Working Paper Series is produced by the Education Unit at the World Bank (HDNED). It provides an avenue for World Bank staff to publish and disseminate preliminary education findings to encourage discussion and exchange ideas within the World Bank and among the broader development community. Many factors have contributed to Finland's…

This report focuses on six areas in which policymakers can take action to enhance outcomes for students along the educational pipeline and thus increase the supply of knowledge workers. These areas include: (1) Promoting access to education and training and improving the alignment of adult and workforce education systems and postsecondary…

The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is a tool to help policy makers and educators address broad public policy questions. SHEF seeks to inform policy deliberations with information and perspective on financial issues and national trends. The fiscal 2005 SHEF study builds on the work of Kent Halstead, who conceptualized and implemented…

Against a general backdrop of an international discourse on educational reform that has focused on accountability, this article provides a detailed and critical analysis of the evolution of accountability policy and practice in Irish primary and post-primary education during the past 20 years. The analysis indicates clearly that national policy…

Purpose: Responding to the recent split in the US labor movement, this paper aims to argue that learning must become an integral part of a progressive union devoted to organizing. Design/methodology/approach: This paper traces the evolution of vocational education in US industrial unions and critiques it in light of the challenges facing labor…

Some common questions that state legislators have about how distance learning can work in their states are explored. Distance learning, once considered strictly a rural education strategy, is now recognized to have the potential to provide solutions to some of the problems states face in delivering quality education to all students. A distance…

Ten essays address aspects of second language instruction at the elementary school level: "Elementary School Foreign Languages: Perspectives, Practices, and Promises" (Carol Ann Pesola, Helena Anderson Curtain); "The Integrated Curriculum: Rethinking the Elementary School Foreign Language Program for the '90s" (Virginia…

The major objective of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Education Reform Strategy is to strengthen the capacity of member states to work collaboratively in order to improve equal access to quality and relevant basic education in an equitable and efficient manner. This document describes OECS policy recommendations made in May…

This book argues that a paradigmatic change of emphasis is needed from treatment to prevention in order to promote the well being of children and to reverse many of the social problems children face today. Written for an interdisciplinary audience, the book is divided into three sections. The first section provides a framework and overview of…