In this review the author explores whether school management councils (SMCs) reproduce prevailing norms of social participation or serve as a lever for change by challenging these norms and creating opportunities for subdominant groups to participate, thus enabling parents to take part in decision-making. The analysis highlights examples from…

The present study tests the assumption that the stable vs. unstable character of the structural relationship between groups influences the type of bias to which differentiation may lead, and affects the likelihood of identification with one's ingroup. Study I was conducted in Canada with university students and Study 2 in two French high schools;…

Trends in research on participation in adult education have reflected social changes, shifting from sociodemographic surveys toward emphasis on understanding motivation for participating. Participation has been studied primarily from the perspective of service providers, gathering data on participants or dropouts. Since the 1970s, researchers have…

The North Carolina Early Childhood Initiative, better known as Smart Start, was implemented to ensure that all North Carolina children enter school healthy and prepared to succeed. In 1997, an evaluation team worked with four Smart Start partnerships to describe the current client information systems used by local partnerships and to determine the…

A survey was conducted to determine the supply, demand, cost, and quality of early care and education in Florida. Data were obtained through the Child Care Resource and Referral Network. Following an executive summary, the report is presented in three parts. Part 1 discusses availability of child care, parental requests for care, ages of the…

A study compared the political action, attitudes, and behavior of union members and members of union households to those of individuals who are not affiliated with a union. National data from the 1950s through the 1980s on the political identification, beliefs, and behavior of union/union household members and nonmembers were analyzed along with…

A study examined the demographics and preliminary skill levels of adults enrolled in programs of adult special education, adult basic education (ABE), and English as a second language (ESL) in Iowa. Data were collected from a representative (but not statistically random) sampling of 495 ABE participants from Iowa's 15 community colleges. The major…

Key characteristics of adults who took the General Educational Development (GED) Tests in 1989 were compared with those of their 1980 counterparts. Findings indicated that the percentage taking the tests primarily to fulfill postsecondary educational admissions requirements increased from 29.1 to 32.8 percent. The percentage who took the tests for…

The history of orienteering in the United States includes both military and civilian interest, with the period of greatest growth between 1970 and 1980. To investigate growth patterns in orienteering, questionnaires were mailed to 42 civilian orienteering clubs and 286 universities supporting senior Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC)…

This document contains 36 tables that summarize some of the characteristics and experiences of persons who participated in training programs authorized under Titles IIA and III of the job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) during the first three quarters of program (PY) 1988. The data were obtained through the job Training Quarterly Survey (JTQS) and…

A study examined communication skills of college students to determine the relationship between individuals' skill valuings and their acceptance within peer groups of intact social systems. Data were gathered from 102 residents of two fraternities and 106 residents of two sororities. Subjects completed the Communication Functions Questionnaire and…

The Presidential Young Investigators (PYI) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) has the goals of attracting and retaining outstanding young faculty members in science and engineering, improving the research capabilities of academic institutions, promoting research funding from the private sector, and fostering cooperation between…

The study described in this paper is the result of a review of research projects investigating mandatory continuing education (MCE) in Florida. These studies investigated the field of nursing, only one of more than 20 professional groups for which continuing education is mandated. The study found that MCE appears to have some positive features as…

This report focuses on the results of analyses of selected issues in the area of adult basic education (ABE) using two major data bases: Participation in Adult Education survey and Adult Quality of Life studies. Issues are divided into four sections: target population and demand population, services provided, organization for delivery of services,…

An assessment of the North Dakota Science and Engineering Fair and an analysis of the background and careers of its finalists from 1951 to 1985 are contained in this report. The project's objectives were to: (1) compile a complete list of international fair participants (1951-1985); (2) study the subsequent geographic distribution of the…