Outlines serious concerns about the state of the mental health field and proposes some steps individuals and organizations can take to improve mental health care and to advance the mental health field. Invites reader response to the issues discussed. (MCF)

A statement by Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the American Association of University Professors on the organization "Accuracy in Academia" is presented. External monitoring of in-class statements presents the prospect that words uttered will be distorted or taken out of context and have a chilling effect. (MLW)

The NIE Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in Higher Education calls on colleges and universities to revitalize liberal education and set higher standards for graduation. This news report notes the realities of student learning, curricular coherence, the quality of facilities, faculty morale, and academic standards that no longer measure…

The problem of college student attrition and the reasons for it are discussed in an essay from the American Federation of Teachers. A publication for students exploring some issues of college success (benefits of attendance, curriculum components, study skills and needs, and strategies for success) is noted. (MSE)

Serving as a preface for a position statement on adolescent literacy by the International Reading Association, this article argues that assigning adolescent literacy a higher priority in the literacy community's value system is an idea whose time has very nearly come. It briefly relates the content of two earlier articles published in "Reading…

This position paper contends that the whole language approach to reading instruction has been disproved by research and evaluation but still pervades textbooks for teachers, instructional materials for classroom use, some states' language-arts standards and other policy documents, teacher licensing requirements and preparation programs, and the…

This article sees Reading Recovery as a tool for systemic change that has the potential to reduce the number of children classified with learning disabilities. The article contends that as the United States Congress meets to revisit the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" (IDEA), it is imperative that they develop an awareness…

Historically the field of early care and education has focused on one type of standardsprogram standards to define requirements for important features of the services children receive. Recently another type of standards has come to the forefront of early care and education policy and practiceearly learning standards that define expectations for…

Child welfare program standards based on current knowledge, children's developmental needs, and tested ways of meeting these needs most effectively provide benchmarks of excellence that can be used as goals to advance and guide contemporary practice. This book delineates standards for services for abused or neglected children and their families.…

This position paper aims to clarify the International Reading Association's stance on methods for teaching beginning reading (i.e., reading methods). The paper first defines a reading method as a set of teaching and learning materials and/or activities often given a label, such as a phonics method, literature-based method, or language experience…

Emphasizes the need for maintaining managerial authority based on subordinates' belief in the relevant expertness, power or normativeness of management. Organizational evaluation data can enhance or diminish these bases of managerial authority in a variety of ways, making management dependent for its authority on evaluation. (Author/WAS)

Reviews a set of five studies reevaluating the "myth of relocation trauma" and supporting a no effect conclusion. Fallacies and sources of unreliability are discussed and general issues of relocation research are raised. The second article is a response to the first and defends the assertions made. (JAC)

A statement about the decision to close an educational institution that was approved by the Board of Trustees of the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation is provided. It calls for well-planned and conscientious effort to ensure that the institution's students, faculty, and staff will be optimally provided for. (MLW)

Contends that the apparent psychosocial inadequacies of contemporary adolescents stem from the widespread adult attitude of relegating them to the status of minors. Recommends that the dynamic principles of adult-adolescent relationships as well as child-rearing techniques in general, draw heavily from the provisions of Maslovian psychology. (JAC)